Rob Clarke
Justice Institute of British Columbia

Inspector (Ret) Rob Clarke joined the Vancouver Police Department in 1991 after receiving a diploma in Criminal Justice. He graduated from the police academy with honours, receiving the Chief Constable’s award for being the overall outstanding recruit for Class 50.

Rob spent his first 8 years in patrol in Districts 1, 3, and 4. He completed assignments as a beat officer, bike patrol member, and in the communications center. In 1999, Rob was selected to the Emergency Response Team, where he spent 7 years as a tactical operator.

In 2007, Rob was promoted to Sergeant. He worked as a supervisor in Districts 1 and 3, in the Vancouver Jail and with the Integrated Gang Task Force. Rob was also a member of the Public Order Unit as the tactical support section’s program coordinator. In 2010 he was chosen as the Department’s Firearms Training Supervisor at the Tactical Training Centre.

Rob was promoted to Staff Sergeant in 2013 and remained with the Training Section, where he continued to oversee many new training initiatives, including developing and teaching a course to Sergeants on how to respond effectively to a critical incident.

Rob was promoted to Inspector in 2015. After assisting with the creation of the Department’s strategic plan, he was assigned as a Duty Officer, where he worked for 4 years. During this time, he oversaw numerous major calls as a nationally accredited Critical Incident Commander and Instructor. Rob finished his career as a District Commander, overseeing operations in the downtown West End.

Rob has been working at the JIBC Police Academy since January 2022 as a firearms training instructor.