Victoria police propose temporary, Island-based training academy for new recruits

VicPD wants to participate in a provincial pilot project, which could establish a temporary training facility for police recruits in Greater Victoria.

The Victoria Police Department is seeking provincial approval to establish a temporary training academy for recruits on Southern Vancouver Island.

VicPD Chief Fiona Wilson said the academy would serve as a satellite campus for the Justice Institute of B.C.’s training facility on the mainland, which is responsible for training municipal police recruits.

“It would be … tethered very closely to the JIBC in terms of oversight and curriculum,” Wilson said in an interview with CTV News.

“It’s really in an effort for us to increase the availability of recruit seats over a temporary, short-term basis here on the Island.”

VicPD submitted its proposal on Tuesday, after the public safety ministry invited municipal departments to apply for a satellite campus pilot project.

The Surrey Police Service made a similar submission to the ministry on Wednesday.

A Victoria-based criminal justice instructor said there are complexities to consider when creating new training establishments.

“We’re dealing with standards of training that need to be kept,” said Michel Legault, who teaches at Camosun College.

Core competencies must be consistent, Legault said, so officers have the same specialized skills no matter where they work.

The province’s fledgling pilot project builds on recent efforts to expand the JIBC’s training capacity. Last week, public safety minister Nina Krieger announced funding that will enable the academy to train 288 recruits annually, up from 192.

“We know that policing is a difficult profession and that staffing shortages can impact service delivery to communities,” Krieger said.

“That’s why it’s so critical that this investment is ensuring that we have enough officers on the ground to be prepared to meet today’s challenges.”