A police board, police services board, or police commission is an appointed commission of a

local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of a higher-level political or administrative unit, such a ...

charged with the responsibility of overseeing a local police force. Police boards may be required by government regulation, as they are in most of

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, or they may be voluntarily formed by individual municipalities. Police boards are generally established to create a degree of separation between political councils and non-political police forces, and are variously responsible for setting the policies, priorities, and budget of a police force; hiring the chief and deputy chiefs of police; determining the structure and organization of the police force; and conducting collective bargaining with police associations. Police boards are usually explicitly prohibited from making operational decisions.

Canada

British Columbia

All

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

with a population over 5,000 are required by the British Columbia ''Police Act'' to provide for a police service. Municipalities in this category have two options: contract with the provincial

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

for the

Royal Canadian Mounted Police The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; , GRC) is the Law enforcement in Canada, national police service of Canada. The RCMP is an agency of the Government of Canada; it also provides police services under contract to 11 Provinces and terri ...

or create an independent local

police The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...

agency or department. Municipalities that choose to operate an independent

force are required to create a civilian oversight body called a "''Police Board''". Members of the police board are

civilian A civilian is a person who is not a member of an armed force. It is war crime, illegal under the law of armed conflict to target civilians with military attacks, along with numerous other considerations for civilians during times of war. If a civi ...

members of the

community A community is a social unit (a group of people) with a shared socially-significant characteristic, such as place, set of norms, culture, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given g ...

and are appointed by the Minister of Justice and Attorney General through an

Order in Council An Order in Council is a type of legislation in many countries, especially the Commonwealth realms. In the United Kingdom, this legislation is formally made in the name of the monarch by and with the advice and consent of the Privy Council ('' ...

. A police board usually has between five and eight members, depending on the size of the municipality. The

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

of the municipality is, by law, automatically the

Chairperson The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a Board of directors, board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by ...

of the board. One other member of board is usually nominated by the municipality to represent the municipality's interest. Board members are selected from a variety of backgrounds and are usually appointed for one or two year terms. They may be re-appointed to a maximum of six years service. Except for the Mayor, municipal councillors may not be appointed to the municipality's police board. The mandate of a police board is to own and operate the independent municipal police department ensuring that police independence from political interference is maintained. The board functions as: * the employer of both the "sworn" police officers and the civilian employees of the department and sets the priorities and develops the administrative policies of the department; * the financial overseer and develops the annual police operating

budget A budget is a calculation plan, usually but not always financial plan, financial, for a defined accounting period, period, often one year or a month. A budget may include anticipated sales volumes and revenues, resource quantities including tim ...

in consultation with the municipal council; and * the supervisor of the Chief Constable. The board selects and evaluates the Chief Constable and sometimes other senior departmental managers thereby allowing the board to maintain indirect control and influence over the department, although, in the same way that the police board is independent of the municipal council for policing matters, the Chief Constable is independent from the board for operational matters. Public complaints against the police were formerly dealt with by the police board. Since July 1, 1998, public complaints are handled by the Police Complaint Commissioner of British Columbia who, as an Officer of the Legislature, is appointed by and responsible to the legislative assembly. Only level of service complaints and complaints against the Chief Constable are still dealt with by the police board. Police departments may be amalgamated at the discretion of the Minister of Justice and Attorney General. This occurred on January 1, 2003 when

Esquimalt The Township of Esquimalt () is a municipality at the southern tip of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. It is bordered to the east by the provincial capital, Victoria, British Columbia, Victoria, to the south by the Strait of Jua ...

and Victoria police departments were amalgamated and a combined police board created with the mayor of Victoria as the chairperson and the mayor of Esquimalt as the vice-chairperson. Enhanced "professional response, crime prevention and investigation in both communities" were cited as the reasons for the amalgamation. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) are contracted to provide municipal policing to 59 British Columbia municipalities including

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

Burnaby Burnaby is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada. Located in the centre of the Burrard Peninsula, it neighbours the City of Vancouver to the west, the District of North Vancouver across the confluence of the Burrard In ...

Kelowna Kelowna ( ) is a city on Okanagan Lake in the Okanagan, Okanagan Valley in the British Columbia Interior, southern interior of British Columbia, Canada. It serves as the head office of the Regional District of Central Okanagan. The name Kelowna ...

, Prince George,

Kamloops Kamloops ( ) is a city in south-central British Columbia, Canada, at the confluence of the North Thompson River, North and South Thompson Rivers, which join to become the Thompson River in Kamloops, and east of Kamloops Lake. The city is the ad ...

and

Nanaimo Nanaimo ( ) is a city of about 100,000 on the east coast of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. "The Harbour City" was previously known as the "Hub City", which was attributed to its original layout design with streets radiating fr ...

