Surrey city council cast an historic vote Monday night on the next course of action for Surrey91裸聊视频檚 embattled policing transition. On a 5-4 vote, council decided to maintain the Surrey RCMP as this city91裸聊视频檚 police of jurisdiction instead of forging ahead with the Surrey Police Service.
City staff will now prepare a plan for Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General Mike Farnworth91裸聊视频檚 approval to that end, as well as issue a letter on council91裸聊视频檚 behalf to the Surrey Police Board 91裸聊视频渢o pause all new hiring and expenditures pending further Council direction.91裸聊视频�
Mayor Brenda Locke and her Surrey Connect five-member majority campaigned on keeping the RCMP.
She and councillors Harry Bains, Rob Stutt, Pardeep Kooner and Gordon Hepner voted in favour, while Safe Surrey Coalition councillors Doug Elford and Mandeep Nagra voted against keeping the RCMP as did Surrey First councillors Mike Bose and Linda Annis.
Annis moved an amendment toward staging a referendum, but her amendment was defeated.
91裸聊视频淲e have no idea where we91裸聊视频檙e at with this transition, there91裸聊视频檚 been very little public consultation,91裸聊视频� Annis said. 91裸聊视频淲e have no idea what the cost would be if we were to revert back to the RCMP. This is the largest issue that probably any single city council will ever make.91裸聊视频�
91裸聊视频淚 think there91裸聊视频檚 absolutely nothing wrong with engaging with the public and asking for their opinion,91裸聊视频� Annis said. Surrey Connect claimed during the election campaign that sticking with the RCMP would save taxpayers $520M over the next four years.
Coun. Mike Bose said having a referendum, 91裸聊视频渁s expensive and as time-consuming as it would be,91裸聊视频� would 91裸聊视频渃reate that transparency and openness that we91裸聊视频檝e all run on.91裸聊视频�
Two options were before council. The second option, rendered moot after this vote, was to continue the transition to the Surrey Police Service.
Surrey First issued a press release before the meeting calling for a referendum, in which Annis said, 91裸聊视频淭he nine of us elected to council on October 15 should not be making this final decision.91裸聊视频�
Annis wrote a letter to Farnworth urging him to call on the City of Surrey to hold a public referendum on the policing question, arguing that 91裸聊视频渢his costly back-and-forth will remain a political football unless the voters of Surrey are finally allowed to decide this issue.91裸聊视频�
Nagra urged to 91裸聊视频済et the numbers out91裸聊视频� from the Surrey Police Board. 91裸聊视频淩ight now we don91裸聊视频檛 have any numbers,91裸聊视频� he said. 91裸聊视频淧lease make a wise decision, let91裸聊视频檚 get all the numbers before we vote on this.91裸聊视频�
91裸聊视频淚91裸聊视频檓 not saying, you know, that the SPS is better than RCMP or RCMP is better than SPS, all we91裸聊视频檙e saying is let91裸聊视频檚 look at the numbers one more time before we make any decisions.91裸聊视频�
Elford said going 91裸聊视频渂ack in time to untransition to the RCMP91裸聊视频� would once again render Surrey an 91裸聊视频渦nderpoliced city.91裸聊视频� The Newton resident said he91裸聊视频檚 been personally victimized under the RCMP91裸聊视频檚 watch, including having 19 bikes stolen, a 91裸聊视频渕eth-crazed bunch of youths smash windows out of my brand-new car and threaten my life in my driveway, only for them to come back and smash out the window of my rental car the next day.
91裸聊视频淒o I want to wake up in the middle of the night to chase a burglar out of my living room?91裸聊视频� Elford said. 91裸聊视频淚 do not want to go back to a police force that is undermanned and continues to be undermanned to this day.91裸聊视频�
In response, Coun. Rob Stutt said he fails to see how Elford 91裸聊视频渉as provided any proof that a change of the policing that we91裸聊视频檝e had for the last 70 years would improve by a new police force.91裸聊视频�
91裸聊视频淲e hear let91裸聊视频檚 look at the numbers one more time. I would like to look at the numbers one time. We haven91裸聊视频檛 seen the numbers yet,91裸聊视频� Stutt noted. 91裸聊视频淭hat91裸聊视频檚 the issue.91裸聊视频�
Coun. Gordon Hepner asked city staff if the SPS has revealed to staff its capital expenditure plan for the transition. Finance manager Kam Grewal replied that 91裸聊视频渙ver the course of time staff have worked with SPS, there have been communications, but in relation to recent times and an updated capital plan, that information hasn91裸聊视频檛 yet been solidified or finalized in terms of what does that plan look like rolling out to completion of transition.91裸聊视频�
Locke also weighed in.
91裸聊视频淔irst of all, Councillor Elford, with all due respect you consistently voted against additional staffing to add more boots on the ground and we did not see that in the previous four years,91裸聊视频� she said. She added Annis is getting ahead of herself in terms of a referendum because the motion before council Monday was to maintain the RCMP as the police of jurisdiction and send a plan to Farnworth.
