Surrey Police Board holds first meeting since B.C. government suspension

The Surrey Police Board held its first meeting Thursday afternoon after the B.C. government suspended its board members, including Mayor Brenda Locke, and temporarily replaced them with former Abbotsford Police Chief Mike Serr.

At the meeting, Serr said he has sent a provisional police budget to Surrey City Council, planning for 180 more Surrey Police Service (SPS) officers by the end of next year.

City of Surrey Policing Advisor Peter German says this number is ambitious.

“It remains to be seen if they’re able to do that,” he said.

Earlier this month, B.C.’s Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth said he appointed Serr to move along the transition from the Surrey RCMP to the SPS — something he’s entitled to do because of new police transition laws.

After the meeting, Serr spoke to media about his job duties, which essentially cover everything the board does while making sure the transition goes through.

“I’ve taken on this role with the utmost respect for the board – and with the understanding this is an unprecedented circumstance,” he said.

“It is my genuine hope that my role as administrator is short-lived, and the established police board can be returned to their duties as soon as possible.”

Serr said he will write to city council asking for an opportunity to hear about their vision for policing in Surrey.

CityNews reached out to Mayor Locke, but she wasn’t available to comment on the matter.

German says the mayor and the majority of council’s determination to keep the RCMP has not changed.

“This is a very unusual situation that we find ourselves in. An administrator is not civilian oversight. There is at present no civilian oversight of SPS. It is one individual,” he said.

Surrey has since launched two court challenges against the province as well as a website that outlines claims that “The NDP are trying to force the City of Surrey to accept an expensive, disorganized police transition that will do nothing to improve public safety.”

Meanwhile, Serr will continue his role as administrator until the province ends his appointment.