Vancouver Police Department expecting to be over budget by nearly $8 million: report

The Vancouver Police Department is projected to be over-budget by $8 million by the end of the year.

The Vancouver Police Department is projecting to be over budget by the end of the year by nearly $8 million, according to a report heading to the police board Thursday.

The Q2 Variance Report, which covers the six-month period ending June 30, 2025, states the force is over budget by 2.3 per cent, or $4,987,783, and is expected to finish this year over budget by 1.9 per cent, or $7,927,933.

The report attributes the overspend to overtime expenses needed to staff protests and demonstrations.

It also references additional costs from the ongoing investigation into the Lapu-Lapu Day festival tragedy where 11 people were killed.

The Q2 forecast is an increase of $928,631 from the Q1 2025 forecast, “which is mainly attributed to expenses related to the Lapu Lapu incident, along with ongoing higher overtime costs for both sworn and civilian staff to maintain service levels and ensure the safety of the public and officers,” as per the report.

The projection includes overtime recoveries, which require approval from Vancouver city council, to offset the projected costs from Task Force Barrage.

Salaries and benefits were over budget by 2.8 per cent, or $5,154,536 at Q2, and the trend is projected to continue.

In April, the VPD published its Q1 Variance Report, which projected it would finish the year over budget by 1.6 per cent, or $6,999,302.

On Dec. 10, 2024, council approved the VPD’s 2025 net operating budget at $425,947,189, which is an increase of $14,639,956, or 3.6 per cent, from the 2024 restated budget.