Stanley Cup riot cost at least $2M to investigate - Action News
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British Columbia

Stanley Cup riot cost at least $2M to investigate

Vancouver police say it cost $2 million to investigate the Stanley Cup riot. But depending on how you add it all up, it might have cost several million dollars more.
By some estimates, the Stanley Cup riot has cost more to investigate than it cost to repair the damage from the mayhem. (CBC)

Vancouver police have pegged the cost of investigating last year's Stanley Cup riot at $2 million, although the actual figure could be several times that amount.

Calling it the largest investigation of its kind in Canadian history, police Chief Jim Chu said Wednesday his department incurred additional costs of $2 million, including $500,000 spent buying a new forensic video lab.

But that figure does not include the $7 million in salaries paid tothe riot investigation team and outside police agencies.

Chu said those costs should not be separated out.

"Quite often, when we redeploy officers, we don't track the salary costs. It's already in our budget," he said.

Chu said that a total of 68 officers and staff have been working on the riot file.

Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson said it was money well spent.

"The benefit is the big investigation that has investment at the front end has less time in court and more guilty pleas and that will save the province money and the justice system," Robertson said.

The investigation team's report says the riot caused $3 million in damage and has so far resulted in 225 charges against 85 people.

The riot erupted as more than 100,000 people gathered downtown for the seventh game of the Stanley Cup final series, only to see the hometown Canucks lose to the Boston Bruins.

With files from the CBC's Mike Clarke