[5] They focus their efforts primarily on protecting the safety and security of passengers, employees, property, and revenue of Metro Vancouver's transit system.

If requested, MVTP officers will also respond to emergencies outside of transit property as would other municipal police forces.

The first persons employed for protection of mass transit in Vancouver were the night watchmen of the BC Electric Railway, established 1897.

As the system grew, the company used the provisions of the provincial Railway Act to employ Special Constables.

[8] At the opening of the first SkyTrain line in December 1985, 15 Special Provincial Constables (SPCs) were appointed to BC Transit Security.

As their needs grew, they earned their own access to police databases and records, getting the attention of the provincial government.

The BC government recognized that the SPCs were never initially meant to enforce drug laws or enter into criminal investigations but saw the need for same.

The police services division of the government re-iterated that the SPCs authority was limited to transit property, and they could not stop suspects fleeing from a separate crime scene or intervene in incidents occurring just outside SkyTrain stations.

The CSOs are not police officers but have similar powers and functions that TransLink's special provincial constables had prior to 2005.

Vancouver - Also in 2015, as part of efforts to reduce sexual offences onboard transit, MVTP and Hollaback!

[22] A 2010 inquiry found that the incidents of taser usage by the MVTP were legally justified, given the offenders were actively resisting or assaultive toward police during an investigation.