ARPOA-BC promotes the restoration of a properly trained, volunteer, operational Auxiliary Police program as was in place between 1963 – 1998 in British Columbia.

In 1998 the NDP government dismantled and deconstructed the Auxiliary Police by stripping them of their designation as 'police officers', redefining their role and mandate, and disarming them.  Currently Auxiliary Constables perform community relations duties for police and may 'ride-a-long' as observers in police cars.  However they may not serve as cover officers for police.

Serving as cover officers used to be their primary purpose.

Until 1998 BC’s Auxiliary Police were highly trained, para-professional volunteers who performed complementary community policing duties in concert with regular police. RCMP documents note that the role of the Auxiliary Constable, “is clear in that an auxiliary constable was intended to assist a regular member in that member’ performance of their assigned duties.”

Auxiliary Constables assisted police by working patrol duties with regular police under the direct supervision of a regular officer. This supervision requirement was necessary because Auxiliary Constables (just like regular police recruits) do not received complete police training and are, therefore, not authorized to assume primary responsibility for any investigative or enforcement action.

For all other duties, Auxiliary Constables worked under general supervision.  At all times, for all duties, Auxiliary Constables perform their duties armed… just as regular police recruits would.

Auxiliary Constables (and regular police recruits) were not directly supervised because they are armed… they are directly supervised because they are not authorized to take primary responsibility for any investigative or enforcement actions. If an Auxiliary Constable is assigned a duty wherein they would be expected to assume responsibility for investigative or enforcement actions, they must be directly supervised.

Training for Auxiliary Constables reflected this ‘para-professional’ status.

Regular RCMP members are trained to be primary contact officers in any dealings with the general public. They are prepared with 6 months of full time training at the RCMP academy in Regina followed by 6 months of field training with another RCMP member at the detachment level. Once training is completed the regular RCMP member operates alone in his patrol function.

Auxiliary Constables were trained to act as ‘cover officers’ with training commiserate for this role.  A 6 month, part time program covered the necessary criminal code law, federal and provincial statutes, collection of evidence as first unit on the scene, crisis intervention techniques, how to testify in court, self defence techniques, arrest techniques, first aid training, officer safety, and much, much more. When it came to firearms, Auxiliary Constables received the exact same firearms and ‘use of force’ training as any municipal recruit when that recruit is initially placed on patrol.

It must be stressed that this level of training addressed all safety and liability concerns, ensured the safety of the regular police and the protected the judicial integrity of any and all police work Auxiliary Constables are involved in.

Until 1998, this Program provided British Columbia with up to 1,500 para-professional Auxiliary Police Officers sworn under the BC Police Act. They contributed in excess of 300,000 hours of volunteer police work annually.

Properly trained and armed volunteer Auxiliary Police cost the government of BC $350,000 per year and contributed over $16 million annually in additional policing to our communities.

The armed Volunteer Auxiliary Police Program was THE most cost-effective government public safety initiative - returning the highest yield for tax dollars invested - ever launched by a British Columbia government.

Under a restored Auxiliary Police Program, Auxiliary Constables would return to receiving training equivalent to that of a recruit police officer up to the point recruits are deployed in an operational setting.  They would once again receive the same ‘use of force’ and firearms training as regular members and pass the same standards to permit them to carry firearms and utilize force in the course of their duties.

ARPOA-BC believes the level of training provided to Auxiliary Constables is the key to addressing the job security concerns of full time police officers.

By providing Auxiliary Constables with training equivalent to that received by police recruits up to the point of deployment in an operational setting, regular police jobs are not threatened.  This is because Auxiliary Constables cannot assume primary responsibility for investigative or enforcement actions. Therefore they cannot infringe on the security of full time police officers.

In addition, because they receive training equivalent to that recruit members receive when they are deployed operationally… public and regular officer safety is not jeopardized.

In this manner,