July 5, 2002

Vancouver Police Board

The Vancouver Police Board, now engaged in hiring a new Chief of Police, is getting a special review by the Campbell government. In a letter dated June 27, Kevin Begg, Director of Police Services, wrote to Mayor Philip Owen and said "The Solicitor General, Rich Coleman has requested Police Services Division to review the current composition of the Vancouver Police Board to ensure that the board reflects a diverse mix of background, skills, and experience that will complement the strategic direction/approach of the Vancouver Police Department."

There are 12 police boards in British Columbia - one for each of the municipalities that has its own police force rather than RCMP service. The mayor chairs the board, the municipal council appoints one person and the provincial cabinet appoints up to 5 people. Members of police boards serve as volunteers without compensation for their time. The Solicitor General's website says "Appointments are initially for 1 year; they can be renewed for 2 years and renewed again for 3 years, for maximum 6-year term. Beginning in 2002, terms will begin and expire on June 30th each year."

An exception has been made to the normal length of appointments for Vancouver. Begg's letter said "To assist Police Services Division in conducting this review the Minister has limited the appointments of provincial members that expire on June 30, 2002 to a six month period. This will mean that these terms will expire on Dec. 31, 2002."

Government's "Board Resourcing & Development Office" shows recent appointments and re-appointments to both the Saanich and West Vancouver Police Boards. The Orders in Council for those Boards were adopted on June 5, 2002. Most of those terms run one year, until June 30, 2003, although two run until June 30, 2004. By contrast, nothing is shown on the Board Resourcing website for the Vancouver Police Board.

The six month reappointments for members of the Vancouver Police Board were done by Order in Council on June 26, 2002. Those OICs show the names of the Board members: Susan Hadgraft Bauman, Allan Earl Black, Q.C., John Dale Lynn, Florence Tienmin Wong and the municipal appointment, Kenneth M. Bagshaw, Q.C.

Begg's letter concluded by saying that the "Police Services Division will be advertising in local papers, on various web-sites and soliciting names from a variety of community organizations and groups. The objective of advertising is to make as many qualified people aware that provincial police board members are recruited from the community and enable the province to establish a pool of qualified individuals to fill future vacancies on the board." The government's "Board Resourcing & Development Office" has a section on its website for advertising board vacancies. No mention is made on that site of any effort to recruit people to replace the current Vancouver Police Board.

It is a mystery why the Vancouver Police Board has been singled out for a special review. It could be related to the search for a new Police Chief, or it could be related to municipal politics and the NPA's dumping of Philip Owen. Owen was on the wrong side of NPA politics when it came to the Community Alliance and harm reduction. Will a new Vancouver Police Board reverse the direction taken under the leadership of Mayor Philip Owen in the Vancouver Agreement? Could it be that former mayor Gordon Campbell is still interfering in Vancouver's municipal politics?

If the Director of Police Services letter is correct, one must ask why the Vancouver Police Board is being singled out? Shouldn't all police boards reflect "a diverse mix of background, skills and experience that will complement the strategic direction/approach" of their police force?