Police Resources in British Columbia, 2020

Police Statistics Summary, 2020

See Endnotes and Police Resource Definitions and Data Qualifiers on page 22 and page 27, respectively for additional explanatory notes.

Government Contributions to Policing, 2020

See Endnotes and Police Resource Definitions and Data Qualifiers on page 22 and page 27, respectively for additional explanatory notes.

British Columbia Authorized Strength⁴⁰ by Responsibility 2011-2020

Includes adjusted strength figures for jurisdictions participating in Lower Mainland District Integrated Teams. See Endnotes and Police Resource Definitions and Data Qualifiers on page 22 and page 27, respectively for additional explanatory notes.

Authorized Strength by Jurisdiction, 2011-2020

Adjusted strength figures are not available for depictions of 10-year trend data. As a result, only authorized strengths and assigned GD/GIS for the Provincial Service are used in this table.

See Endnotes and Police Resource Definitions and Data Qualifiers on page 22 and page 27, respectively for additional explanatory notes.

Endnotes

1. The federal government’s contribution is in recognition of the benefits it receives as a result of the RCMP agreements.
2. Members are based out of the Upper Fraser Valley Regional Detachment.
3. There are 6 Lower Mainland District (LMD) Integrated Teams that provide regional police services to participating LMD RCMP Municipal Police Service, RCMP Provincial Police Service and Municipal Police Department: 1) Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT); 2) Integrated Emergency Response Team (IERT); 3) Integrated Police Dog Service (IPDS); 4) Integrated Forensic Identification Services (IFIS); 5) Integrated Collision Analyst Reconstruction Section (ICARS); and 6) Integrated Internal Investigator (III). Adjusted strength is a calculation that adjusts a municipal police agency’s authorized strength to account for Integrated Team members who are assigned on a regional basis. For 2020, adjusted strength applies to LMD Integrated Teams participation only. This adjustment is based on a proportional allocation of Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) utilization attributable to each municipality’s financial contribution to LMD Integrated Teams for the fiscal year 2020/2021. See page 25 for the definition of authorized strength. Some LMD municipalities’ authorized strength already includes or accounts for a portion of Integrated Team members; therefore, not all adjustments are a simple addition to authorized strength. The values reported have been rounded up to the nearest whole number after making the adjustments using exact values from the source data.
4. Total Costs refer to actual costs as reported by each municipality. For RCMP municipal services, total costs include the municipality’s share of RCMP contract costs (70% or 90%, depending on population), including integrated team costs, as well as any costs that are borne 100% by the municipality, i.e., accommodation costs. Total costs for municipal police departments refer to 100% of policing costs. As such, comparisons between municipal agencies should be made with caution.
5. Population figures include First Nations reserve populations.
6. The municipalities of North Vancouver City and North Vancouver District include three First Nations reserve lands within their boundaries. The designated land title names for these reserve lands are: Mission 1 (North Vancouver City); and, Seymour Creek 2 and Burrard Inlet 3 (North Vancouver District). Due to inconsistencies in scoring crime data to the appropriate jurisdictions the populations for these reserve lands were assigned to North Vancouver Prov (from 2006 to 2018); prior to 2006 the populations were assigned to North Vancouver District. In 2020, the populations for the reserve lands were realigned from North Vancouver Prov and added to the appropriate municipality. This realignment may result in changes in reporting; crime statistics should be used with caution.
7. In 2020, there were 30 member positions dedicated to airport security at the Vancouver International Airport. These members are administered through the Richmond RCMP Detachment. The strength and cost data for these 30 members is excluded from Richmond because the Vancouver Airport Authority reimburses 100% of the cost to the City of Richmond. Total Vancouver Airport 2020 costs were $4,652,388.
