Police training campus, more safety personnel coming for Surrey, mayor says in State of the City address

Issues of public safety and affordability are the main issues facing Surrey residents, Mayor Brenda Locke said in her State of the City address Thursday.

This should come as no surprise to voters, who are facing an unprecedented extortion crisis and who, like the rest of the province, are struggling with the high cost of living.

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Locke announces investments in public safety

In her speech, Locke made four announcements specifically addressing public safety.

The first is the addition of 560 personnel over five years.

“That includes police officers, firefighters, community safety officers, bylaw officers, emergency preparedness staff, engineering response support, and community safety coordinators,” she said.

“That means more visible presence in neighborhoods, more ability to respond to real problems that face our city. It also allows police officers to focus on the most serious criminal activity.

As well, she says, the city will be investing in a new 15-acre public safety campus in the Anniedale Tynehead neighbourhood.

“It will support police training, fire services, emergency preparedness, search and rescue, bylaw operations, forensics, specialized support, drone operations, and other public safety partnerships,” she said.

“That will be centrally located with access to key corridors, and it gives Surrey the space and the structure to plan for the next generation of public safety services.”

Next, she says, the city is planning to build “collaborative safety facilities” for fire and police, to be located in the City Centre, South Surrey, and Cloverdale areas.

“A city approaching one million people cannot rely on the old infrastructure, scattered facilities, outdated models,” Locke said.

“We must build for the city we are becoming.”

Fourth, the city will focus on “how public safety is delivered,” including expanding the use of AI-enabled drone technology.

“This is not about chasing gadgets. It’s about faster information, safer deployment, better decisions, and giving frontline teams the tools they need in a city that is growing so very quickly,” she said.

“Drones can support search in a large area. They can assist during fires, floods, hazardous incidents, or help reconnect missing children with their families. They can help public safety teams understand what is happening before people are placed in harm’s way.”

The city is also looking into expanding the use of safety cameras.

Property tax increase lowest in the region, says mayor

Surrey is the “economic engine of the province,” but residents are struggling, Locke says.

“The city does not control every cost in a family’s life; we absolutely all know that. But we do control how we manage our own house.”

The mayor says the city’s property tax increase will be among the lowest in the region at 2.6 per cent.

“That was very deliberate. It happened because we made those deliberate choices,” she said.

“We refused to accept the idea that every problem at City Hall should automatically become a bigger tax bill for residents.”

Residents look to politicians for reassurances about safety, says expert

Hamish Telford, associate professor of political science at the University of the Fraser Valley, says people look to politicians for reassurances about what’s being done to make their communities safe.

“People want, first of all, to know that their concerns are being heard sincerely and that sincere efforts are being made to tackle this issue,” said Telford.

“I think there’s a feeling in the community that the police forces were slow to act, especially on the extortion issue.”

He adds that the distraction of the city’s police transition has added to the concern as to whether police are doing enough to track down those responsible for extortion.

Along with police transparency, Telford says voters may be asking broad questions about leadership.

“‘Am I better off than I was four years ago, and are things going in the right direction?’ I think that that’s what the mayor wants to try and convey in her speech: that Surrey is making progress on these big issues.”

Telford says people want action after Locke has spent much of the past four years fighting with other levels of government.

“People want to see their leaders fighting for their jurisdiction, but not in a way that is uncooperative or unproductive,” he said.

“Sometimes people in lower levels of government feel that they have to stamp their feet pretty hard to get noticed by higher levels of government and get them to pay attention and especially to act.”

As part of the province-wide general local elections, the Surrey municipal election will take place on Oct. 17.