Despite RCMP vote, Surrey Police Service says ‘it’s not over’

Surrey Police Chief Constable Norm Lipinski. (CityNews Image)

Posted June 16, 2023 4:00 pm.

Last Updated June 16, 2023 4:12 pm.

Though Mayor Brenda Locke says the city has voted to keep the RCMP as the police of jurisdiction, the head of the Surrey Police Service says “it’s not over” yet.

Chief Const. Norm Lipinski joined CityNews after Locke’s announcement and after an availability with B.C. Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth.

He says after hearing what Farnworth had to say, and knowing how the process has played out thus far, council’s decision is not final.

“If you look at the Police Act, certainly, the City of Surrey, any municipality, has the right to choose their model of policing. However, this is a huge however, the provincial government is in charge of adequate and effective policing, meaning community safety. You may recall a number of years ago, when the intention was to start up a Surrey Police Service, there was a number of reports and the province had to approve the reports, essentially saying, ‘yes, your plan is adequate and effective. This is a two-step process,'” Lipinski told Afternoon Drive Anchor John Ackermann Friday.

Lipinski says the SPS will “wait to see” what the province has to say after it reviews the City of Surrey’s report and makes “a final decision on adequacy and effectiveness” of the city’s submission.

The city’s decision to retain the RCMP comes after almost five years of debate and negotiation in Surrey about whether to keep the Mounties or move to a municipal police force.

When asked whether he’s had enough of the back and forth between the city and the province, and whether he believes the people of Surrey are also fed up, Lipinski was quick to respond.

“Absolutely. I think everybody’s looking for some finality. Let’s not forget the men and women that are in policing and the support staff that are working with them,” he said, adding the SPS has about 400 staff.

“We’ve got to think about the human factor here. When you’re saying to rewind what we’ve done over two and a half years, you’re essentially saying that putting almost 400 people out of work. And that is, as you can appreciate, very worrisome.”

He notes some members of the SPS have come from across the country. He worries about what stopping the police transition will mean for all members of the municipal force.

Lipinski would not answer directly when asked whether he feels the ongoing controversy over the police transition has resulted in some sort of reputational harm to the RCMP.

“I go by the various reports over the last couple of years,” he explained. “It’s pointing in a certain direction. They did the research, they reviewed all the, I’ll say, tentacles to what a good police service is and they’ve developed some theories and suggestions, recommendations about how things can be improved, and you can read them for yourselves. I then look at what the province said on April 28 and they made a very strong recommendation to continue with the SPS. They’re the ones that reviewed our file because we had to make a number of submissions, they’re the ones who reviewed what the city put in, and, of course, what the RCMP put in. So they had the big picture.”

The SPS chief constable says all the reports and “the facts” have “pointed at one direction.”

Given how much money has already been spent on the police transition, what severance will cost the city, and all the work that’s been done in the past few years, Lipinski feels there’s no other decision than to stick with the SPS.

“We are waiting for the province to make the decision on part B — the A part has already been taken care of today with the announcement,” Lipinski said.

“Now, there is a B part. I’m hopeful that it’s coming very, very soon because, as you’ve indicated, whether it’s police officers, citizens, or the entire Lower Mainland that has heard this in the media so, so many times over the last number of years, we need some finality and a conclusion.”

Surrey RCMP says ‘it would be a seamless transition’ for SPS officers

Meanwhile, amid concerns about staffing, Surrey RCMP Assistant Commissioner Brian Edwards says that force has a comprehensive staffing plan to bring more officers to the city.

“That includes experienced police officers coming into the RCMP, it includes cadets, which are the officers from Depot. So we plan to begin intaking cadets midway through the summer, which we had discontinued for some time,” he said Friday.

Edwards says the goal is to get staffing levels up in the months ahead.

“In terms of the staffing plan, the RCMP goal would be to attract many of the Surrey Police Service members into Surrey RCMP. In most cases, they can stay in their current roles, they can stay on their current shift, it would be a seamless transition, and that would be our goal,” explained Edwards.

“I would like to say that, in the province, and one of the things that has changed since our first submission to the Police Services branch in December, is that the RCMP has made tremendous headway on the Experienced Police Officer program, and I’m talking outside of Surrey right now … We’re on target for 140 lateral experienced members that we anticipate coming into the RCMP in the division this year — 140. Right now, the RCMP has 600 experienced police officers nationally in the queue to come over.”

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