BC's Top Employers (2026) Magazine - Magazine - Page 76
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BC’S TOP EMPLOYERS (2026)
No two days are the same with the Vancouver Police
G
rowing up in
Vancouver, Megan
Lui, constable, had
never considered
going into law
enforcement as a career. Nobody
in her family had been a police
officer. The closest she got to
policing was participating in the
Vancouver Police Department
(VPD) Student Challenge in high
school.
But after going through postsecondary school and working at
an office job for a few years, she
was bored. She thought back to
the high school challenge and
decided to attend a recruiting
information session with the VPD.
The next thing Lui knew, she was
accepted into the department’s
police academy, sworn into the
force and underwent nine months
of paid, full-time training there
and at the Justice Institute of
British Columbia (JIBC).
What I thought working
for the VPD would
be like is completely
different than what it
actually is like.
— Megan Lui
Constable, Media Relations Officer
She’s not bored any more.
“No two days are the same,”
says Lui, now a media relations
officer in the public affairs unit.
She also loves the sense of being
part of and accountable to a tight
group of colleagues. “Not many
jobs offer that team dynamic.”
The Vancouver Police Department has units specializing in surveillance, tactical teams, a marine unit, a
mounted unit, and a canine unit.
“You’ll never get bored with
your job here,” echoes Andrew
Chan, deputy chief constable,
who heads the VPD’s support
services division. Even if your
current position begins to lose
its thrill, he says, the department
is large enough to offer “so
many other ones that you can
switch into to try something new
every three or four years if you
want to.”
There are VPD units
specializing in surveillance, as
well as tactical teams, a marine
unit, a mounted unit, and a canine
unit. Members can specialize in
forensics or major crimes or end
up working concerts or sporting
events. Being a major city police
force, any of the VPD’s more than
1,500 sworn police officers and
600 civilian staff may get seconded
into provincial or federal
integrated units.
And if any of those employees
need further training for their
next assignment, it won’t cost
them a dime in tuition or lost
earnings. “Anything that has a
nexus to the job function of the
individual, either the sworn
officer or the civilian professional,
is covered by the VPD,” Chan says.
Under a new collective
agreement reached with the
Vancouver Police Union, officers
are among the best-paid in the
country, with a comprehensive
benefits package, Chan adds.
The latter includes robust mental
health services, peer support
and critical incident stress
management. The VPD is also
working to allow more flexible
