Farnworth Confirmed The decision To Keep The RCMP Is Surrey’s As Long As Certain Conditions Are Met!

The provincial New Democrat Party (NDP) came out with their report Friday morning which basically tried to shove Surrey Police Service (SPS) down the City’s throat but mayor Brenda Locke, who ran on Keep The RCMP Surrey ticket and won, said heck no and she will fight tooth and nails to keep the RCMP as the main force in Surrey. Locke, who ran on a promise to keep the RCMP in Surrey, knows that it’s ultimately Surrey’s decision to keep whichever police force and she vowed to keep the RCMP and slammed Farnworth for a decision she claimed was politically motivated and “extraordinarily disrespectful.” “The B.C. Police Act states clearly: The choice of police is under the purview of the municipality,” Locke told reporters at a news conference. Farnworth confirmed the decision to keep the RCMP is Surrey’s as long as certain conditions are met.

By R. Paul Dhillon – Editor DESIBUZZCanada 

With News Files

SURREY – The provincial New Democrat Party (NDP) came out with their report Friday morning which basically tried to shove Surrey Police Service (SPS) down the City’s throat but mayor Brenda Locke, who ran on Keep The RCMP Surrey ticket and won, said heck no and she will fight tooth and nails to keep the RCMP as the main force in Surrey.

The Province said in a press release that it is recommending the City of Surrey continue its transition to the Surrey Police Service, because it ensures public safety for people in Surrey and throughout British Columbia, while offering financial assistance to protect Surrey taxpayers.

Mike Farnworth, Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General, has agreed that the best way to achieve public safety in B.C., especially given the ongoing RCMP vacancy challenges, while putting this difficult time behind Surrey, is with a municipal police force.

But Locke, who ran on a promise to keep the RCMP in Surrey, knows that it’s ultimately Surrey’s decision to keep whichever police force and she vowed to keep the RCMP and slammed Farnworth for a decision she claimed was politically motivated and “extraordinarily disrespectful.”

“The B.C. Police Act states clearly: The choice of police is under the purview of the municipality,” Locke told reporters at a news conference after the B.C. government announced its recommendation.

“Council made that decision. We made it five months ago. And our decision has not changed.”

According to the province, the city’s decision to continue down that path will not have financial support from the provincial government, and will be subject to several binding conditions to ensure adequate levels of policing are maintained.

Locke decried Farnworth’s offer of financial support to help the city manage the estimated $30 million in additional annual costs that will come with operating the Surrey Police Service rather than the Surrey RCMP.

The mayor noted that Farnworth, who is also B.C.’s solicitor general, had previously warned that no additional provincial money would be forthcoming to cover the cost of the Surrey police transition.

Calling the province’s decision “a recommendation with strings attached,” Locke accused Farnworth of putting politics ahead of public safety.

“At the 11th hour, there is financial support from the province, so long as our decision is the SPS,” she said. “It is clear to me that the solicitor general has a position on which force he would like, but politics – and not public safety in Surrey – appear to be the driving force behind his recommendation.”

Currently, there are approximately 1,500 RCMP vacancies throughout the province. The provincial report states that Surrey reverting back to the RCMP would exacerbate the challenges faced by municipalities and Indigenous communities by increasing demand for officers and aggravate public-safety concerns. Filling RCMP vacancies is the responsibility of the federal government, reported CTV News.

“Everyone deserves to be safe in their community and all British Columbians deserve secure, stable policing they can count on,” Farnworth said. “The people of Surrey are very frustrated by years of uncertainty over this debate, but we must move forward without reducing police presence when we need it the most. Now is not the time to put public safety at risk in Surrey or in any community in the province.”

But Locke told reporters she was not given a copy of Lewis’ report until 20 minutes into Farnworth’s announcement Friday morning, saying she had to email the minister’s office to request it.

The mayor then held up a printed copy of the document to show those in attendance the black bars redacting large portions of it.

“How on Earth are we expected to make an informed decision?” she asked, asserting that Farnworth had access to the full, unredacted report and adequate time to consider it.

Asked about the report later in the news conference, Locke described it as a document “written by people in Victoria that don’t understand the lay of the land in Surrey.”

She also claimed that Farnworth had not spoken to her much during the months since she was elected, something she felt reflected a lack of adequate communication with Surrey as a whole.

“I have to tell you, there has not been, in my mind, an appropriate consideration of our city,” Locke said. “I think it’s been extraordinarily disrespectful, and I think what was presented today was, in fact, disingenuous.”

If Surrey wishes to keep the RCMP, it will need to meet certain conditions set out in Lewis’ report.

While the province’s recommendation that Surrey proceed with the SPS is not binding, Farnworth said the conditions are.

They include that the city must hire a strategic implementation advisor for the reversion to RCMP, develop individualized human resources plans for the SPS and RCMP, and revise its plan to ensure that restaffing Surrey RCMP is not prioritized over filling other RCMP vacancies in the province.

The city will also be obligated to hire an RCMP senior contract officer and a senior transition leader from the BC RCMP who is not currently a part of the Surrey RCMP.

The SPS currently has more than 400 employees, making it the second-largest municipal police force in the province. SPS officers are currently deployed alongside Surrey RCMP officers, under the command of the RCMP.

Surrey First Councillor Linda Annis says the provincial government’s report on policing in Surrey provides the sort of details needed for a public referendum on who should police British Columbia’s second largest city.

 “Like so many of our residents, I’m frustrated that while the province has done tremendous work on getting the facts and doing the comparison, including recommending we stick with the transition to the SPS, the issue has been returned to us for a final decision,” said Annis.

 “I’ve always believed that the choice of police departments is too big, too costly, and too fundamental to be decided by city council alone. Surrey residents have been ignored and sidelined on this issue for five years. Now, they should be given the facts and the options and allowed to have the final say, rather than nine people on city council.”

Annis said the lack of transparency surrounding the policing issue has angered and confused Surrey residents, and the provincial government report is the first serious look at the facts and options.

 “We are disappointed that the BC Government has made this decision,” said Anita Huberman, President & CEO, Surrey Board of Trade. “However, with this decision, the City of Surrey can reinvigorate its public safety efforts, advocate for needed wrap-around support services to support the police service and focus on a renewed Surrey economic and jobs plan. We look forward to working with the Mayor and Council as well as the chosen police service to provide industry input on economic issues,” said Anita Huberman of the Surrey Board of Trade.

With Files from CTV News