United Truckers Association backs Surrey police transition

A trucking organization has thrown its support behind the growing Surrey Police Service (SPS) a day after Surrey city council voted to move ahead with a plan to keep the RCMP in the city.

The Surrey United Truckers Association (UTA) says it held a vote for its 478 members over the weekend, which resulted in unanimous support for the municipal police force.

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A spokesperson for the UTA, Gagan Singh, says the people of Surrey should have their own policing service.

“All other municipalities have their own police,” he told CityNews, alluding to cities like Vancouver, Delta, and Abbotsford. “That’s why the residents of the city of Surrey have the right to have their own policing.”

The UTA says its declaration marks the first major South Asian community organization to voice its support for the SPS. In a media release, the association says “too many of our young people have fallen victim to the criminal lifestyle.”

Singh says a municipal police force would help address rising incidents involving gangs in the city.

“The City of Vancouver has tackled gang violence in the very best way, the City of Abbotsford has tackled it that way too,” he said. “So why [should] the residents of Surrey not have that opportunity to have its own policing model.”

The UTA says it remains “appreciative and supportive” of the RCMP officers currently working in the city, adding it is “concerned” for the officers during the transition. The association is asking the Surrey Police Board and Surrey Police Union to prioritize hiring Surrey RCMP officers for the new service should it continue.

Related Video: 

Surrey Police Service officers won't join RCMP: Union

As Surrey's new mayor promises to stop the transition from the Surrey RCMP to the Surrey Police Service, there's more pushback. Monika Gul reports the Surrey Police Union says its members won't go to the RCMP if the transition is stopped.

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On Monday, Surrey city council voted in favour of a motion that will see the SPS pause all new hiring and expenditures while staff write to the province to reinstate the RCMP as the police of jurisdiction.

With files from OMNI news