8. The community constables previously reported in the authorized strength for the City of Surrey have all been converted to regular members in 2020.
9. Since 2007, statistics for Surrey Prov were included in Surrey Mun.
10. Authorized strengths and their associated costs for the municipal departments have been adjusted to exclude secondments to other agencies (e.g., Justice Institute of British Columbia Police Academy, CFSEU-BC) as cost for these secondments would be borne by the seconded agency.
11. According to the 2016 Canada Census, the municipalities of Armstrong, Fernie and Osoyoos went over 5,000 population, and as a result, became responsible for providing policing within their municipal boundaries. Each of these municipalities signed a Municipal Police Unit Agreement with the provincial government for the provision of RCMP Municipal services effective April 1, 2017. Conversely, the population of Northern Rockies Regional Municipality went under 5,000 and, as a result, returned to being a provincial responsibility as of April 1, 2017, therefore it is no longer responsible for policing their municipal boundaries.
12. BC Stats population estimates are used for the purpose of the publication; however, the Canada Census is used for determining policing responsibility under the Police Act. As a result, a municipality may show a population below or above the population range in their respective RCMP Municipal Unit cost share categories.
13. Population figures include Tsawwassen First Nation (TFN) land populations. Since 2007, TFN lands are policed by Delta Police Department under a Police Service Agreement between the City of Delta, Delta Police Board and TFN and not included in reported costs. For consistency with previous reporting, Delta Police Department’s authorized strength includes one officer position to deliver enhanced, dedicated policing funded under the First Nation Policing Program, under an agreement with Canada, the Province of BC, City of Delta, Delta Police Board and TFN.
14. The Victoria and Esquimalt Police Departments were amalgamated in 2003. In 2020, the population of Victoria was 94,415 persons and Esquimalt’s was 19,015 persons. Of the total costs in 2020, $8,561,440 (14.7%) was paid by Esquimalt for its policing services under the Agreement.
15. The jurisdictional boundaries for Armstrong Prov were realigned when the municipality of Armstrong became responsible for providing policing within their municipal boundary. This may have resulted in inaccurate reporting; therefore, the crime statistics should be used with caution.
16. The Elk Valley Detachment includes Elkford Prov, Fernie Prov, and Sparwood Prov. The Elk Valley Detachment authorized strength total includes one GIS member assigned to the detachment as a whole.
17. In July 2014, Houston Prov and Granisle Prov were formally amalgamated. Prior to this amalgamation, Houston/Granisle operated in an informally amalgamated manner from two Detachment offices; the main office in the District of Houston and the second in the Village of Granisle. The Granisle office remains and functions as a Community Policing Office.
18. In 2003, Oliver and Osoyoos Prov detachments were restructured into the integrated South Okanagan Detachment. From 2006 to 2012, additional GIS positions were assigned to the Detachment as a whole (in 2012, there were 4 GIS positions assigned to the South Okanagan Detachment). Effective 2013, South Okanagan Detachment de-integrated and Oliver Prov and Osoyoos Prov operate as stand-alone detachments and are reflected in this document as separate entities as they currently exist. The additional 4 GIS positions previously assigned to the South Okanagan Detachment continued to provide services to the wider region. In 2016, one of the 4 GIS shared positions was converted to a GD position and specifically assigned to Oliver. The remaining 3 GIS positions service the wider region and were split equally by adding 0.75 to the authorized strengths of Keremeos Prov, Penticton Prov, Oliver Prov and Osoyoos Prov.
19. The Kootenay Boundary Regional Detachment includes: Castlegar Prov, Grand Forks Prov, Kaslo Prov, Midway Prov, Nakusp Prov, Nelson Prov, Salmo Prov, Slocan Lake Prov, and Trail & Greater District Prov. The Kootenay Boundary Regional Detachment authorized strength total includes eight shared GD/GIS (3 officers in charge and 5 GIS) members assigned to the detachment as a whole.
