I never know whether to believe rumours or not. However, is this true?
It is rumored out there that Premier Eby and Minister Farnworth are in the process of rewriting the BC Police Act to force Surrey to use the Surrey Police Service in Surrey instead of the RCMP which Surrey has chosen to use.
I would hope in a democracy this is not true!
Mayor Brenda Locke has spoken with Premier Eby which is good news the doors of conversation have been opened. I don't know where Minister Farnworth is because he's never contacted her regarding this. He demanded an answer within two days of her receiving the report which she gave him and so far she has heard nothing from him.
The facts as they stand:
RCMP need 182 more officers to police the city. To date 81 Surrey Police Officers say they will move to RCMP. Depot in Regina is sending recruits, so they have the officers required to police the city.
SPS need 544 more officers to police the city. Right now, they have 176. One third of the SPS officers are scheduled to retire in the next three years. The reason: they were close to the end of their career and took the $50,000 cash grab (our tax money) to move to SPS. Where are these officers going to come from and how long will it take? It's costing Surrey taxpayers $8 million a month to run two police forces.
How long is this going to go on? Where is Minister Farnworth?
Here is where I get my facts:
