ob Rich was born and raised in Vancouver. Bob graduated from the University of British Columbia Law School in 1979 and was called to the Bar in 1980. He has extensive training and education relating to leadership, critical incident management, labour relations and human resource management.

He joined the Vancouver Police Department in 1980 and has worked in all four patrol districts, Planning & Research, Information Section, Communications Section, Internal Investigations, Vice, and other investigative squads. He has managed both the Recruiting & Training Section and the Human Resources Section. Bob was also a Commander in the Support Services Division, where he focused on the Department’s budget.

His most recent assignment was as the Commander for District Two, which incorporates the Downtown Eastside. In that capacity, he was one of the architects for the City-wide Enforcement Team currently addressing the issues of disorder arising out of the drug abuse problem.

DCC Rich has been involved throughout his career in providing legal training to members surrounding the Police Act and search & seizure issues with respect to criminal investigations.

As a Deputy Chief, Bob has command of the Operations Division, which includes uniform patrol officers. He has made property crime a priority for the Division and is proud that the VPD has achieved a 25% reduction over the past three years.

He is married to Ruth and they have two sons, one of whom is a Vancouver Police Officer.