The Job | Recruitment Standards | Recruiting Process | Information Sessions | Selection Process | Training | Recruitment FAQs

Recruiting Process

The Vancouver Police Department's recruiting process consists of the following steps:

1. ensure you meet the VPD's recruitment standards
2. attend an Information Session (local applicants) / submit your detailed resume and supporting documents (applicants outside Greater Vancouver)
3. submit your application
4. be invited to go through the VPD's multi-stage selection process

Once you successfully complete all stages of the selection process and are approved for hire, you will be sworn in as a police recruit, at which point salary and benefits will begin. You will then undergo our Police Academy training program.

Graduates from the Police Academy will on average spend their first five to seven years of service in the Patrol Division, including an 18 month probationary period.

See additional information for specific situations:

• Applicants Living in the Greater Vancouver Area
• Canadian Applicants Living Outside Greater Vancouver
• International Applicants
• Experienced Police / Peace Officers

Applicants Living in the Greater Vancouver Area

Applicants living in Vancouver and surrounding B.C. municipalities can only obtain an application form by attending an Information Session, usually held at the Justice Institute of B.C. in New Westminster. At the Information Session, you will learn about the selection process, be provided with an application form, and have your questions answered by VPD recruiting officers.

Canadian Applicants Living Outside Greater Vancouver

If you are not from the Greater Vancouver area, send in your detailed resume and the following documents:

• photocopies of your educational transcripts – high school and post secondary
• photocopy of your birth certificate or proof of Canadian citizenship
• photocopy of your current driver's license
• photocopy of your social insurance number

Once your information has been reviewed, providing you meet all of our requirements, an application form will be sent to you.

Please send your documents by mail to:

Recruiting Unit
Vancouver Police Department
2120 Cambie Street
Vancouver, BC
V5Z 4N6
Canada

Questions? Please call the Recruiting Unit at (604) 717-2706 or 604-717-2709.

International Applicants

Application forms for the Vancouver Police Department are available for Canadian citizens or permanent residents. Currently serving police officers that are British Subjects are not exempt from the Canadian Immigration process.

Once you have relocated to Vancouver, we invite you to attend an Information Session, where we will provide material on the selection process and duties of a Vancouver Police constable. Application forms will be distributed at each session and our recruiting officers will be available to answer any questions you may have.

An important part of the recruiting selection process is the background investigation of an applicant. At this stage, an investigator conducts numerous interviews with references to determine if a candidate's personal history, traits and characteristics are suitable for a career in policing. People who are typically contacted for these interviews are past and present employers and colleagues, long-time friends, neighbours and landlords.

It is essential that the investigator is able to access and accurately document a candidate's adult history. This stage of the process is usually more difficult if you have lived most of your adult years outside Canada. However, we are prepared to invest the necessary resources if you are a strong applicant and the relevant background information is obtainable.

Experienced Police / Peace Officers

Applicants currently serving with another Canadian police force may apply as exemption candidates. Candidates who successfully complete all stages of the exemption process do not have to attend Justice Institute of B.C. (JIBC) Police Academy training.

You may be eligible as an exempt candidate if you:

• are a currently serving member of a Canadian Police force, or have been a member during the preceding 36 months AND
• have had a minimum of one year service with a Canadian Police force after successfully graduating from their police training

An exemption candidate's application must include:

• a description of previous police experience, education and training, supported by certificates, transcripts, or other documentation
• a copy of your latest performance appraisal, completed by an N.C.O.
• two letters of reference from N.C.O.s in your department

See our Selection Process for applicants who are considered exemption candidates.

The B.C. Provincial Exemption Exam covers the following subjects:

• legal studies
• investigation and patrol
• human relations
• traffic
• firearms

Candidates must achieve a mark of 70% in each subject. The department will loan a Recruit Training Manual to the candidate for the purpose of studying for the written Provincial Exemption Exam. All material in the manual is considered important and many of the sections and definitions must be known verbatim. The candidate must have the study material for a minimum of six weeks before the exemption exam is written at the JIBC.

Regular members of a B.C. Municipal Police Force who were trained at the JIBC are not required to write this exam.