Surrey mayoral candidate promises to dismantle municipal police force and keep RCMP

Brenda Locke, a member of Surrey council running to become the city's next mayor this weekend, says, if elected, she plans to stop the transition from the RCMP to a municipal police force.

The city began its transition to the Surrey Police Service (SPS) in 2018, when council unanimously approved a motion to replace the RCMP. 

Two years later, the city hired its first municipal police chief, Norm Lipinski. In 2021, the first group of SPS officers hit the streets, working alongside the RCMP, and more are being deployed every two months.

According to Surrey Connect, the party Locke is leading, sticking with the RCMP would save the city $521 million over the next four years.

Former B.C. attorney general Wally Oppal, who was chair of the Surrey police transition task force, says going back would be a complicated process. 

"I think they have gone too far to change back," he said.

The municipality would have to get approval from the provincial solicitor general and make a case for the RCMP.

Locke said she is prepared to go to the province and demonstrate how the RCMP is a better fit for Surrey.

"The Surrey Police Service has had an incredible failure to launch," she told Gloria Macarenko, host of CBC's On The Coast, noting that it was supposed to be fully operational in April 2021.

According to the Ministry of Public Safety, decisions around contracting RCMP services are subject to RCMP agreements and federal government policies.

If she is elected and Surrey gets approval to stick with the RCMP, Locke said officers that the Surrey Police Service has hired would be transferred to their previous agency or join the Surrey RCMP. 

Capital costs, such as vehicles and technology, would be absorbed into the Surrey RCMP.

Of the five candidates running for mayor, two plan to continue with the switch and two plan to pause the transition and consult with the public. Locke is the only candidate who promises to stop the transition and keep the RCMP.

But the Surrey Police Union says SPS officers wouldn't be keen to switch to the RCMP. 

"Every police agency is governed by a different collective agreement, union and police board. There is no mechanism for police officers to transfer between agencies, as each would require an extensive job application," union representative Ryan Buhrig told CBC in an email.  

"Also, our 257 unionized police officers would be entitled to a substantial 18-months severance."

Director of the Surrey Police Union Darin Sheppard said the police force will continue moving forward, no matter who is elected to council. 

"We're way past the point of turning back; it wouldn't be feasible in anybody's mind. And it's not something that's just as easy as a candidate indicating that they're going to stop. The decision with that lies with the province," said Sheppard on CBC's On The Coast. 

Oppal says the issue of policing in Surrey has become "too politicized."

"It shouldn't be … because policing is way too important to be politicized," he said. 

"I think that when all the elections are over and the dust settles, I think you'll see that people sit down and decide what's right for their cities and for the province."