UBCM 2008 Community Excellence Awards

Vancouver Police Department Operational Review

The Vancouver Police Department (VPD) is a municipal police department governed by the Vancouver Police Board under the authority of the British Columbia Police Act. The Department is divided into four divisions (Operations, Operations Support, Investigation, and Support Services) commanded by a Deputy Chief Constablereporting to the Chief Constable.

In 2005, it became clear that the VPDwas struggling to achieve its vision of becoming “Canada’s leader in policing – providing safety for all”. The shortcomings were caused primarily by a lack of business intelligence and resource gaps amplifiedby a growing population and increasingly complex police work.

In January 2006, the VPD and City of Vancouver (COV) staff initiated ajointOperational Review of the VPD.TheVPD Operational Review was an ambitious long-term project launched primarily to optimize the use of VPD resources, identify best law enforcement practices and industry standards, and identify and quantify the resource requirements of the VPD.

The Operational Review took more than two years to complete and encompassed four major endeavours.

  • A Civilianization Study was conducted to assess each sworn positionwith the objective of identifying opportunities for civilianization. As part of the analysis, an innovative questionnaire was developed and administered for each position in place at the VPD. The primary objective of thestudy was to assess every position (other than patrol officer positionsand clerical support positions) and determine using best practice criteria whether the position needed to be occupiedby a sworn officer or could be occupied by a specially-trained civilian. At the time it was conducted, theCivilianization Study was believed to be the most comprehensivecivilianization study ever conducted in North America. Ultimately, the Civilianization Study resulted in the conversion of 19 sworn positions into civilian positions.
  • An Overtime Reviewwas conducted to identify the main causes of overtime, overtime drivers, and overtime triggers. The analysis included a review of the literature on police overtime, a review of overtime usage reports from other police agencies, and a detailed examination of the overtime data. Ultimately, the Project Team was able to isolate the main overtime trends at the VPD, identify best practices regarding overtime management and controls, and recommend changes to enhance overtime management.
  • A Patrol Deployment Study was conducted to identify and correct inefficiencies in the VPD patrol deployment model.The goal of the VPD Patrol Deployment Study was to increase patrol performance, improve customer service, improve public safety and reduce street disorder in the City of Vancouver. The VPD Patrol Deployment Study consisted in an analysis of patrol deployment at the VPD and provided a number of key recommendations designed to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of patrol operations. Using historical patrol data, cutting-edge theoretical models, information on best practices and relevant qualitative information from the literature on policing, the VPD Patrol Deployment Study showed how many patrol resources were deployed by geographic area, time of day and day of the week, what demands for service these patrol resources were facing, and how patrol officers divide their time between calls for service and proactive policing activities. Ultimately, the VPD Patrol Deployment Study recommended a modification of the shifting and scheduling pattern of patrol officers, a reallocation of existing police resources, the implementation of innovative deployment ideas informed by best practices, and the hiring of additional patrol officers.The VPD Patrol Deployment Study is believed to be one of the most exhaustive studies of its kind and positioned the VPD at the leading edge of police research in this area because:
  • It considered many quantitative and qualitative, operational and managerial issues that are rarely considered by other patrol studies.
  • It relied on reliable empirical data that was compiled and analyzed carefully before it was used to empirically assess patrol deployment.
  • It combined proven quantitative models from the academic literature on queuing theory, operations research and statistics.
  • It incorporated valuable crime data that is rarely used by other models.
  • It built upon recognized best practices from the field of law enforcement.
  • It introduced an approach flexible enough to allow analysts to design experiments, test theories, consider “what if” scenarios and study most aspects of patrol operations.
  • It introduced an approach to study patrol deployment that is more systematic, scalable and flexible than the other commercial solutions available on the market today.
  • An Investigation and Administrative Deployment Review was conducted to document and examine the work conducted by all non-patrol units, including investigative units and administrative units. The analysis included a comprehensive review of the policing literature, face-to-face interviews with each relevant stakeholder, a review of the individual business plans prepared by each VPD organizational unit, an assessment of each unit’s mandate,and a detailed examination of the available workload data. Ultimately, the Project Team was able to document the work done by non-patrol units, link each unit’s mandate to the VPD Strategic Plan, identify potential efficiency gains, determine major equipment needs, establish fleet requirements, and identify staffing requirements. Among others, the Investigation and Administrative Deployment Review recommended a partial reorganization of existing resources, changes to the scheduling patterns of several investigative units, a detailed examination of community policing activities, and an assessment of VPD secondments.

These studies were exhaustive examinations of all operational and administrative processes within the VPD. For example, the Patrol Deployment Study, and the Investigation and Administrative Deployment Review resulted in reports containing 1,300 and 1,000 pages respectively.

From its official launch in August 2005 to its conclusion in September 2007, the Operational Review was the highest priority project underway in the Department, with important operational and financial implications. The VPD’s commitment towards the project was demonstrated early by the fact that three out of four Deputy Chief Constables were sitting on the Operational Review Steering Committee and the Operational Review Working Group was comprised of a total of at least 10 VPD members (an Inspector, the Director in charge of the VPD Financial Services Section, theOrganizational Planning Unit Sergeant, the Planning & Policy Advisor, and six highly trained civilian analysts).

Under the framework of the Operational Review, the Project Team developed numerous cutting-edge theoretical models, including many unique methods that had never been seen in the field of organizational planning. The analysis was enhanced by extensive historical patrol data, information on best practices from the field of law enforcement, and relevant qualitative information from the literature on policing.

Among others, the Operational Review allowed the VPD to:

  • Identify potential efficiency gains.
  • Consolidate its strategic planning process.
  • Improve its performance monitoring system.
  • Implement best overtime management practices.
  • Identify staffing requirements based on observed workload data, overtime use, service gaps, and established best practices.

Overall, the Operational Review contributed directly to the creation of194 new sworn positions and 95 new civilian positions.The VPD Patrol Deployment Study and the VPD Investigative and Administrative Deployment Review alone led to an increase of 96 newsworn positions and 22 new civilian positions. In addition, the performance monitoring templates, best practices, and analytical methods developed by the Project Team have generated, and will likely continue to generate, substantial efficiency gains across the entire Department.

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