Farnworth promises Surrey police transition will be on solid ground even as RCMP is hired

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British Columbia’s public safety minister has revealed more details about how he will underpin the province’s plan to accelerate Surrey’s long-delayed police transition.

However, this comes as the RCMP says, instead of reducing officers in Surrey, it is actually hiring more Mounties due to a freeze on hiring more Surrey Police Service (SPS) staff.

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Minister Mike Farnworth told Postmedia News on Friday that when the municipal police service takes over, the BC RCMP would “provide transitional support” to the SPS.

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That agreement “does not require the RCMP to delegate its authority under the command of another police agency. So the two police agencies would work together under a collaborative agreement.”

Farnworth said this addresses the RCMP commissioner’s concerns, released this week in a leaked letter, that the Mounties cannot work under the SPS once the municipal department assumes jurisdiction.

Farnworth did not give a date for when the SPS will take over jurisdiction, but said more details will be announced early next week. Farnworth has previously said the transition could take up to three years to complete.

The Surrey RCMP remains the police service of jurisdiction and supervises approximately 400 SPS officers and support staff. However, the SPS has not been able to hire new staff because the City of Surrey will not approve a larger budget.

According to a leaked letter from RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme sent to Farnworth on April 12, Duheme said he was surprised to hear the Minister of Public Safety tell reporters on April 9 that there was an agreement in principle on a plan to transition “that would have the RCMP support the SPS as police of jurisdiction, implying a ‘Red under Blue’ scenario.”

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Duheme, echoing the position of the union representing RCMP officers, said there are “important federal restrictions and requirements that must be taken into account in developing the transition approach, including critical limits on my ability to delegate my authorities.” as commissioner.”

He said current legislation and police agreements “do not provide authority to require, on a non-voluntary basis, RCMP members to work under the command of another police service to support a transition to a new municipal police service.”

Farnworth noted that during three meetings that took place in Ottawa on March 18, 19 and 27, public safety officials from his office, the federal government and the RCMP “confirmed an agreement on the path forward by which we can advance the transition.”

This was supported by an April 18 letter from federal Public Safety Minister Daniel LeBlanc, released by the premier’s office in British Columbia, which states that the agreed transition plan is consistent with existing provincial and federal laws.

Duheme also said the national police are adding more officers to the ranks of the Surrey RCMP in light of the hiring freeze in the municipal force.

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“Unfortunately, in the absence of additional SPS staff, we have had no choice but to resume staffing RCMP posts, both with existing staff and newly graduated RCMP staff, to ensure frontline policing capacity.” appropriate and necessary,” he wrote.

Analysts say it’s a sign of the political game surrounding Surrey’s police transition, which has resulted in things moving one step forward and two steps back.

Robert Gordon, professor emeritus of criminology at Simon Fraser University, said the news that the RCMP is hiring more Mounties in Surrey is “just going to create more chaos.”

“I can’t imagine why they’re doing that,” he said. “It’s just another step in the political game that’s going on.”

“Precisely how the baton is handed over is the question at issue here or the point of contention,” said Hamish Telford, a political scientist at the University of the Fraser Valley. “You could imagine that would happen more easily if SPS were expanded at the rate it should be. But we have a recalcitrant and uncooperative council in Surrey which is not helping the development of a new force.”

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Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke was not available for an interview Friday, but said in a statement: “It’s been five years and this week’s letters clearly indicate that the province still does not have a plan. The NDP continues to attempt to keep Surrey residents in the dark about the cost and long-term impact of this imposed transition. “It is disappointing that the province continues to politicize this matter just days before it is to be considered in court.”

A judicial review into whether the province has the authority to force the transition begins April 29. Locke has said Surrey taxpayers want to keep the RCMP to avoid rising costs and earlier this month he rejected $250 million in financial compensation offered by the province. to cover some of the transition costs.

Farnworth said he is confident the province will emerge a winner and that the transition plan will move forward.

“Because at the end of the day, the transition to the Surrey Police Service is British Columbia law,” he said.

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