Whereas changes to the Justice Institute of BCs JIBC Police Academy funding model have included the Province limiting its contribution to approximately two million dollars per year, with remaining costs transferred to UBCM members with municipal police departments; And whereas the demand for new police officers continues to increase, as does the population of British Columbia, creating additional demand on the JIBC Police Academy with resulting impacts on all municipal police departments in BC: Therefore be it resolved that the Province of BC increase its annual contribution to the JIBC Police Academy to help build additional capacity and offset training costs for communities with municipal police departments.
Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General Government has carefully considered the request and will look to assess future funding models for municipal policing costs in the context of police training and public safety modernization. The Province commits to maintaining the existing funding contribution and we appreciate the Justice Institute of BCs continued commitment to work collaboratively with the Province and police stakeholders to provide quality and defensible training for independent police officers in British Columbia. The Province has recently engaged several partners including the Justice Institute of BC, senior police leaders from the BC Association of Municipal Chiefs of Police, and the Ministry of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills in discussions about additional capacity for recruit training at the Police Academy. The ministries and stakeholders are aware of the necessity of meeting the demand for new police officers in the short and long term and consideration will be given to training models that balance the demand and the existing financial arrangements.