Stanley Cup riot cost at least $2M to investigate

Vancouver police have pegged the cost of investigating last year's Stanley Cup riot at $2 million, although the actual figure could be several times that amount.

Calling it the largest investigation of its kind in Canadian history, police Chief Jim Chu said Wednesday his department incurred additional costs of $2 million, including $500,000 spent buying a new forensic video lab.

But that figure does not include the $7 million in salaries paid to the riot investigation team and outside police agencies.

Chu said those costs should not be separated out.

"Quite often, when we redeploy officers, we don't track the salary costs. It's already in our budget," he said.

Chu said that a total of 68 officers and staff have been working on the riot file.

Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson said it was money well spent.

"The benefit is the big investigation that has investment at the front end has less time in court and more guilty pleas and that will save the province money and the justice system,"  Robertson said.

The investigation team's report says the riot caused $3 million in damage and has so far resulted in 225 charges against 85 people.

The riot erupted as more than 100,000 people gathered downtown for the seventh game of the Stanley Cup final series, only to see the hometown Canucks lose to the Boston Bruins.