The agency was incorporated as a society in March 1999 under the BC Police Act to replace its forerunner, the Coordinated Law Enforcement Unit (CLEU).
The Owen Report found CLEU to be "… not sufficiently equipped, mandated or able to cope with the growing sophistication and diversity of organized crime".
During Rich Coleman’s term as solicitor general, the province increased its move toward more integration in policing as both a cost-saving measure by reducing duplication of efforts, and in order to solidify the agency's impact as an aggressive organized crime fighting unit.
The CFSEU-BC integrated 14 law enforcement agencies, including the OCABC and the RCMP, under one single command structure with oversight provided by a chief superintendent.
The intent was to integrate the OCAB, municipal police and the RCMP into one combined unit to coordinate the province’s response to the growing threat of organized crime and gang violence.