Advocates cite misconduct cases, proposed cuts to social programs, and inappropriate spending as reasons to oppose the increase
Photo by Declan Snowden.
Defund VicPD is a self-described grassroots movement that formed in early 2025. Their current goal is to prevent the proposed budget increase for the Victoria Police Department (VicPD) — which serves both the City of Victoria and the Township of Esquimalt — and encourage Victoria City Council to invest in community services and programs instead.
A 2023 report, published by the Ministry of Public Safety, found that Victoria Police had a budget of $598 per resident, giving it the highest per capita budget of any municipal police department in the province. In comparison, Vancouver’s per capita budget is $555, while Saanich sits at $350.
Instead of increasing police spending, Defund VicPD advocates for community investments such as improving school counselling supports, educational assistance, poverty reduction initiatives, affordable housing investments, improving reconciliation efforts with Indigenous communities, and environmental stewardship.
An anonymous spokesperson for Defund VicPD told the Martlet that the police department’s budget accounts for 23 per cent of the City of Victoria budget, and that funding for VicPD has increased from $54 million in 2018 to $83 million in 2025.
The 2025-2029 City of Victoria financial plan shows that police make up 22.9 per cent of expenditures. The 2018-2019 City of Victoria financial plan lists Victoria Police’s expenditures at $53.2 million, while the current financial plan lists their expenditures at $83.1 million.
“Almost anything would be a better alternative to increasing the VicPD budget,” the spokesperson said.
Defund VicPD also called into question the department’s current budget, referencing a $22 000 party thrown this August for now retired Chief of Police Del Manak. CBC reported on the party, noting the $22 000 figure was obtained via a freedom of information (FOI) request.
Stephen Harrison — the Victoria resident who filed the FOI request — told CBC “I don’t think [this] is a responsible use of public funding.”
Despite criticisms of this spending, the chair of the Victoria and Esquimalt Police Board, Micayla Hayes, told CBC that the budget was made in consultation with the police board, and that its costs were a “reasonable allocation” of funds.
Victoria Chief of Police Fiona Wilson said there is nothing in the budget that is not critical, and that the increase is “a product of years of inadequate funding for VicPD.”
Wilson told Victoria City Council the proposed budget increase is a response to the growing demands of the opioid crisis, cybercrime, gang activity, and a rise in protests and demonstrations.
However, Defund VicPD raised concerns over the professional standards of Victoria Police officers. “A number of officers [are] under investigation by the Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner of BC (OPCC),” the Defund VicPD spokesperson said in their statement to the Martlet.
The Times Colonist reported that the OPCC substantiated misconduct allegations for eight investigations into Victoria police officers. One officer reportedly gave an individual in jail a meal they were allergic to, despite knowing about the allergy. Another officer was found to have driven a vehicle while impaired, and provided false information to an RCMP officer after being pulled over.
Data released by Victoria Police — following orders from the B.C. Human Rights Commissioner — shows that Victoria police have disproportionately used force in encounters with Black and Indigenous people.
According to the OPCC’s annual report, complaints against police in Victoria increased by almost five per cent this year, while investigations into Victoria police increased by 10 per cent. The Vancouver Police Department, Surrey Police Service, and Victoria Police Department received 71 per cent of all complaints. Half of all allegations of misconduct alleged an abuse of authority, with most of these cases alleging use of excessive force.
Defund VicPD told the Martlet that alongside the proposed police budget increase comes a number of budget cuts across the city of Victoria, including cuts to grant spending and the elimination of the Alliance to End Homelessness.
The 2025-2029 financial plan does show a decrease in grant spending from 2024 to 2025, and Global News previously reported that the Alliance to End Homelessness Victoria would close due to funding being removed or restructured.
Defund VicPD encourages anyone who disagrees with the proposed budget increase to write to city council, help spread the word, and visit their website to find more information on the proposed budget, as well as policy alternatives.
“There is hunger in our region to see non-policing approaches to community safety,” the Defund VicPD spokesperson said.
