Howard Chow

Deputy Chief Howard Chow was born and raised in Medicine Hat, Alberta, and moved to BC in 1985 to attend Simon Fraser University where he completed a bachelor of arts degree in criminology.

Deputy Chief Chow began his career with the VPD in 1989, and he has had many roles at various ranks throughout the city. He was part of the Crowd Control Unit for 12 years in the early ’90s, most recently as a Public Order Commander, and attended a highly regarded training centre in the UK, completing Silver-Bronze and Gold Commander courses.

As a dog handler, Deputy Chief Chow spent almost nine years working and training two police dogs, Samson and Jackal. Together, they were responsible for the arrest and capture of hundreds of criminals.

In 2004, Deputy Chief Chow became the Department’s media spokesperson, and for four years addressed reporters at daily press conferences on issues related to the VPD. He was one of two sergeants in charge of the Recruiting Unit, tasked with hiring over 200 members leading up to the 2010 Olympics. He led progressive and creative initiatives, such as using social media for recruiting — making VPD the first major police department in Canada to do so — and helped revolutionize conventional policing methods for attracting quality applicants.

Deputy Chief Chow was assigned to the Integrated Riot Investigation Team in 2011, and the team pursued charges against rioters who participated in the Vancouver hockey riot. His communications background and his connections with the media helped support successful investigative strategies.

In 2012, he was a Staff Sergeant in the Traffic Section, followed by a promotion to Inspector in charge of Facilities, overseeing the security and management of 11 police buildings.

As the Inspector in charge of District 2 in 2014, he oversaw 200 police officers in the northeast area of Vancouver, the officers of the Beat Enforcement Team in the Downtown Eastside, and the Marine Unit.

In 2016, Deputy Chief Chow was promoted to Superintendent, Personnel Services, in charge of the Human Resources Section, the Professional Standards Section, and the Training and Recruiting Section.

He was promoted to Deputy Chief in September of 2017 and is in charge of the Operations Division.

Deputy Chief Chow is the current Chair of the Vancouver Police Community Fund. In 2017, he completed a master of arts in criminal justice from the University of the Fraser Valley.

Deputy Chief Chow is the recipient of six VPD commendations and was honoured with the 125th Canadian Confederation of Canada medal in 1993. He has been married to his wife, Angie, for over 20 years.