91裸聊视频淭hey are that now,91裸聊视频� Locke said. 91裸聊视频淲e are only talking about asking staff to assist us in preparing a report, in fact, a report that should have been prepared at the very beginning of this almost four years ago.91裸聊视频�
Meantime, the Surrey Police Union last week said 275 of 293 Surrey Police Service officers signed a pledge saying they have no intention of joining the 91裸聊视频渢oxic91裸聊视频� RCMP if the process to reverse the SPS policing transition to keep the Surrey RCMP as the city91裸聊视频檚 police of jurisdiction goes ahead.
The Surrey Police Union pledge, released Nov. 10, says 94 per cent of its members have declared 91裸聊视频淣o Intention91裸聊视频� of joining the RCMP if the SPS ceases to exist.
Locke on election night Oct. 15 said in her victory speech that she and her team have a 91裸聊视频済reat plan91裸聊视频� to keep the Surrey RCMP as the city91裸聊视频檚 police of jurisdiction, adding, 91裸聊视频淲e will not leave any of the SPS officers behind, we will pick them up.91裸聊视频� She reiterated this in her inauguration speech on Nov. 7, at city hall.
SPU President Rick Stewart said the officers 91裸聊视频渧oluntarily signed this declaration because of a number of specific reasons related to the RCMP, and as such, Mayor Locke91裸聊视频檚 hiring plan shows no regard for the will of our members91裸聊视频� and 91裸聊视频渢he attraction of working for a Surrey-based municipal police force remains as one of the main factors behind our successful recruitment thus far.91裸聊视频�
Locke expressed dismay.
91裸聊视频淚 would tell you that quite frankly I91裸聊视频檓 disappointed with this tactic that the SPS union has taken and as I said in my statement, this plan will be people-centric.
91裸聊视频淭here are opportunities with the RCMP and so people will make their decisions moving forward so I think all that will take on whatever role it takes on later on,91裸聊视频� Locke told the Now-Leader. 91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 a new day for Surrey and we91裸聊视频檙e going to do exactly what the voter had asked and so we91裸聊视频檝e moving forward on that. But you know, we91裸聊视频檝e got to get beyond the back-and-forth and that91裸聊视频檚 important. I know we all want to have a shared goal.91裸聊视频�
That goal, she said, is keeping residents safe.
Brian Sauv茅, president of the National Police Federation, said policing 91裸聊视频渟hould not be politicized.
91裸聊视频淭he police transition in Surrey has been a polarizing issue. However, the members of the Surrey RCMP have shown dedication and commitment throughout, and have been working seamlessly with their SPS colleagues which is a testament to their professionalism.91裸聊视频�
On the matter of council instructing City of Surrey staff to in turn instruct the Surrey Police Board to cease hiring and spending, the board91裸聊视频檚 executive director Melissa Granum notes that under the Police Act the provincial government has authority over the board and no city council can direct the police 91裸聊视频渨ith respect to their budget and their hiring.91裸聊视频�
Granum says the board has 91裸聊视频渆very intention91裸聊视频� of 91裸聊视频渓ooking to the province for guidance on next steps and advice91裸聊视频� and 91裸聊视频渋t91裸聊视频檚 also important to understand that the hiring that91裸聊视频檚 occurring right now is completed and that takes us into January of next year. So we have new police recruits for the police academy and we have police officers hired to deploy in January.91裸聊视频�
Those hires, she said, have been completed.
91裸聊视频淪o any stoppage to hiring would have a ripple effect into the spring,91裸聊视频� Granum said. 91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 really, really important to understand is that the province has given us direction to continue deploying police officers and to continue hiring. That91裸聊视频檚 the direction from the province itself.91裸聊视频�
This, Granum explains, overrides what council decided Monday night 91裸聊视频渨ith our approved budget, yes.91裸聊视频�
91裸聊视频淭he bottom line is hiring these police officers that we91裸聊视频檝e already given employment offers to and who91裸聊视频檝e already given notice to their previous employers, is Surrey needs those police resources at the front line, they need those police resources to be taking calls for service in Surrey.91裸聊视频�
So it91裸聊视频檚 the province that has the say, not city council at this point, within the 2022 budget. 91裸聊视频淭hat91裸聊视频檚 something really important as well is council ultimately approves our annual budgets so we91裸聊视频檒l be submitting a budget for next year, and we91裸聊视频檒l have to determine next steps once council makes a decision on the budget for next year.91裸聊视频�
That said, Granum notes 91裸聊视频渋t would be ideal91裸聊视频� for Farnworth to make his decision 91裸聊视频渋n a timely manner91裸聊视频� because council needs to plan its budget and 91裸聊视频渋t needs to understand which direction it91裸聊视频檚 going.91裸聊视频�
91裸聊视频淎t the end of the day, the most important thing obviously for everybody involved is public safety and ensuring that we have enough police officers working in the city. There91裸聊视频檚 a common goal there.91裸聊视频�
tom.zytaruk@surreynowleader.com
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