20. The municipalities of North Vancouver City and North Vancouver District include three First Nations reserve lands within their boundaries. The designated land title names for these reserve lands are: Mission 1 (North Vancouver City); and, Seymour Creek 2 and Burrard Inlet 3 (North Vancouver District). Due to inconsistencies in scoring crime data to the appropriate jurisdictions, the populations for these reserve lands were assigned to North Vancouver Prov (from 2006 to 2018). In 2020, the populations for the reserve lands were realigned from North Vancouver Prov and added to the appropriate municipality. This realignment may result in changes in reporting; crime statistics should be used with caution.
21. In addition to the assigned GD/GIS outlined, the Provincial Support Team was created to be based at Prince George, Terrace and Kamloops as part of the Front-Line Resource Re-allocation initiative in 2020. These 12 positions are intended to provide temporary, mobile relief to Provincial Detachment Units throughout the Province.
22. The crime rate has not been included because it is not a meaningful indicator for Ridge Meadows Prov (due to the small residential population and the relatively large amount of crimes occurring within the Provincial Parks).
23. The integrated Ridge Meadows RCMP Detachment is comprised of the following contract jurisdictions: the City of Maple Ridge; the City of Pitt Meadows; and, the Ridge Meadows provincial policing jurisdiction. In 2013/14 the RCMP revised the map boundaries that reside in PRIME-BC for each of the jurisdictions within the Ridge Meadows Detachment. This realignment of jurisdictional boundaries likely resulted in changes in reporting; as a result, CCC volumes and crime rates prior to 2014 for these individual jurisdictions should be used with caution.
24. Squamish Prov includes 1 shared GD/GIS position that is assigned to the Sea-to-Sky Regional Detachment – an RCMP organizational structure that includes Whistler, Pemberton and Bowen Island in addition to Squamish.
25. Previously shown as a provincial GD position, 1 member position provides enhanced dedicated services to the Squamish First Nation reserve lands out of the Squamish Detachment. Due to RCMP changes in reporting lines, this position was re-aligned under the Integrated First Nations Unit, resulting in (-1) to Squamish Prov in 2020.
26. Tofino Prov includes 2 provincial GD positions located in Ahousaht satellite office.
27. Authorized strength includes adjusted strength figures for jurisdictions participating in Lower Mainland District Integrated Teams.
28. Provincial Service represents the number of members assigned to GD/GIS functions at a detachment and does not include members assigned to specialized functions such as traffic enforcement, forensic identification or major case crimes, etc. See data qualifier on page 27.
29. Data for the South Coast British Columbia Transportation Authority Police Service (SCBCTAPS) is not included in this table. In 2020, SCBCTAPS had an authorized strength of 183 positions and cost $39,297,453 (paid for by TransLink, a private company).
30. Total Population includes 686,617 persons residing within municipalities with populations below 5,000 or unincorporated areas, served by the RCMP Provincial Service in 2020. This figure is not specified within the table under RCMP Provincial Service because it only represents rural/unincorporated detachments. The Provincial Service also provides services to populations served by the entire province (see page ).
31. Total Costs for municipalities refer to actual costs for calendar year 2020 as reported by each municipality. For further information, see the Total Costs definition on page 26.
32. Police costs paid by the provincial government represent actual costs paid in fiscal year 2020/21.
33. Police costs paid by the federal government represent actual costs paid in fiscal year 2020/21 for their share of municipal police department integrated homicide investigative team (IHIT), municipal and provincial policing costs only; these figures only represent their share of the contract costs and exclude costs borne by the federal government which are over and above the contract costs. These figures also do not include the costs to Canada for Federal Service members operating in BC.
