Steve Rai named new Vancouver police chief after filling job in interim role

CBC News

· Posted: May 22, 2025 9:03 PM EDT | Last Updated: 4 hours ago

The Vancouver Police Board has appointed interim constabulary main Steve Rai to beryllium the Vancouver Police Department's caller main constable.

Rai has much than 3 decades of acquisition with the Vancouver Police Department, the metropolis said successful a statement, having worked done the ranks to lead large operations, including the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics and the 2011 Stanley Cup riot. 

Mayor Ken Sim said Rai was chosen to beryllium caller constabulary chief following a thorough enactment process.

"With Chief Rai astatine the helm, Vancouver is successful beardown hands arsenic we enactment to physique a safer, much connected, and much resilient city," Sim said.

Rai had recently received a nationalist illustration fronting briefings astir the Lapu-Lapu Day tragedy that claimed 11 lives successful Vancouver past month.

He said Thursday that 1 of the challenges is that the constabulary section is "very young." 

"You saw what happened astatine the Lapu-Lapu tragedy," Rai said. "The archetypal officers connected country were 25 years old, and truthful we're going to enactment them, [and] make definite they turn arsenic leaders into the organization." 

Coun. Pete Fry said helium thinks Rai is "eminently qualified," but helium had questions astir the enactment process and its lack of transparency.

The metropolis hired an enforcement hunt steadfast to enlistee the caller chief, and constabulary committee seat Frank Chong said the endowment excavation for senior, qualified constabulary officers is "actually precise tiny successful presumption of the tier one talent" successful Canada. 

"So it was a very, precise hard task, but overall, we had a precise bully abbreviated list," helium said. 

Chong said determination were less than 10 radical shortlisted for the position, and said the "vision for the aboriginal of policing is clear: a constabulary work that is accountable, equitable, transparent and trusted by each members of the community." 

"We sought a person who could bring the imaginativeness to life, idiosyncratic whose enactment is grounded successful respect, informed by data, compassion, and dedicated to advancing safety, justness and the well-being of each communities," helium said.

"The committee remains committed to supporting Chief Rai arsenic helium assumes his caller role."

The politician called Rai —  who was calved successful India's Punjab region, and grew up successful Vancouver — "a powerful reflection of our city that's diverse, driven and rooted successful service."

Rai's assignment arsenic the department's 32nd main constable comes aft erstwhile main Adam Palmer stepped down from the presumption helium had held for 10 years.