Article content

One month before taking command of the Surrey Police Service, which succeeds the RCMP, the hiring of new officers has further accelerated for the new municipal force.

The SPS hired 30 experienced officers in September and 33 more in October, in British Columbia and across Canada. This gives the force 445 officers, almost 60 percent of the target of 785 officers.

The number of new police recruits trained at a provincial center, the Justice Institute of BC, is also expected to increase.

Article content

As the SPS increases its number of officers, the RCMP will reduce its number, a transition that will likely take another two years or more.

“Our recruitment is going very well…We are on track to (take command) on November 29,” the SPS police chief said. Norm Lipinski told a Surrey Police Board meeting Tuesday.

Lipinski added that he is confident that the work done with the RCMP, Ottawa, the province and the city will develop a cohesive plan that will ensure the transition continues through 2025 until “a little bit” 2027. He said information about the plan would be made public. in the coming weeks.

Of the 445 SPS officers, 270 work on the front lines, while others oversee operations, recruit and train officers, and work on transition logistics. Other officers are undergoing training, including the latest group of 33 experienced officers who are undergoing a six-week training session.

The SPS now has 30 vehicles on the road and is working on other aspects of the transition, including setting up its own computer system and a RCMP records transition plan.

Article content

Article content

During the transition, the public will see both SPS, RCMP and vehicles in the community, said SPS spokesperson Ian MacDonald.

The provincial branch of the RCMP will supervise officers at the Surrey detachment during the transition and when the SPS takes command, officially known as “jurisdictional policing.”

In a statement last month Commenting on the transition, RCMP Assistant Commissioner John Brewer, responsible for criminal operations in British Columbia, said: “We will ensure there is certainty for our members in Surrey as we move to a provincial support unit for Surrey, with specific roles and responsibilities.

Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke and her majority city council have engaged in an 18-month battle to end the transition undertaken by the previous council. THE the battle did not end until July when Locke and his council agreed to a $250 million deal with the province to help cover the costs of the transition.

During this long battle, Locke and his council had refused to fund an accelerated transition and hiring had been virtually halted.

Locke and his council lost an attempt at the Supreme Court of British Columbia to block the transition that the province wanted to achieve.

Article content

The province’s financial plan includes $30 million per year until 2029 to help with the transition. It also includes up to $20 million per year between 2029 and 2034 if the Surrey Police Service’s costs are higher than what the city would have paid the RCMP.

One of the main concerns is that municipal forces will increase their costs.

A cost analysis produced by the accounting firm Deloitte for the province had shown that if both forces had 734 officers, the SPS would cost $30 million more per year than the RCMP, a cost increase of about 15 percent. RCMP salary costs have increased since then, on par with the SPS.

Locke repeatedly pointed out a $75 million difference from the Deloitte report, but that compared a force of 900 SPS officers to a force of 734 RCMP officers, not an apples-to-apples comparison.

Locke had said earlier that she wants to understand the progress made to date on the transition and ensure that the policing model and costs meet the needs of Surrey.

The British Columbia government has named two leading policing experts, Tonia Enger and Clayton Pecknold, to represent the city at a joint implementation table, alongside representatives from the Ministry of Public Safety and the Solicitor General, Public Safety Canada and the RCMP. and the SPS.

Article content

The province had removed the council appointed amid a long-running dispute, but said a council would be reestablished in early 2025.

[email protected]

x.com/gordon_hoekstra

Bookmark our website and support our journalism: Don’t miss the news you need to know — add VancouverSun.com And TheProvince.com to your favorites and subscribe to our newsletters here.

You can also support our journalism by becoming a digital subscriber: for just $14 a month, you can get unlimited access to the Vancouver Sun, The Province, the National Post and 13 other Canadian news sites. Support us by subscribing today: The Vancouver Sun | The province.

Article content