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| B.C. Reg. 109/81 Regulation of Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General |
Filed March 9, 1981 |
| This archived regulation consolidation is current to August 5, 2005 and includes changes enacted and in force by that date. For the most current information, click here. |
Police Act
1 In these rules, unless the context otherwise requires,
"academy" means the Police Academy, a division of the Justice Institute of British Columbia;
"certified municipal constable" means a municipal constable who
(a) on or prior to April 1, 1977 was and has since that date been a continuous employee of a board by virtue of section 26 (3) of the Police Act,
(b) at the commencement of his employment as a municipal constable was an eligible certified municipal constable, or
(c) was appointed under section 26 of the Police Act and is certified by the director to have
(i) successfully completed the peace officers general training program, or
(ii) demonstrated by means of the challenge procedure under these rules to have skills and knowledge at least the equivalent to the minimum standards required to successfully complete the peace officers general training program;
"committee of variance" means a committee to the commission consisting of the executive officer to the commission representing the municipal forces, a representative of the British Columbia Federation of Peace Officers, a representative of the training officers' advisory committee and the director or his delegate as a non-voting consultant to advise, decide on or determine matters as the commission may direct;
"director" means the person appointed and employed by the board of the Justice Institute of British Columbia upon recommendation by the commission to administer the academy and see to it that the training needs of municipal constables are met in compliance with the standards set by the commission;
"eligible certified municipal constable" means any person, not a municipal constable, who
(a) was a certified municipal constable within the last 36 months, and
(b) was certified by the director within the last 18 months to have demonstrated, by means of the challenge process, under these rules to have skills and knowledge that is at least equivalent to the minimum standards required to successfully complete the peace officers general training program;
"eligible qualified municipal constable" means any person not a municipal constable, who
(a) was a qualified municipal constable within the last 36 months, or
(b) was certified by the director within the last 18 months to have demonstrated by means of the exemption process under these rules to have skills and knowledge that is at least equivalent to the minimum standards required to successfully complete the peace officers basic training program;
"field trainer" means a certified municipal constable who has at least 5 years of police experience and who was appointed by his chief constable and was certified by the director to have the competence to supervise students of the peace officers basic training program during their practicum period;
"peace officers basic training program" means periods of training at or under the auspices of the academy known as Blocks I, II and III, during which the students will acquire the knowledge, skills and understanding to function as peace officers in society;
"peace officers general training program" means periods of training for qualified municipal constables, at or under the auspices of the academy, known as Blocks IV and V, which is a continuation of and complementary to the peace officers basic training program;
"Police Act" means Police Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 367;
"training officer" means a certified municipal constable who has attained a supervisory rank or position and is appointed by his chief constable to administer the training obligations of the force and liaise with the academy;
"Training Officers Advisory Committee" means a committee consisting of all training officers to advise on the training programs conducted by the academy;
"qualified municipal constable" means a municipal constable who
(a) at the commencement of his employment as a municipal constable was an eligible qualified municipal constable, or
(b) was certified by the director to have
(i) successfully completed the peace officers basic training program, or
(ii) demonstrated by means of the exemption procedures under these rules to have skills and knowledge at least the equivalent to the minimum standards required to successfully complete the peace officers basic training program.
2 (1) It shall be the duty of a board to ensure that every municipal constable of the force it governs, with the exception of the chief constable or the deputy chief constable, attains the status of qualified municipal constable prior to the first anniversary of his appointment under section 26 of the Police Act, a status prerequisite to the continuation of his employment as a municipal constable at a point in time beyond that anniversary.
(2) Where a municipal constable fails to successfully complete the peace officers basic training program prior to the first anniversary of his appointment under section 26 of the Police Act, due to circumstances beyond his control or that of the board employing him or the municipal force of which he is a member, the directors may, upon application by the chief constable of the force of which he is a member, extend the one year limit to attain the qualified municipal constable status by a period not exceeding 6 months, while application for extension beyond such a period must be directed to and be considered by the commission.
(3) When the director does not allow an extension as described in subsection (2) of this section, his decision may be appealed to the commission.
3 (1) It shall be the duty of a board to ensure that every qualified municipal constable of the force it governs, with the exception of the chief constable or deputy chief constable, attains the status of certified municipal constable prior to the fourth anniversary of his appointment under section 26 of the Police Act, as a condition prerequisite to his continued employment as a municipal constable beyond that fourth anniversary.
(2) Where a qualified municipal constable fails to attain the status of certified municipal constable prior to the fourth anniversary of his appointment under section 26 of the Police Act, due to circumstances beyond his control or that of the board employing him or the municipal force of which he is a member, the commission may, upon application by the chief constable of the force of which he is a member, grant an extension to this 4 year period upon such conditions as the commission deems appropriate.
4 The peace officers basic training program shall be divided in 3 distinct periods of training, the first and third of which are the teaching at the academy of curriculum developed by the director in consultation with the training officers advisory committee with the second period being a practicum which is monitored by the director or his designate and during which the trainee works under the direct supervision of a field trainer.
5 (1) The peace officers general training program is available to qualified municipal constables only, who must have accumulated a minimum of 6 months practicum since their certification, and shall consist of 2 periods of training at the academy separated by a minimum period of 6 months of practicum.
(2) The periods of practicum prerequisite to the periods of training described in subsection (1) of this section do not apply to qualified municipal constables who attained certification by means of the exemption procedure outlined in these rules.
6 (1) The director shall, in consultation with the training officers advisory committee and the commission, determine the duration of the period of training in the peace officers basic training program and the peace officers general training program, and the educational or other prerequisites to enrolment in any other courses or programs offered at the academy.
