New Metro Vancouver Transit Police community safety officers begin training soon
Metro Vancouver Transit Police’s new Community Safety Officer Program is about to start training its first group of recruits and there’s still time to apply.
Safety on public transportation has become a huge concern for Metro Vancouverites after a number of high-profile incidents in recent weeks, including a stranger attack where a man’s throat was slashed and the fatal stabbing of a teenager on a bus.
It’s in this climate that Metro Vancouver Transit Police will onboard new community safety officers set to begin training later this spring.
The first batch of Community Safety Officers start training later this spring. We still have a few spots left in the class. Could this be the career launch you've been looking for?
✅ $31.99/hour to start
✅ Full benefits
✅ pension
Learn more: https://t.co/xw5fUKoH5f— Metro Vancouver Transit Police (@TransitPolice) April 18, 2023
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Community safety officers (CSOs) will work alongside transit police officers as designated peace officers. Instead of guns, officers will carry batons, pepper spray, and handcuffs.
Here’s a look at what CSOs do on the job, according to Metro Vancouver Transit Police:
- Provide a uniformed, high-visibility presence on the transit system
- Respond to low-risk calls for assistance and public safety incidents on the transit system
- Enforce transit rules and regulations to maintain public safety of transit vehicles and property
- Support fare enforcement on the transit system
- Assist with low-risk crime prevention activities, strategies, and programs in collaboration with transit operating companies and community partners
- Assist police officers in performing law enforcement and investigation duties when required.
- Conduct foot and vehicle patrols on the transit system, including buses, bus loops, SkyTrain, exchanges and SeaBus
- Assist with police investigations by canvassing for witnesses and video
- Assist with tagging and processing lost property
- Assist with crowd and traffic control in relation to incidents on transit or involving transit vehicles
- Use police information systems and complete appropriate statements and reports
Officers in the program will have to endure a “rigorous 10-week training program” followed by another seven weeks of field training.
Courses involved in the program include mental health awareness, crisis intervention and de-escalation, legal studies, use-of-force tactics, traffic safety, and principles of community policing.
Metro Vancouver Transit Police is accepting applicants for the new program, and pay starts at $31.99 per hour. Applicants must meet basic qualifications including being 19 or older, having a valid Class 5 driver’s license, and a Grade 12 diploma or equivalent.
You can expect to see the officers in the community working by this fall.
With files from Amir Ali