Surrey mayor says final decision on policing in the city could come by the end of next week

Surrey, B.C. -

The battle over who will police the city of Surrey is heating up yet again.

City staff have released their first public report on progress made in meeting binding conditions from the province to keep the RCMP.

The city says 15 Surrey Police Service officers have been hired by the RCMP or are in the process.

“We are moving forward on all of those issues that the minister asked us to do and we are feeling very confident in where we are with the RCMP,” said Brenda Locke, mayor of Surrey.

The report claims another 81 SPS officers have indicated they will also jump ship.

However, the SPS tells CTV News those numbers are unverified, calling them “wishful thinking.”

When asked how the report reached those numbers, Surrey’s top cop offered this explanation.

“I asked all line officers to record names, unsolicited names, SPS officers who had indicated they would – if the decision was made to retain the RCMP – would join the RCMP,” said Asst. Commissioner Brian Edwards, the officer in charge of Surrey RCMP during Monday night’s council meeting.

Edwards says eight cadets from the RCMP depot will also be joining by next month and two experienced officers are transferring from other agencies.

Council voted in favour of receiving the document in a 6-3 vote.

Councillors Mandeep Nagra, Doug Elford and Linda Annis, who are not a part of Locke’s Surrey Connect Party majority on council, voted against it.

Annis attempted to make a motion to defer receiving the report until after the province's solicitor general has made his final decision, but Locke ruled the motion was out of order.

“I think we're putting the cart before the horse,” Annis told CTV News.

Annis says the delays and uncertainty have been a major strain on the city.

“I know the taxpayers are very frustrated. I'm very frustrated. And I also feel an awful lot of empathy for the men and women that serve both through the Surrey Police Service and the RCMP having to go through this long wait,” said Annis.

Retaining both police forces is costing Surrey taxpayers about $8 million a month.

TAXPAYERS LEFT IN LIMBO

In April, Solicitor General and Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth recommended that Surrey continue the transition to a municipal force.

He said up to $150 million would be offered to the city if it continued the transition, but those funds would not be offered if the Mounties were to stay.

Mayor Brenda Locke refused, but now the city must meet a number of binding conditions to keep the Mounties.

The most challenging is a re-staffing plan that does not prioritize Surrey RCMP hiring over the roughly 1,500 hard and soft RCMP vacancies across the province.

“Dealing with a progress report, investing time, money and effort into this detransition back to the RCMP could all go for naught within a week or so of when the decision actually is made. So I think it's very premature,” said Coun. Doug Elford.

Locke says she expects a final decision from Farnworth by the end of next week.

Last month, the mayor accused the minister of bullying and misogyny.

“We had a cordial conversation just last Friday. And so I'm happy to say that I think we have a good relationship,” Locked told CTV News Tuesday.

The Surrey Police Service says it was not invited to speak at Monday night’s council meeting.

It’s concerned that the delays and uncertainty in deciding on which agency will be the police of jurisdiction is threatening officer retention for both the RCMP and the SPS.

SPS spokesperson Ian MacDonald said the municipal force's officers are essential whether the final decision is to continue the police transition or revert to the RCMP.

"The City of Surrey’s progress report detailed their reliance on SPS officers for their success," MacDonald said in an email to CTV News.

"Therefore, we anticipate greater support for our staff from all parties as we move forward in anticipation of the final decision from the province relating to the future of policing in Surrey and beyond."

The SPS confirms it lost five officers last month.

MacDonald told CTV News two have chosen to move to the Surrey RCMP, but noted those officers came from RCMP detachments outside the province with the intention of joining the Surrey RCMP. 

The SPS says they were not offered positions within the RCMP until after they were deployed to the SPS.

It says 16 staff have left the SPS since 2020; some have left policing all together.

The spokesperson disputes the latest numbers from city staff, saying no other SPS officers have left the agency to join the RCMP, but 36 Surrey Mounties have joined the service since its inception.

TWITTER WAR

The Surrey Police Union called out the mayor and the staff’s report in a series of tweets Monday night.

It posted a number of unattributed testimonials from its members highlighting chronic short staffing, a toxic work environment, and a lack of accountability within the RCMP.

The tweets were addressed to and tagged Mayor Locke.

Hours later, the union posted a screenshot that it had been blocked from her account.

“I'm glad we could have this transparent conversation,” wrote the union in response.

A spokesperson called the move disappointing.

“We need to have those constructive dialogues. There needs to be open communication and that hasn't been there since the start of this process,” said Ryan Buhrig of the Surrey Police Union.

CTV News asked Locke about her decision.

“I probably did block them on my personal Twitter account. I can tell you, and I think people know, that some of the dialogue has been very, very caustic. I don't need to see that on my personal Twitter account,” said the mayor.

Farnworth has not given the city a hard deadline on when it needs to meet the binding conditions to keep the RCMP.

“As solicitor general, I am required to ensure effective and adequate policing in Surrey and across B.C. When people call the police, they need to be confident that help will arrive,” said the minister in a statement to CTV News.

He says he must be satisfied that the City of Surrey’s plan will ensure effective and adequate policing is maintained in Surrey and throughout the province.

“I know that people in Surrey want to be safe and they want this to be over. I expect to be communicating a final decision soon,” read the statement.