New spaces created to train more police officers, enhancing public safety

NEW WESTMINSTER – More police officers will be trained at the Justice Institute of British Columbia’s (JIBC) police academy with a 50% expansion of seats, supporting local police recruitment and building safe communities.

“By expanding the police academy to 96 seats per class, we are ensuring more police recruits are well trained and prepared to protect communities from crime and violence,” said Nina Krieger, Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General. “By growing the academy’s capacity, our government is taking action to ensure that local police departments have the resources they need to keep families and businesses safe in our province.”

Through new funding announced in Budget 2025, $4 million is provided to support expansion of the JIBC police academy’s annual training capacity from 192 to 288 officers. This investment will fund the hiring of additional instructors, the purchase of new training equipment and the creation of dedicated spaces to accommodate the increased number of police recruits.

“This investment underscores the Province’s commitment to public safety and its confidence in JIBC’s role in supporting the growing needs of police departments across the province,” said Len Goerke, president and CEO, JIBC. “As B.C.’s public safety educator, we are committed to expanding our police academy programming to meet B.C.’s growing need for police recruits and equipping the next generation of police officers with the skills, knowledge and integrity to help build safer, stronger communities.”

The JIBC police academy provides provincially approved basic training to all new municipal, transit and tribal police recruits in B.C. The program happens in three blocks and typically lasts 25 weeks. It includes both classroom and physical field training, ranging from firearms and controls to emergency-vehicle operations, Indigenous cultural safety and legal and investigative skills. The academy also offers advanced training for police officers serving in municipal departments, the RCMP and other law-enforcement agencies operating in the province.

The announcement of increasing police-training capacity is part of the B.C. government’s broader public safety plan that includes investments in the root causes of crime, including increased mental-health and addiction services and supportive housing.

Budget 2025 invests $235 million in new funding over the next three years to improve community safety through various public safety and justice programs. This investment will increase access to the justice system through virtual bail and increased capacity and security at courthouses. It will also make sure people have the support and access to the treatment they need and provide police with more tools to target robbery, shoplifting, theft and property-related offences.

Two backgrounders follow.

Contact:

Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General
Media Relations
778 405-4863

BACKGROUNDER 1

David Fleugel, chief constable, Port Moody Police Department –

“Municipal chiefs of police and police agencies are appreciative of the investment by the Province of British Columbia in training new officers at the B.C. police academy embedded in the Justice Institute of British Columbia. It was clear with regional population growth and the ongoing heavy demands placed on police, we needed more capacity to train a greater number of new police officers. We know that an increase in the number of training seats will translate into increased public safety.”

Jennifer Whiteside, MLA for New Westminster-Coquitlam –

“Our government is committed to building safer communities, and that starts with ensuring that police departments have the resources they need to do the job effectively. Expanding the police academy is a vital step toward strengthening public safety throughout our province and ensures that officers are well prepared to meet the changing needs of the communities they serve.”

Jessie Sunner, Minister of Post Secondary Education and Future Skills –

“Post-secondary education and training works best when they are responsive to the needs of people in B.C. The B.C. Labour Market Outlook forecasts 4,660 job openings for police officers over the next 10 years. This government is committed to meeting the needs of the people of this province, and by expanding police training at the Justice Institute of B.C., we’re meeting the moment, preparing skilled officers who will keep our communities safe today and into the future.”

Micayla Hayes, president, BC Association of Police Boards –

“BC Association of Police Boards welcomes the Province’s decision to support increased funding and additional seats for the JIBC. Boards across the province recognize that the cost, capacity and curriculum of the JIBC directly impact public safety and that we need an abundance of well-trained and resilient police officers to keep our communities safe and our policing model effective and sustainable. We hope this signals the start of an ongoing commitment to meaningful and sustained support.”

Paul Choi, MLA for Burnaby South-Metrotown –

“As a proud graduate of the police academy at the Justice Institute of BC myself, I know first-hand the vital role this institution plays in shaping the men and women who keep our communities safe. Expanding training capacity means more well-prepared officers on the front lines, ready to serve with professionalism and integrity. This investment is not just in the academy, it’s an investment in the safety and well-being of people across British Columbia.”

Tom Wolff von Gudenberg, president, BC Association of Municipal Police Chiefs –

“The BC Association of Municipal Chiefs of Police welcomes this investment as a meaningful step forward. It reflects our shared commitment to building well-trained, professional municipal police services and marks the beginning of the work required to address the resourcing challenges facing agencies across British Columbia. Sustained and strategic investment in recruitment and training will be essential to ensuring that police services have the capacity and tools they need to meet the growing demands of public safety.”

Contact:

Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General
Media Relations
778 405-4863

BACKGROUNDER 2

What to know about the seat expansion

• The JIBC police academy expansion took effect in September 2025.
• Before the expansion, the maximum class size of the police academy was limited to 64 recruits with three classes offered per year.
• The increased capacity allows for 96 recruits to be trained in each of the three classes.
• The B.C. Labour Market Outlook is forecasting 4,660 job openings for police officers over the next 10 years.
• The Province provided $230 million to support the provincial police service to hire 256 police officers over three years.
• A total of 231 of the 256 positions have been staffed and deployed to date, with the remaining positions to be hired by spring 2026.
• The Province continues work to support people with concurrent mental-health and addiction challenges, including secure and dignified care for people under the Mental Health Act.
  • This includes 10 new beds located within Surrey Pretrial Services Centre to offer secure care for individuals in custody throughout the province and 18 new beds to support secure long-term care for people in the community using free-standing space previously allocated to Alouette Correctional Centre for Women.

Contact:

Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General
Media Relations
778 405-4863

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