Surrey's new mayor will be allowed to scrap transition to municipal police force

When she launched her campaign to be mayor of Surrey, Brenda Locke’s biggest campaign promise was to stop the transition to a municipal police force that started under Doug McCallum, and keep the RCMP.

Critics argued it was too late to stop the process, which is well underway. But on Monday, Solicitor General Mike Farnworth confirmed Locke, who beat McCallum by fewer than 1,000 votes on Saturday, can scrap the Surrey Police Service.

“Surrey has the ability to make that choice,” said Farnworth. “That being said, in order to do that, it’s not a like flipping on and off a light switch.”

The province, which approved the transition to a municipal force, has to sign off on any change to policing in B.C.’s second-biggest city.

“The critical part of this is for Surrey to put together a transition plan that deals with all the components of untransititioning, so that plan ensures that there continues to be adequate and effective policing in the City of Surrey,” said Farnworth.

The solicitor general said issues such as human resources and financing need to be figured out before Surrey can reverse the transition and go back to the RCMP. But Locke has already instructed city staff to tell the Surrey Police Service to halt any plans they’re making to continue the transition.

“I have also asked staff to let them know to stop all spending as of now, and that they are supposed to be stopping all external communications,” said Locke, who added she was crystal clear what she was going to do if elected.

But the SPS isn’t listening to Locke. In an interview with CTV News, media liason Ian MacDonald said until the province makes a final determination, the transition will continue.

“We recognize there is a new mayor-elect. But can you for a minute imagine whether this community or any community would flip-flop every four years and change police service based on the whim of a mayor or council?” said MacDonald.

Around $100 million has already been spent on start-up costs IT and wages at the SPS, he added.

“360 people chose to come to SPS because of what the Surrey Police Service represented and because of their connection to the citizens of Surrey. And so I find it to be irresponsible for anybody to look at those people and say you don’t matter,” said Macdonald, who is concerned many of those new recruits will lose their jobs.

Locke insists most of those people can work for Surrey RCMP, and it will be cheaper to stop the transition than continuing down that road. And the mayor-elect takes offence at MacDonald suggesting her plan to stop the transition is irresponsible.

“I would say that is highly unprofessional of a person who is working at the Surrey Police Service to be attacking a duly-elected official,” said Locke. “We are administering and doing exactly what the public asked us to do.”

But Locke acknowledges there’s nothing she can do to stop the transition until she’s sworn in as mayor on Nov. 7.

“I don’t really have the power to do it at this point, but I am hopeful they will recognize that the public has spoken, the electorate has spoken,” Locke said. “The Surrey Police Service is going to be ended very shortly.”