Victoria, BC – In response to public and media requests, the Victoria Police Department is releasing a summary of costs that the department has incurred relating to public rallies, marches, demonstrations and protests since 2019.
VicPD ensures public safety at many public rallies, marches, demonstrations and protests each year and our approach is determined by past events, organizers’ intentions, and the actions of participants. In an effort to ensure that participants and others are kept safe at these events, officers monitor the events from a public safety perspective, interact with organizers through our community liaison officers, provide traffic control on roads, bridges and intersections and escort participants during events on public roadways to ensure the safety of all involved.
Whenever possible, on-duty resources are used to provide public safety. However, if the size and complexity of an event requires it, additional officers will be deployed on overtime to ensure public safety.
Below is a list of the number of public rallies, marches, demonstrations and protests in VicPD’s jurisdiction as well as associated overtime costs for 2019 and 2020 (up to and including March 5th, which reflects the most current data available). For events that span a number of days, each day is counted as an event.
| 2019 | 2020 (until March 5th) | |
| Number of public rallies, marches, demonstrations and protests | 40 | 34 |
| VicPD overtime costs | $82,765 | $183,037 |
These costs are not exhaustive as they only reflect VicPD overtime costs. They do not account for the costs associated with officers and staff whose daily work included public order-related tasks. They also do not account for overtime costs related to any of our partner agencies who assist VicPD through the Integrated Public Safety Unit.
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