34. Total Costs for municipal police departments represent 100% of policing costs. Note: IHIT costs (70% cost share) were added to their policing costs.
35. Total Costs for RCMP municipal services include the municipality’s share of RCMP contract costs (70% or 90%, depending on population) as well as any costs that are borne 100% by the municipality, i.e., accommodation costs, support staff. Data for dedicated airport security positions at the Vancouver International Airport is not included in this table.
36. Total Costs paid by the provincial government include funding for the Front-Line Resource Re-allocation initiative. Authorized strength at impacted jurisdictions have been updated in this year’s publication. The Provincial Support Team provides service throughout Province, and is not included in jurisdiction-specific figures. See endnote 21.
37. Total Costs paid by the provincial government include additional funding for police equipment, contract services and professional fees
38. Authorized strength includes Aboriginal Community Constable Program members, which are gradually being converted to Community Tripartite Agreement under the First Nations Community Policing Services (FNCPS).
39. In 2020, the authorized strength increased to 117.5. Costs associated with enhanced police services provided by Delta Police Department to Tsawwassen First Nation (TFN), which are shared by the provincial and federal governments (48% and 52% respectively), are not included within this table. In 2020/21, the provincial government contributed $93,048 and the federal government contributed $100,802 for the position providing this enhanced service to TFN. The position is included in the authorized strength for Delta Police Department.
40. Adjusted strength figures are not available for depictions of 10-year trend data. As a result, only authorized strengths are used in this table. See page 27 for the definition of authorized strength.
41. Due to an RCMP calculation error, the 10-Year authorized strength figures for the RCMP Division Administration have been adjusted. See data qualifier 8 on page 28.
42. In 2012, the number of authorized strength positions under Annex A of the Provincial Police Service Agreement (PPSA) was adjusted upon signing the 2012 Agreement. The Front-line Resource Re-allocation initiative was updated in the Provincial jurisdictions for the 2020 publication.
43. The South Coast British Columbia Transportation Authority Police Service (SCBCTAPS) was formed as a transit security department in October 2004 and converted to a designated police unit under the Police Act on December 4, 2005.
44. Vancouver Airport Authority signed a supplemental agreement to Richmond’s Municipal Police Unit Agreement in 2012. At that time, the City of Richmond assumed the administrative and financial functions for payment of enhanced RCMP policing services to the airport through the Richmond RCMP detachment. The airport authority reimburses Richmond 100% of the cost for the airport police. Authorized strength data for Richmond does not include Vancouver International Airport positions.
45. Victoria Airport Authority signed a supplemental agreement to North Saanich’s Municipal Police Unit Agreement in 2006. At that time, the District of North Saanich assumed the administrative and financial functions for payment of enhanced RCMP policing services to the airport through the North Saanich RCMP detachment. The airport authority reimbursed North Saanich 100% of the cost for the airport police. Effective April 2013, the Victoria Airport Authority agreement for dedicated police services ended and was not continued.
46. The following policing jurisdictions have been opened or closed subsequent to Canada Census results or detachment/departmental amalgamations. Where jurisdictions have been amalgamated, the data shown reflect the total reporting for both the present jurisdiction and the absorbed jurisdiction up to and including the year in which the jurisdictions were amalgamated.
    • 2003: Sparwood Prov, Fernie Prov and Elkford Prov were restructured into Elk Valley Detachment. Oliver Prov and Osoyoos Prov were restructured into South Okanagan Detachment. Sechelt Prov and Gibsons Prov amalgamated into Sunshine Coast Prov. Esquimalt Police Department amalgamated with the Victoria Police Department.
