CBC News has learned that a single Vancouver police sergeant was paid $239,258 in overtime alone last year, more than doubling the rank’s top possible pay of about $158,000.
The figure comes from a freedom of information request filed with the Vancouver Police Department (VPD), which shows a three-year trend of an increase in officers making double or more of their regular salary by working extra hours, all while the force goes millions of dollars over budget.
“That is a bit eyebrow raising and I think it deserves a few answers,” said Green Party Coun. Pete Fry.
VPD spokesperson Sgt. Steve Addison said the case of the top overtime earner was an exception. Addison said he could not comment on what duties the officer carried out on overtime — double an officer’s hourly wage in most cases — because the data was anonymous and he said he didn’t know their identity.
He said any combination of backfilling patrol vacancies, protest policing, special event duties or investigations could be driving an officer’s overtime.
“We’re grateful to those who are willing to come out to serve the city, take time away from their families to keep people safe,” Addison said.
In addition to that sergeant — whose job title, department and name were not provided — seven constables were paid more than $140,000 in overtime, doubling their top salary, in 2024.
In those same 12 months, 47 VPD officers were paid $100,000 or more in overtime, more than quadruple the 11 making that much in 2022.
The VPD is expecting to go over budget for a second year in a row with overtime cited as driving overages both years.
“It just calls to question a whole bunch of things … Who’s overseeing that?” said Faye Wightman, a former member of the Vancouver Police Board who resigned in 2024.
“Do you need the number of sworn officers directing traffic that you’ve got? Do you need to have the number of officers at the protest?” asked Wightman. “Does [the amount of overtime worked] make us a safer community?”
Total overtime spending in 2024 was $39 million, an increase of 50 per cent from 2022’s $26 million.
“These numbers are unsustainable. They’re massive jumps,” said Josh Martin, a criminologist at Kwantlen University who has also consulted with several departments on staffing and operations issues.
“Whenever I go to an organization and they have a lot of members coming in on overtime, it worries me for them. Are you burning your members out? Are there health and wellness issues? Are they even aware of it?”
But Addison said there are no concerns at the department about overtime. He said most extra shifts are based on an officer’s personal preferences, the force is mindful about preventing burnout and there are effective regulations in place.
He also highlighted the city’s recent reporting that violent crime at a 23-year low.
“Officers need to be supported and compensated for the dangerous work that they do,” Addison said.
The release of these numbers comes at a challenging time for Vancouver’s public purse, with Mayor Ken Sim seeking to freeze property taxes in the final budget of his term.
“I have no idea where this money comes from, other than cutting other programs,” said Fry, who has told CBC News he’s considering a run for mayor in 2026.
Protests, vacancies, Task Force Barrage and Lapu-Lapu Day
Vancouver city council approved a net budget of $423 million for the VPD in 2025 — their second-largest spend, after utilities — but the force expects to go about $8 million over that figure. In 2024, the force similarly advised of a $6.5-million overage for the year.
In 2024, VPD brass pointed to overtime needed to police protests related to the Israel-Hamas war, the city-led removal of a tent encampment from Hastings Street and backfilling vacancies “due to various leaves.”
In 2025, according to a recent variance report, the Lapu-Lapu Day tragedy and Task Force Barrage — $5 million in targeted enforcement on the Downtown Eastside funded by overtime pay — along with protests and the need to “maintain service levels and ensure the safety of the public and officers” led to higher spending.
Addison said the 100 extra officers on duty now — a prominent pitch in Sim’s successful election campaign — are helping VPD respond to emergencies, but “extraordinary events” like the Lapu-Lapu Day tragedy, protests, the Celebration of Light fireworks and the Taylor Swift concerts “by and large” result in extra overtime.
VPD annual reports note police managed 1,018 protests in 2023, up 26 per cent from the year before. In 2024, the force counted 937 protests managed by officers.
‘Countless’ OT opportunities
The VPD’s recruiting materials promise “countless opportunities to work overtime, including for the many events that happen in the city throughout the year.”
The types of overtime are spelled out in the force’s Regulation and Procedure Manual:
- “Extended tours of duty” when an officer is required to remain on shift after quitting time.
- “Call-outs” when an officer is called in to cover minimum staffing levels, investigate a crime or staff an unplanned event or demonstration.
- “Standby” overtime when officers remain available during time off.
- “Investigative phone calls” when taken off-duty are also overtime. A “simple request or question,” the manual reads, allows an officer to claim 90 minutes of overtime.
- “Planned overtime” includes special events for which police are on hand, like fireworks, movie shoots or live sports.
Planned overtime can be recovered through contracts with event organizers. In 2024, almost $12 million was repaid.
Addison argued police with special training and experience with crowds are needed to work extra hours to keep protests and events safe and non-police staff are deployed where possible.
‘Policing is expensive’
VPD’s annual reports show the rate of both crime and calls for service, rose in 2023 from 2022, but declined in 2024.
“I mean, it’s obvious,” Addison said. “We deploy more police officers on the street; we’re going to drive crime down.”
But Fry asked if Sim’s tenure as mayor since late 2022, and police board chair until mid-2024, led to “a more permissive attitude towards overtime.”
“It’s not like we didn’t have a lot of pressures during the previous term, especially with COVID and various protests that we were dealing with at that time,” he said.
Sim’s office, in a statement, pointed to Vancouver’s status as a “regional hub” creating extra police costs.
“The city has not received any additional funding from the province to put towards public safety costs, while Surrey recently received $250 million,” it read.
“Council’s job is to ensure emergency services have the resources they need. That’s why the ABC majority on council voted to fully fund both Vancouver Police Department and Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services for the first time in decades.”
Vancouver is not alone in seeing police overtime grow. Police in Calgary, Toronto and Montreal are experiencing a similar trend.
Murphy agrees it’s a Canada-wide issue. And within B.C., he points to new collective agreements — such as the one in Delta — raising pay expectations for other forces, as well as the Surrey Police Service’s arrival.
That force has poached officers from across the province, he said, leading to vacancies that must be staffed.
He suggested one consideration could be a region-wide police service to share costs more equitably. The Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General, which would review and consider such a proposal, said it has not received one from Metro Vancouver cities.
Murphy suspects there aren’t enough officers in Vancouver.
“Policing is expensive,” he said. “And I err on the side of, you know, you pay for what you get, right?”
The chair of the Vancouver Police Board declined CBC News’ interview request for this story, but a board staffer said in an email that the board is “finalizing” an audit into overtime.
