In November 2018, Surrey, BC had a Civic Election. There were seven candidates running for mayor and the former mayor, Doug Mc Callum (1996 - 2005) was elected. I was shocked as anyone who lived here when he was mayor did not vote for him and did not want him. We are a democracy and he won by 36% of the vote. His platform was to scrap the light rail project and replace the RCMP with a City Police Force. I did not vote for him.
In our province, to change the police force, you need Provincial Government approval. We've been told a report that includes the transition costs was being prepared. It was to be completed a couple of months ago but it kept being postponed. It was released to the City Council members at a closed door meeting on Wednesday morning and then forwarded to Mike Farnworth, BC, Minster of Public Safety and Solicitor General.
Yesterday the city held it's first "transition from RCMP to City Police consultation" at the Cloverdale Rec Center. Laurie and I went together ready to find out what the cost will be as it's been reported the cost will be much higher and will increase our taxes.
Linda Annis and Brenda Locke, both City Councillors were at the consultation. Every local TV station had a camera crew there and we sat with Marcella Bernardo with News 1130 radio. We heard her record her news reports. I spoke one on one with Brenda Locke. I asked her out right if she could let me know what the cost will be to taxpayers and she said "I can't, however, I will say it's disturbing".
The city sent the report to the Solicitor General and has not released any information to the taxpayers that will absorb the cost of the transition and continue to pay the police in the future.
Mayor Doug McCallum said "I've been voted as mayor and everyone wants the RCMP to be replaced". That is not true, but he thinks it is. We should see the report, understand the costs and a referendum should be held! He will not tell us and just wants it implemented. According to the Peace Arch News, our city police force will be fully operational by July 2020.
Today at the Rec Center were a lot of concerned citizens. There were plenty of city staff trying to sell this transition. Everyone we talked to agrees the RCMP is doing an excellent job and unless a good reason for replacing them and a saving to the taxpayer, leave the RCMP in Surrey!
How can a city plan a change like this without giving the details to the taxpayers? Both Linda Annis and Brenda Locke told us to email Mike Farnworth. If you are concerned, please email him:
PSSG.Minister@gov.bc.ca
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| This vehicle was displayed in front of city hall. It cost $9,000 to put decals on it! |
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| Cloverdale Rec Center, lots of displays and city employees inside |
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| The City of Vancouver has 1,285 officers. Surrey is larger with more citizens and has 835 officers. Why don't we hire more RCMP officers? |
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| We heard at the event the mayor does not have control of the RCMP. If they change to a city force, they will have a police board. We asked if they would be elected or appointed and they wouldn't give us an answer! |
Here is an recap of RCMP Governance & Accountability
The RCMP provides policing service to the City of Surrey through a Municipal Police Unit Agreement (MPUA) which is negotiated between the province and municipality, and a Police Services Agreement which is negotiated between the Province and Federal government. The current agreements for Surrey have 20-year terms, running from April 1, 2012 to March 31, 2032. The MPUA has a two year opt out provision that provides for regular reviews during the term of the agreement.
These agreements outline the duties and responsibilities of the RCMP and the City in financial, operational, and administrative areas. The City of Surrey establishes the level of police resources, budget and policing priorities for Surrey in consultation with the province and RCMP. The Surrey RCMP is then responsible for delivering on the policing priorities within the established budget and with the resources that have been allocated. The Detachment's Strategic Framework is developed to align detachment activities and deployment of resources with key policing priorities identified by our staff, partners and stakeholders.
The Surrey RCMP Officer in Charge reports to the Mayor of Surrey on matters relating to the implementation of objectives, priorities and goals of the detachment. The MPUA states that the local government is to have input into policing priorities to further the detachment’s accountability to the City and its residents. The Officer in Charge provides updates and consults regularly with the City’s Public Safety Committee on policing priorities, crime statistics and trends, and community policing initiatives.
The Officer in Charge is also a member of the City’s Senior Management Team (SMT) which is led by the City Manager and meets regularly to discuss City-wide issues and generate solutions to corporate administrative or operational problems. The Surrey RCMP also contributes to a number of City of Surrey strategies including the Sustainability Charter and Public Safety Strategy.
RCMP police officers receive training that is considered a best practice internationally; it fully prepares them to police in both urban and rural areas across Canada. The Surrey RCMP is often looked to by police agencies around the world for how it tackles major urban issues including public safety issues surrounding homelessness, and gang and gun prevention.
RCMP officers are not transferred out of detachments automatically; they have the opportunity to apply for positions in different detachments/Divisions at various points in their careers to gain broader policing expertise. Our members spend an average of seven years in Surrey but many choose to stay here for much longer, and many opt to return to Surrey after gaining experience in other cities.
Our police officers care deeply about the community they police. Approximately 38% of our police officers live in Surrey, and approximately 86% live in Surrey or a neighbouring community.