    • 2004: Ditidaht First Nations Self-Administered Police Service (FNSAPS) was closed and Lake Cowichan RCMP provincial detachment assumed policing responsibilities for the area.
    • 2007: As a result of the 2006 Canada Census, the Township of Spallumcheen and the District of Mackenzie went under 5,000 population. Spallumcheen reverted to a provincial service jurisdiction effective April 1, 2007. Mackenzie reverted to a provincial service jurisdiction on April 1, 2008.
    • 2009: The District of West Kelowna incorporated in 2007 with a population exceeding 15,000. The District continued to be policed by the provincial service as part of Kelowna Prov until they signed a Municipal Police Unit Agreement effective April 1, 2009. According to the 2006 Canada Census, the District of Kent went over 5,000 population. The District was policed by Agassiz Prov until they signed a Municipal Police Unit Agreement effective April 1, 2009.
    • 2010: The former Northern Rockies Regional District incorporated as the first regional municipality in BC in 2009. The Northern Rockies Regional Municipality continued to be policed by the provincial service as part of Fort Nelson Prov until they signed a Municipal Police Unit Agreement effective April 1, 2010. The municipality was policed by Northern Rockies Mun from April 1, 2010 to March 31, 2012 (see also below) and the remaining area was policed by Northern Rockies Prov during this time (for the purposes of this table “Fort Nelson Prov” figures are reported under “Northern Rockies Prov”).
    • 2012: According to the 2011 Canada Census, the municipalities of Creston, Peachland and Spallumcheen went over 5,000 population and, as a result, became responsible for providing police services within their municipal boundaries. Each of these municipalities signed a Municipal Police Unit Agreement with the provincial government for the provision of RCMP municipal services effective April 1, 2012. Prior to 2012, Creston was policed by Creston Prov; Peachland was policed by Kelowna Prov; and Spallumcheen was policed by Armstrong Prov. In addition, due to 2011 Canada Census results, Northern Rockies Regional Municipality (NRRM) fell below 5,000 population, and responsibility for policing the municipality reverted back to the provincial service (Northern Rockies Prov) effective April 1, 2012.
    • 2013: NRRM appealed their Census population figure with Statistics Canada. An investigation was conducted and Statistics Canada revised NRRM’s Census count to 5,290. As a result, NRRM again became responsible for policing within its municipal boundaries effective April 1, 2013.
    • 2017: According to the 2016 Canada Census, the municipalities of Armstrong, Fernie and Osoyoos went over 5,000 population and, as a result, became responsible for providing policing within their municipal boundaries, effective April 1, 2017. In addition, due to 2016 Canada Census results, Northern Rockies Regional Municipality (NRRM) fell below 5,000 population, and responsibility for policing the municipality reverted back to the provincial service (Northern Rockies Prov) effective April 1, 2017.
47. In 2017, Comox Mun reduced its authorized strength to 11.3 to reflect the deeming of civilian members into the Federal public service. The deeming date has been postponed and therefore, the authorized strength remains at 11.6 (shown as 12).
48. The Elk Valley Detachment includes three provincial policing jurisdictions: Elkford Prov, Fernie Prov, and Sparwood Prov. Starting in 2010, the Elk Valley Detachment authorized strength total included one GIS member assigned to the detachment as a whole.
49. In July 2014, Houston Prov and Granisle Prov were formally amalgamated. Prior to this amalgamation, Houston/Granisle operated in an informally amalgamated manner from two Detachment offices; the main office in the District of Houston and the second in the Village of Granisle. The Granisle office remains and functions as a Community Policing Office.
50. In 2010, the Coastal Policing Unit in Prince Rupert took over policing of the Kitasoo/Klemtu area; increasing its authorized strength by two members.
51. In 2020, Vanderhoof Prov increased by 3 members; 1 converted from a specialized position and 2 officers reallocated from within the Provincial Service.

