VicPD parties at Government House for $22,000
This summer, VicPD used its bottomless budget to throw a party for their outgoing and incoming chiefs, which they called…
VicPD COVID-19 vaccination rates
VicPD sent back its COVID vaccination stats after an FOI. It looks like employees, reserves, volunteers, contractors and students had…
VicPD gave someone access to the entire police database
Last year, the Executive Director of Restorative Justice Victoria said they’d had access to PRIME — B.C.’s police database —…
VicPD salaries, 2021
By law, VicPD’s 2023 draft budget was delivered to councils by last week. In light of the upcoming financial chat,…
Police lose track of their guns
Via FOI, a combined six guns were lost by or stolen from VicPD and Saanich PD between 2012 and early…
Police improperly access police database, but don’t audit its use
Thinking of ways to see how VicPD monitors critics, last year I FOI’d records about myself. I learned a VicPD…
$32,000 travel budget for VicPD Chief in 2022
I received FOI records back with details on some 2023 VicPD budget items Victoria council briefly discussed, but voted against…
VicPD salaries, 2022
Victoria councillors have been talking this week about wherever-can-they-possibly-cut in next year’s budget. VicPD wants $74.1 million. Via FOI, here’s…
VicPD’s media policy
Some excerpts from VicPD’s Media/Public Affairs policy. For example: Under 5.2.1, they can “generally” provide “a general description of the…
A “suspicious incident”
Back in December, VicPD asked people to share a photo of someone they alleged was a “suspect from a suspicious…
Police retirements while under investigation
Given the reports on VicPD’s Robb Ferris, “believed to be involved in 19 instances of misconduct,” and the investigation of…
Dangerous driving by VicPD
In addition to VicPD intentionally hitting people with cars, FOI records also turned up other examples of dangerous driving. First…
VicPD doesn’t reach out to schools about alleged concerns
In late February and early March, VicPD made statements about gangs at schools and a related arrest from January, which…
Paid police suspensions and legal settlements
Via FOI, between 2018-23, VicPD suspended 6 officers with pay for a total of 7,118 hours, and 7 without pay…
VicPD continues to work with CBSA to deport people
FOI records suggest VicPD engaged with the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) 61% more in 2023 than in 2019, as…
“They could have killed the man”: Police cars as weapons
In 2017, after a VicPD officer saw a cyclist without a helmet, they “drove recklessly” after them. The officer cut…
Island Health plans new, “healthier” hostile design
Outside Island Health’s doors at 1250 Quadra Street, rocks are cemented in place. A “Private Property” sign, which threatens arrest…
FOI data shows extent of VicPD “use of force”
The B.C. government collects “use of force” data from police departments and publishes some of that data online. That data,…
Mapping Victoria’s fake public space
This post is about spaces and agreements that may exclude people from privately-owned ‘public’ property. All of the land in question…
VicPD’s street checks are racist, because of course they are
Update: A December 2019 follow-up post with a decade of street check data from all of B.C.’s municipal police departments…
Hostile bench seeks loving and supportive wrench
One of the first posts I wrote for this site was about the city’s hostile benches, where “arm rests” are…
136 people are peeing in Victoria right now
Building on some Internet math, Statistics Canada data, and an average pee time of 21 seconds and 6.5 pees per…
Bike rack benches and fancy granite
Two years ago this month I wrote about some new un-sleepable benches that were coming to Victoria at Douglas and…
A potpourri of displacement
In 2016, an officer with VicPD’s Community Services Division responded to “concerns with trespassing, open drug/alcohol use and drug paraphernalia/needles/feces…
