Surrey mayor plans for RCMP changes ahead of province’s decision

Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke is making plans for the RCMP despite the final say from the province on the city’s police transition still at least weeks away.

While awaiting that call, Locke is not entertaining any other options, all while looking at a new approach for the old force.

“The changes that will be made … when it is the RCMP as the police of jurisdiction, finally, we will have a police board that will be made up of citizens that live and are responsive to the residents of this city,” Locke said Tuesday.

Her latest comments came a day after a staff report was approved by council, marking another step in ending Surrey’s police transition.

The report officially asks the province to halt the switch from the RCMP as the city’s police of jurisdiction to the Surrey Police Service (SPS).

Locke says it will be weeks before they hear back from B.C. Solicitor General Mike Farnworth.

“Mr. Farnworth recognizes that this has to happen expeditiously. And so we are hopeful that we will see something back, at least hear something back, by the end of the year. But early in the new year, I’m sure he’ll have something back to us,” Locke said.

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According to the report, keeping the RCMP will save Surrey $235 million. However, the SPS takes issue with the numbers, adding halting the transition will cost a substantial number of jobs.

In a statement Monday, the SPS says it was not consulted about the report and that many assumptions were made.

“We believe that the many assumptions made in this report have contributed to the City providing an inflated cost to taxpayers to continue with the transition to SPS, which they have stated is $235.4M over five years,” Chief Const. Norm Lipinski said.

The SPS says it will remain committed to serving Surrey until the province’s final decision.

Locke says it’s been the wish of Surrey residents to keep the RCMP.

“We have seen that poll after poll after poll, that the residents want to keep the RCMP as the police jurisdiction in the city,” Locke said the goal is to have more police officers.

“Vancouver has significantly more resources than the City of Surrey. Is it enough? I say that is up to the POJ, the police of jurisdiction to give us that information. Certainly, we would like to have more police officers in the city of Surrey and that is the goal.”