Key Impacts on Crime Statistics

Comparisons of crime statistics between jurisdictions, provinces, and years should be made with caution, as many factors influence police-reported crime statistics other than actual changes in crime, such as: global events, demographic changes, social and economic trends, police reporting practices, public reporting practices to police, technological advancements, legislative amendments, local police service priorities, and social perceptions and attitudes towards certain crimes.

Impact of the Global COVID-19 Pandemic

Many shifts in crime trends in 2020 may be attributable to the global COVID-19 pandemic, which brought widespread and unprecedented changes to daily life. Overall, the volume of police-reported crime in the early months of the pandemic was far lower compared to the previous year. This was largely driven by decreases in property crime, as the shift to remote work arrangements and restrictions on businesses and travel increased guardianship and reduced opportunities for certain property crimes.

Pandemic-related restrictions may have also impacted and presented new barriers to the reporting and detection of other crime types, including family violence and sexual assaults.

As well, the pandemic may have also exacerbated the incidence of hate crimes, which in 2020, increased to the largest number for Canada since at least 2009. Crimes targeting race or ethnicity increased notably, particularly towards the Black, East or Southeast Asian, Indigenous, and South Asian populations.

More analyses of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on police-reported crime statistics can be found at: https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/85-002-x/2021001/article/00013-eng.htm

Impact of Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Scoring Rule Changes

In January 2018, Statistics Canada updated its crime reporting methodology for police services across Canada to represent a “victim-centred approach” to recording crimes, which means it is to be believed that the crime occurred unless there is credible evidence to prove it did not. These changes were expected to increase the incidence and decrease the clearance rate for certain crimes, such as sexual assault.

Police agencies across BC implemented these scoring rule changes in January 2019, which contributed in part to notable increases in crime rates and decreases in clearance rates for BC in 2019.

More information about the UCR Survey and these scoring rule changes can be found at: https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/85-002-x/2018001/article/54973-eng.htm https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/85-002-x/2020001/article/00010-eng.htm

It was anticipated that BC’s crime rates would increase again in 2020, based on the continued impact of these scoring rule changes; however, 2020 crime trends were also significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and other factors, resulting in an overall decrease in BC’s crime rates in 2020.

