Surrey mayor Brenda Locke is telling Mike Farnworth, Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General, that Surrey has made the decision to move on with keeping the Surrey RCMP as their police of choice and province needs to respect that and not delay the transition back to RCMP any longer. Minister Farnworth said in the last hour that policing is Surrey’s decision to make, and Council has made the decision to maintain the RCMP. The City is now considering its options as I do not believe the Province’s reason to delay its decision is justified,” Locke said in a press release Thursday.

By R. Paul Dhillon – Editor DESIBUZZCanada

SURREY – Surrey mayor Brenda Locke is telling Mike Farnworth, Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General, that Surrey has made the decision to move on with keeping the Surrey RCMP as their police of choice and province needs to respect that and not delay the transition back to RCMP any longer.

Minister Farnworth said in the last hour that policing is Surrey’s decision to make, and Council has made the decision to maintain the RCMP. The City is now considering its options as I do not believe the Province’s reason to delay its decision is justified,” Locke said in a press release Thursday.

“The inability to make a timely decision is unfair to SPS and RCMP officers and their families. It also impacts the City’s ability to complete our budget for 2023. The longer two police agencies are operating with this uncertainty, the more taxpayer dollars are being unnecessarily spent. The instability needs to come to an end, and a timely response is critical. The City and the RCMP completed comprehensive plans on the steps forward to maintain the RCMP. We have clearly and thoroughly provided all the necessary details to demonstrate our ability to maintain the Surrey RCMP and can do so in a more cost effective and timely way than continuing with SPS. The RCMP has served Surrey well for 70 years and crime has been trending downward over the past decade.

“It is natural to want more information as we put our Plans into effect. It is a waste of time to continue to do that work prior to the Province’s decision. The Minister needs to confirm the City has already made the decision. Now we need to act to get more information and an Action Plan in place. The City is ready to act. The Province needs to do the right thing and confirm the City has the right to this decision.”

Farnworth said Thursday in a government press release that while municipalities are responsible for local policing and law enforcement, it's his responsibility to ensure adequate and effective policing is maintained in Surrey, the region and throughout British Columbia, so that people are kept safe.

"Ministry staff has completed a comprehensive review of the submissions we received in December from the City of Surrey, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Surrey Police Service regarding the Surrey police transition,” he said. "It's clear that considerable work has gone into developing these plans and reports, and I appreciate their timely submission.”

But Farnworth added that director of police services has determined that additional information is required to inform further consideration of the matter and has made a request to the parties for that information.

"The policing transition in Surrey is unprecedented and complex and requires a full and in- depth analysis. I am grateful for the work all parties have undertaken to date. We will await their timely responses and look forward to continued collaboration,” he said.

"This matter affects not only policing in Surrey, but across the province. The stability of policing is fundamental to ensuring our provincial responsibilities are met. Public safety in the City of Surrey and throughout British Columbia continues to be our core driving principle."

But business and community groups say that adelayed BC Government decision on Surrey’s Policing future is unacceptable.

 “We are extremely disappointed that the BC Government has compromised the public safety of our businesses and residents,” said Anita Huberman, President & CEO, Surrey Board of Trade. “Our position is to retain the RCMP as Surrey’s public safety infrastructure. This continued delay in decision making by the BC Government holds Surrey as an economic hostage because economic investment decisions are being delayed without knowing what the future holds.”

 “The request for more information does not clarify what information was missing in the original submissions provided by the City of Surrey, the Surrey RCMP and the Surrey Police Service. This signals a further lack of transparency to the public and business community. Further, no timeline was given to the public on when a decision will be made.”