{
  "id": "police-officers-vs-authorized",
  "category": "Safety",
  "title": "Police officers compared with authorized strength, Victoria police service",
  "geography": "Victoria municipal police service area (City of Victoria and Township of Esquimalt)",
  "scope": "city",
  "levels": [
    "Police board and municipal councils (budget)",
    "Police services (municipal)"
  ],
  "plain_question": "How many police officers were working, compared with the number of positions the budget allows?",
  "value": 253.0,
  "display_value": "253",
  "unit": "officers (of 260 authorized)",
  "period": "2025 (yearly snapshot)",
  "period_start": "2025-01-01",
  "period_end": "2025-12-31",
  "comparison": {
    "previous_period": "2023",
    "previous_value": 251.0,
    "change_percent": 0.8
  },
  "since_text": "Gap of 7 positions in 2025 (was 4 in 2023). 207.1 officers per 100,000 residents",
  "trend": "worsening",
  "trend_basis": "253 officers against 260 authorized positions in 2025, a gap of 7. In 2023: 251 of 255 (gap 4). The status compares the gap, not the number of officers. Officers per 100,000 residents: 207.1 in 2025, 245.6 in 2011. Population served: 122,158.",
  "direction_good": "down",
  "right_direction": "This page judges only the gap between authorized positions and officers actually working: a smaller gap counts as better. It takes no position on how many officers there should be.",
  "caveats": [
    "Officers and authorized strength are a yearly snapshot reported by the police service to Statistics Canada. Officers on leave may still be counted.",
    "Authorized strength is set through the police budget, approved by the police board and the two municipal councils (with a provincial process for disputes).",
    "The service polices both the City of Victoria and the Township of Esquimalt.",
    "Statistics Canada has not published values for 2020, 2024, so those years are missing from the chart."
  ],
  "charts": [
    {
      "title": "Police officers and authorized positions",
      "fmt": "int",
      "unit": "officers",
      "lines": [
        {
          "name": "Authorized positions",
          "area": "vicpd",
          "series": [
            {
              "period": "2011",
              "value": 243.0
            },
            {
              "period": "2012",
              "value": 243.0
            },
            {
              "period": "2013",
              "value": 243.0
            },
            {
              "period": "2014",
              "value": 243.0
            },
            {
              "period": "2015",
              "value": 243.0
            },
            {
              "period": "2016",
              "value": 243.0
            },
            {
              "period": "2017",
              "value": 245.0
            },
            {
              "period": "2018",
              "value": 245.0
            },
            {
              "period": "2019",
              "value": 249.0
            },
            {
              "period": "2021",
              "value": 249.0
            },
            {
              "period": "2022",
              "value": 249.0
            },
            {
              "period": "2023",
              "value": 255.0
            },
            {
              "period": "2025",
              "value": 260.0
            }
          ]
        },
        {
          "name": "Officers working",
          "area": "vicpd",
          "series": [
            {
              "period": "2011",
              "value": 243.0
            },
            {
              "period": "2012",
              "value": 243.0
            },
            {
              "period": "2013",
              "value": 243.0
            },
            {
              "period": "2014",
              "value": 243.0
            },
            {
              "period": "2015",
              "value": 243.0
            },
            {
              "period": "2016",
              "value": 243.0
            },
            {
              "period": "2017",
              "value": 244.0
            },
            {
              "period": "2018",
              "value": 239.0
            },
            {
              "period": "2019",
              "value": 238.0
            },
            {
              "period": "2021",
              "value": 227.0
            },
            {
              "period": "2022",
              "value": 234.0
            },
            {
              "period": "2023",
              "value": 251.0
            },
            {
              "period": "2025",
              "value": 253.0
            }
          ]
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "series": [
    {
      "period": "2011",
      "value": 243.0
    },
    {
      "period": "2012",
      "value": 243.0
    },
    {
      "period": "2013",
      "value": 243.0
    },
    {
      "period": "2014",
      "value": 243.0
    },
    {
      "period": "2015",
      "value": 243.0
    },
    {
      "period": "2016",
      "value": 243.0
    },
    {
      "period": "2017",
      "value": 244.0
    },
    {
      "period": "2018",
      "value": 239.0
    },
    {
      "period": "2019",
      "value": 238.0
    },
    {
      "period": "2021",
      "value": 227.0
    },
    {
      "period": "2022",
      "value": 234.0
    },
    {
      "period": "2023",
      "value": 251.0
    },
    {
      "period": "2025",
      "value": 253.0
    }
  ],
  "refresh_frequency": "Annually",
  "data_published": "2026-08-05",
  "source": {
    "name": "Statistics Canada, Police Administration Survey (municipal police services)",
    "url": "https://www.statcan.gc.ca/en/survey/business/3301",
    "dataset_url": "https://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/b07aa12f-4008-4a99-ad13-d981fa939ab5",
    "table_url": "https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=3510007701",
    "table": "35-10-0077-01"
  },
  "licence": {
    "name": "Open Government Licence - Canada",
    "url": "https://open.canada.ca/en/open-government-licence-canada"
  },
  "attribution": "Adapted from Statistics Canada, table 35-10-0077-01. This does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada of this product.",
  "retrieved_at": "2026-11-11T08:10:41Z",
  "licence_type": "open"
}