Surrey police update to be presented to council

Surrey’s policing controversy will be front and centre at Monday’s city council meeting.

Council is expected to get an update on where things stand with the transition from the RCMP to a municipal force, which is already underway with hundreds of people hired by the Surrey Police Service (SPS).

However, the Surrey Police Union is citing concerns with the report that is set to be presented.

“The Surrey Police Union (‘SPU’) is writing to you in advance of tonight’s City Council meeting in the hopes you might consider the incorrect information and omissions in the City of Surrey corporate report just released over the weekend,” the union says in a letter addressed to the mayor and to council, shared on social media.

The “glaring errors” it says it has identified include the number of SPS officers the report says have been deployed, as well as “the claim that SPS members will simply patch over to the RCMP,” among others.

“We are requesting that you consider delaying today’s vote until you are able to base your decision based on accurate, verifiable information,” the letter adds, with the union inviting the mayor and city council to sit down with its members.

Surrey Police Chief Norm Lipinski says, at this point, it would be difficult and expensive to dissolve the department.

“If you look at what will happen in the future and potentially severance, then that itself could be upwards to $81 million. So you put it all together and you’re looking at a $188 million bill,” he told CityNews.

Ultimately, Lipinski notes the decision lies with the province.

“Every province across this country, it’s embedded in the charter, in the constitution, that policing, law enforcement, is under the auspices of the provincial government. They make the final decision and their criteria, at the top of the list, is ‘adequate and effective.’ That means that the City of Surrey would have to put together a case for the minister to look at, review, discuss, and make a decision on what is best for Surrey from an adequate and effective perspective. That is obviously going to take a little bit of time and we are just going to be in a holding pattern,” he explained.

Speaking with reporters prior to the council meeting Monday, Surrey’s recently elected mayor, Brenda Locke, said the police force has never shared any monetary figures.

“This is a cost that we don’t know,” she said.

“This is a report to start the process,” Locke added.

The report says timely decisions by council and the province are needed to reduce uncertainty for staff, the community, and future budgeting. However, councillor Linda Annis says there’s not enough detail about costs to make an informed choice, either way.

A statement from Annis says the issue is “too divisive, too costly, and too much like a political football,” and she wants a referendum so Surrey residents can clearly state whether they want the RCMP or a municipal force.

The council update comes just days after the Surrey Police Union said 94 per cent of its members have signed a pledge indicating they will not “join any RCMP detachment” if the SPS ceases to exist.

Locke has been vocal about her intention to halt the police transition and keep the RCMP in the city.

“The Surrey RCMP have a plan moving forward to hire officers, certainly having officers that are trained and know Surrey would be a great advantage, and so we’re really hopeful that some of the Surrey Police Union members will come over — and I’m confident some of them will,” Locke told CityNews Thursday after the Surrey Police Union released the details of the pledge.

The B.C. government approved Surrey’s police transition request in February 2020. That came after the city moved to terminate its agreement with the RCMP to police Surrey under then-Mayor Doug McCallum, who was defeated by Locke in the municipal election last month.

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While the SPU has taken issue with Locke’s plans and comments, it says it’s still willing to work with the city.

“If Mayor Locke truly wants to take a people-centric approach to policing, we remain open to collaboration, transparency and accountability in support of the best interests of Surrey residents,” SPU President Rick Stewart said.

CityNews has reached out to the mayor’s office for comment ahead of Monday’s meeting.

-With files from Kareem Gouda and The Canadian Press