Police Resource Definitions and Data Qualifiers

1. Population figures are estimates prepared annually by BC Stats, based on the results of the Canada Census which is conducted every five years. These estimates reflect only the permanent residential population of a jurisdiction. Where a jurisdiction serves as a resort, business or entertainment centre, it may have substantial “part-time” or transient/seasonal populations in addition to its permanent resident population, such as tourists, cabin owners, commuters, students, and seasonal staff. These temporary populations groups are counted in population figures within the jurisdiction of their place of residence and not the jurisdiction in which they may be temporarily visiting or working. Note: the 2020 population estimates provided by BC Stats were based on the Statistics Canada 2016 Census boundary geographies adjusted in accordance with current police jurisdiction boundaries.
2. Authorized strength represents the maximum number of positions that the detachment or department has been authorized to fill as of December 31st of each calendar year. The authorized strength for both municipal RCMP services and municipal police department jurisdictions (Mun) represents the number of sworn officers/members and sworn civilian officers/members assigned to a detachment or department, but does not include non-sworn civilian support staff, bylaw enforcement officers, the RCMP Auxiliary program or municipal police department reserve police officers. The authorized strength for Provincial Service jurisdictions (Prov) represents the number of sworn members assigned to General Duty and General Investigation Service (GD/GIS) functions at a detachment but does not include members assigned to specialized functions such as traffic enforcement, forensic identification or major case crimes, etc. The assigned strengths for provincial service jurisdictions are obtained from RCMP “E” Division Headquarters. The authorized strengths for RCMP municipal jurisdictions are obtained from Annex A of each municipality’s Municipal Police Unit Agreement (MPUA). (Note: Due to inconsistencies in counting Integrated Team members some Lower Mainland District (LMD) municipalities’ authorized strengths are not comparable and may reflect some, none or all integrated team members. Policing and Security Branch is working with the RCMP and LMD municipalities to achieve consistency in Annex A, authorized strengths. For 2020, a separate “adjusted strength” figure for these municipalities has been calculated to show the net adjustment to authorized strength to account for Integrated Team members. Adjusted strength figures are not included in tables showing ten year authorized strength trends). Authorized strengths for municipalities policed by municipal police departments are collected annually from each department. The exact values from the source data was used, however values reported have been rounded up to the nearest whole number, unless otherwise shown. Due to the differences in the organizational structure of each type of unit and methods of collecting authorized strength data, comparisons between RCMP provincial, RCMP municipal, and municipal police jurisdictions should be made with caution.
3. Adjusted strength is a calculation that adjusts a municipal authorized strength to account for Integrated Team members who are assigned on a regional basis. For 2020, adjusted strength applies to LMD Integrated Team participation only. The Integrated Teams member adjustment is based on a proportional allocation of Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) utilization attributable to each municipality’s financial contribution to the LMD teams for the fiscal year 2020/2021. Some LMD municipalities’ authorized strength already includes or accounts for a portion of Integrated Team members; therefore, not all Integrated Teams’ adjustments are a simple addition to authorized strength. The values reported have been rounded up to the nearest whole number after making the adjustments using exact values from the source data.
4. Case loads are defined as the number of Criminal Code offences (excluding drugs and traffic offences) per authorized strength. They represent the workload per officer, and as a result, are often a better indicator of the demand for police services than either a jurisdiction’s population or its crime rate. The case load is calculated by dividing the total number of Criminal Code offences in the calendar year by the authorized strength as of December 31st of the same calendar year. (Note: The adjusted strength has been used to calculate the case loads for municipal units participating in Lower Mainland District Integrated Teams). Please refer to recent changes in the impact on UCR scoring rules on page 24.
5. Total Criminal Code Offences includes property, violent, and other crimes (excluding drugs and traffic offences). Number of offences represents only those crimes reported to, or discovered by the police which, upon preliminary investigation, have been deemed to have occurred or been attempted; these data do not represent nor imply a count of the number of charges laid, prosecutions conducted, informations sworn or convictions obtained. These data have been recorded by the police utilizing the Uniform Crime Reporting 2 (UCR2) Survey scoring rules and guidelines. If a single criminal incident contains a number of violations of the law, then only the most serious violation is counted for purposes of this statistic. Please refer to recent changes in the impact on UCR scoring rules on page 24.
6. Crime rate is the number of Criminal Code offences or crimes (excluding drugs and traffic) reported for every 1,000 persons. It is a better measure of trends in crime than the actual number of offences because it accounts for population differences. A high crime rate may indicate that a municipality is a “core city”, i.e., a business and/or entertainment centre for many people who reside outside, as well as inside, the municipality. As a result, “core cities” may have large part-time or temporary populations which are excluded from both their population bases and their crime rate calculations. Please refer to recent changes in the impact on UCR scoring rules on page 24.
7. Total Costs refer to actual costs as reported by each municipality, collected annually from the PSB administered Municipal Police Expenditure Survey. For municipalities policed by the RCMP, total costs include the municipality’s share of RCMP contract costs, including integrated team costs, (i.e., either 70% or 90% depending on population) plus those costs borne 100% by the municipality which are over and above the contract costs, such as support staff and accommodation. Total costs do not include costs for bylaw enforcement or victim services programs, capital expenditures (such as major construction projects), or revenues. There is some variation between jurisdictions with respect to the cost items that are included in their policing budgets and reflected in total costs, so caution should be used if comparisons are being made. As a result of variances in reporting practices, in 2017, the Municipal Policing Expenditure Survey was amended to include amortization/depreciation costs as part of the Accommodation costs. Previous iterations of the survey and scoring rules did not specifically articulate the inclusion of the amortization/depreciation costs and was added to standardize practices from all municipalities.
8. The data contained in this report may vary when compared with previous reports produced by Policing and Security Branch. Where variances occur, the report produced at the latest date will reflect the most current data available.
9. Populations, crime rates and case loads are only three of the many factors used to determine the strength and organization of a police agencies. A number of other factors, such as size and accessibility of the area to be policed and traffic volume are also taken into consideration. In addition, case loads and crime rates do not reflect the time spent by police providing general assistance to the public, participating in crime prevention programs, or enforcing traffic laws.
10. Comparisons between municipal police departments, RCMP municipal and RCMP provincial services should be made with caution.

DATA SOURCES: Crime: Statistics Canada. 2020. Incident-based crime statistics, by detailed violation and police services, British Columbia, annual, 1998 to 2020 (Table 35-10-0184-01). Released and accessed on July 27, 2021. https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=3510018401 Populations: BC Statistics, Ministry of Labour, Citizens' Services and Open Government, BC. Police Costs and Resources: Royal Canadian Mounted Police, “E” Division; Policing and Security Branch; Municipal Police Departments; Municipalities. DATE: November 2021