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Deputy Chief Constable Steve Rai Deputy Chief Constable Steve Rai has been a member of the Vancouver Police Department since 1990. He was born in Punjab, India and raised in Vancouver where he graduated from Kitsilano Secondary School. Prior to joining the Department he was a Canadian Forces Reserve member and attended the University of British Columbia where he completed a Bachelor of Arts degree in Asian Studies. He also obtained a Master of Arts, Criminal Justice, from the University of the Fraser Valley. Deputy Chief Constable Rai started his career with eight years as a patrol constable in District 3, where his duties included field training and mentoring new police officers. He also drew on his cultural background to work extensively, at the street level, with the District's South Asian community. He also completed assignments in the Vancouver Police Jail, as a Recruiting Unit Investigator, and a secondment to the former Coordinated Law Enforcement Unit. He completed a second operational tour in District 1, including managing the Davie Street Community Police Office, where he partnered with local community leaders, business owners and volunteers to address neighborhood crime and order issues. In addition to his regular duties, Deputy Chief Constable Rai completed a number of concurrent assignments including ten years as an Emergency Response Team Hostage Negotiator, six years with the VPD's Critical Incident Stress Management Team and three years with the Forensic Interview Team, utilizing his Punjabi second language skills. Deputy Chief Constable Rai was promoted to the rank of Sergeant in 2003 and returned to District 3 as an operational supervisor. In 2004, he was transferred to the position of Sergeant-in-charge of the VPD Recruiting Unit. During this assignment, he led a highly motivated team of investigators in fulfilling the Department's mandate of hiring a large number of police officers, Jail Guards and Traffic Authority members. His team was successful in attracting numerous new exempt police officer applicants while also hiring many Aboriginal, ethnic, and female recruits through community outreach and mentoring of young future officers. Upon the completion of his tenure in the Recruiting Unit, Deputy Chief Constable Rai was redeployed as an operational Sergeant in District 2. He was promoted to the position of Inspector in the Human Resources Section following this assignment. He returned to District 3 in February 2012. Deputy Chief Constable Rai was promoted to Superintendent, Personnel Services, in July 2014. Deputy Chief Constable Rai sits on numerous local and national committees. In 2006, he was the only Canadian police applicant to be selected for the US State Department's International Leadership Development Program that brought together police leaders from throughout the world. Deputy Chief Constable Rai is the recipient of a Chief Constable's Commendation for "courage and professionalism" and two Chief Constable Unit Citations. In 2013 he was the recipient of the Khalsa Diwan Society Exemplary Community Service Award. |