. Police boards are not utilized for RCMP municipalities. There are currently 11 municipal police boards in British Columbia: * City of

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

- population: 569,814 - number of police officers: 1,124 - police to population ratio is 1:507 * City of

Abbotsford, British Columbia Abbotsford is a city in British Columbia next to the Canada–United States border, Greater Vancouver, and the Fraser River. With a census population of 153,569 people (2021), it is the most populous municipality in the province outside metropol ...

- population: 127,712 - number of police officers: 158 - police to population ratio is 1:808 * District of

Saanich, British Columbia Saanich ( ) is a district municipality on the southern end of Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada, within the Greater Victoria area. The population was 117,735 at the 2021 census, making it the most populous municipality in the Cap ...

- population: 107,964 - number of police officers: 141 - police to population ratio is 1:766 * District of

Delta, British Columbia Delta is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada, and part of Greater Vancouver. Located on the Fraser Lowland south of Fraser River's south distributary, arm, it is bordered by the city of Richmond, British Columbia, R ...

- population: 100,576 - number of police officers: 141 - police to population ratio is 1:713 * City of

Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Gre ...

- population: 93,097 - number of police officers: 211 - police to population ratio is 1:441 (includes Township of

Esquimalt, British Columbia The Township of Esquimalt () is a municipality at the southern tip of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. It is bordered to the east by the provincial capital, Victoria, British Columbia, Victoria, to the south by the Strait of Jua ...

) * City of

New Westminster, British Columbia New Westminster (colloquially known as New West) is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada, and a member municipality of the Metro Vancouver Regional District. It was founded by Major-General Richard Moody as the capita ...

- population: 59,426 - number of police officers: 106 - police to population ratio is 1:561 * District of

West Vancouver, British Columbia West Vancouver is a district municipality in the province of British Columbia, Canada. A member municipality of the Metro Vancouver Regional District, West Vancouver is situated on the north shore of Burrard Inlet to the northwest of the city of ...

- population: 45,212 - number of police officers: 77 - police to population ratio is 1:587 * City of Port Moody, British Columbia - population: 26,690 - number of police officers: 34 - police to population ratio is 1:785 * District of

Oak Bay, British Columbia Oak Bay is a municipality incorporated in 1906 that is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island, in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is one of thirteen member municipalities of the Capital Regional District, and is bordered ...

- population: 18,207 - number of police officers: 22 - police to population ratio is 1:828 * District of

Central Saanich, British Columbia Central Saanich is a district municipality in Greater Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, and a member municipality of the Capital Regional District. It is located on the Saanich Peninsula, in the far south-east of Vancouver Island. It is the trad ...

- population: 16,091 - number of police officers: 21 - police to population ratio is 1:766 * City of

Nelson, British Columbia Nelson is a city located in the Selkirk Mountains on the West Arm of Kootenay Lake in the British Columbia Interior, Southern Interior of British Columbia, Canada. The city is known for its collection of restored heritage buildings that date ba ...

- population: 9,630 - number of police officers: 17 - police to population ratio is 1:566

Exception

The 12th police board is not in conformity with the above description of the Police Board and it does not have any elected representative on the board (whereas a

is elected). The South Coast British Columbia Transportation Authority Police Service is a regional police force for the

Metro Vancouver The Metro Vancouver Regional District (MVRD), or simply Metro Vancouver, is a Canadian political subdivision and Corporation, corporate entity representing the metropolitan area of Greater Vancouver, designated by provincial legislation as o ...

region and its police board is made up of five civilian members (including the chair and a senior management from the South Coast British Columbia Transportation Authority), a RCMP "E" Division Assistant Commander and a

Vancouver Police Department The Vancouver Police Department (VPD) () is the police force in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It is one of several police departments within the Greater Vancouver, Metro Vancouver Area and is the second largest police force in the provinc ...

Deputy Chief Constable. They are all appointed by the Minister of Justice and Attorney General through an

United States

Chicago, Illinois

The

Chicago Police Department The Chicago Police Department (CPD) is the primary law enforcement agency of the city of Chicago, Illinois, United States, under the jurisdiction of the Chicago City Council. It is the second-largest Law enforcement in the United States#Local, ...

is administered by the Chicago Police Board. The Board is composed of nine members, each of whom is appointed by the City's Mayor, and is responsible for nominating candidates for the position of Superintendent to the Mayor, adopting rules and regulations for the department, and handling some disciplinary cases. Chapter 2-84
Municipal Code of Chicago, including amendments passed on September 8, 2011.

References