(2) The level of competence the student must acquire in skill oriented courses and the determined learning outcome of all training at the academy shall reflect the relevant standards established by the commission.
7 (1) Notwithstanding any of the provisions or prerequisites established by these rules, a municipal constable or prospective municipal constable, with a previous police experience which may have gained him knowledge and skills at least equivalent to that of a graduate of the peace officers basic training program, may apply via a chief constable to the commission to be exempted from attending and successfully completing the aforesaid program.
(2) The application for exemption must include a description of the previous police experience, be accompanied by education and training transcripts, and a minimum of 2 references confirming the competence and expertise claimed.
(3) When the commission decides that the candidate for exemption from attending and successfully competing the peace officers basic training program is eligible for consideration, it may refer him to the director for the purpose of examinations and testing of skills.
(4) Where the referred exemption candidate has demonstrated by means of the examination and tests that he has knowledge and skills at least equivalent to a graduate of the peace officers basic training program, the director shall so certify and notify the commission and the chief constable, via whom the application for exemption was processed, of the results of the examinations and tests.
(5) The director, in consultation with the training officers advisory committee, shall make policies regarding the examination and testing of skills, the distribution of study material, periods of time for familiarization of program content, rewriting of examinations, invigilation and like matters relevant to these exemption procedures.
8 (1) Notwithstanding any of the provisions in or prerequisites established by these rules a municipal constable may apply to the commission, with the approval of his chief constable, to be excused from attending and successfully completing the peace officers general training program by demonstrating sufficient competence, knowledge and skill, provided
(a) he served within the last 36 months as a police officer in the Provincial force for a period considered to be adequate by the commission to render him eligible to be so excused from attending and successfully completing the peace officers general training program, or
(b) is a qualified municipal constable who, due to police and other relevant experience prior to his present employment, may have gained the competence, knowledge and skills which are at least equivalent to that of a graduate of the peace officers general training program.
(2) The application to challenge must include a detailed description of the previous police or like experience and be accompanied by education and training transcripts and a minimum of 2 references confirming the claimed competence and expertise.
(3) The commission may refer an application to challenge to the committee of variance for it to determine if the applicant is eligible to challenge, considering his experience, education and training.
(4) The committee of variance, to make its determination, may request the candidate to appear before them for the purpose of an interview and/or make whatever inquiries it deems necessary and refer a candidate it considers eligible to the director for the purpose of testing.
(5) A challenge candidate referred to the director in compliance with subsection (4) of this section who has demonstrated by means of the challenge tests that his knowledge and skills are at least equivalent to that of a graduate of the peace officers general training program shall be so certified by the director.
(6) The commission may, upon recommendation by the director based on the results of the challenge examinations and tests, excuse the candidate from attending and successfully completing the peace officers general training program or where the candidate has failed to demonstrate the required equivalence may direct, as a prerequisite to certification by the director that he has the skills and knowledge equivalent to a graduate of the peace officers general training program, that he successfully completes remedial educational or training tasks.
9 (1) The chief constable of each municipal force shall appoint a training officer.
(2) The training officers' advisory committee shall be called and presided over by the director or his designate and shall meet not less than 4 times in each calendar year.
(3) The resolves of the training officers' advisory committee must be considered advice to the commission and the director and receive serious consideration in matters relevant to curriculum and policy and the academy.
10 It shall be the duty of the board to ensure that municipal constables of the force it governs are registered with the commission by submitting, within 30 days of his commencement of employment, and keeping current the following information:
(a) full name and date of birth;
(b) the date of his appointment;
(c) termination of employment;
(d) successfully completed training or educational courses which are prerequisite to a status or rank.
11 (1) Students attending the peace officers basic training program or the peace officers general training program
(a) shall be dressed and meet a level of hygiene and deportment in compliance with the standards set by the director, and
(b) shall be groomed in accordance with the standards established by his employer or the collective agreement as defined in the Labour Relations Code of British Columbia, which applies to the force of which he is a member.
(2) Students attending courses or training programs other than the peace officers basic training program or the peace officers general training program shall be dressed in compliance with the standards established by his employer or the collective agreement as defined in the Labour Relations Code of British Columbia which applies to the force of which he is a member.
12 The director may, in consultation with the training officer of the force of which the student is a member, terminate a student's participation in a course or program where that student
(a) fails or refuses to meet the standards prerequisite to the successful completion of that course or program,
(b) refuses to comply with the standards of dress or grooming applicable to him,
(c) refuses to comply with joining instructions or the rules and/or policies of the Justice Institute of British Columbia or the Academy, or
(d) deliberately, unduly and adversely disrupts delivery of course or program content.
13 (1) A student whose training was terminated by the director under section 23 of these rules may appeal this decision to the commission within 30 days from the date of the termination of training by submitting via his chief constable a statement of grievance.
(2) The commission may uphold or conditionally or unconditionally reverse the director's decision to terminate the appellant's training.
(3) The commission may refer a statement of grievance in relation to a termination of training to the committee of variance for an inquiry into the justification for the action by the director and for a recommendation regarding the disposition of the appeal.
14 The director may issue regulatory orders and set policy in relation to deportment and hygiene on the part of the students and instructors and the maintenance of an efficient and orderly delivery of the training programs or courses and matters ancillary thereto.
Note: A reference in this regulation to legislation, another document or an entity refers to that legislation, document or entity prior to July 1, 1998 when the Act was amended by S.B.C. 1997-37-36.
[Provisions of the Police Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 367, relevant to the enactment of this regulation: section 74 (2 ) (u)]
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