BC blues: an examination of municipal police misconduct in British Columbia

This paper examines police misconduct in British Columbia focusing on municipal police officers who are subject to the BC Police Act. Police deviance and misconduct is explored through academic literature and several models are discussed that could provide a framework for police agencies to develop programs to reduce police deviance within their agency. The discipline process, as mandated by the Police Act, is explained so that these models may be integrated within the existing legislation. Substantiated misconduct summary data from 2011 to 2017 was examined using a series of variables to determine if behavioural trends could be identified. The trends that were identified were reviewed in totality and specific to on and off-duty conduct. Based on these trends, police agencies could isolate areas to focus future program development to prevent, reduce, and mitigate police deviance. The paper concludes with recommendations for future training program efforts and suggestions for further research.Matthew Harty received the 2019 Governor General’s Gold Medal which is presented to the graduate who achieves the highest standing at the graduate degree level