The Surrey Police Service is less than three weeks from taking over from the RCMP to manage policing in British Columbia’s second most populous municipality, but there’s still no formal deal on how responsibilities will be split between the two forces.
On Nov. 29, the municipal service becomes the police force of jurisdiction in Surrey, while the Mounties take on what’s expected to be a years-long supporting role.
SPS Chief Norm Lipinski says he isn’t worried about the lack of an agreement, which he expects to be signed “in a matter of days.”
“We’re putting those pieces together to get us to a place where public safety is not going to be compromised in Surrey. I’m very, very confident about that. … There’s enough overlap, there’s enough people, there’s enough equipment,” he said.
The head of the RCMP’s union says members are anxious at being so close to the handover without a clear understanding of what their jobs will look like.
Brian Sauvé, president of the National Police Federation, says members haven’t been told what’s going to happen on Nov. 29 and since each police service has its own policies and procedures there could be challenges.
“I think, generally speaking, [people are feeling] anxious, uncertain, concerned, knot in stomach, if you will. Mainly because nobody knows what’s happening,” he said.
While policing in Surrey has been managed by the RCMP, SPS officers have been working alongside them since 2021 while a dispute over the transition played out in municipal and provincial politics.
That dispute ended this year with the announcement of the Nov. 29 transition date, but laws that prevent Mounties from answering to municipal police are complicating the handover, requiring a new deal on responsibilities.
Lipinski would not go into specifics about the agreement that is being worked on, but says the two forces are essentially dividing up Surrey geographically with the RCMP responsible for some areas and the Surrey Police Service in charge of others.
“We will start with geography and certain areas, and they will start with their geography. Then what happens is, as we build up and they scale down, we take over more of their geography. We’ve got a plan for that. It makes total sense,” he says.
Lipinski said the SPS has 455 members and will need 785 to take over from the RCMP completely. He said he expects it to take another two to three years to get the force up to full strength.
‘Like building a house’
Sauvé said that legally the Mounties can’t work under a municipal police force, a situation commonly referred to as “red under blue,” which is why having an agreement on responsibilities is so important.
He said there would be “no shame” in the Nov. 29 deadline being pushed back to give both sides more time.
“What does Nov. 30 look like? I think the City of Surrey is going to be safe. The membership of the RCMP will do their job,” he said.
“How that looks, and the nitty-gritty of what that looks like, obviously, I’m very, very curious to see the details. And it has been underwhelming with respect to how much has been relayed to us,” he said.
Surrey’s police transition saga appears to be coming to an end. Mayor Brenda Locke says the city is accepting the province’s mandated transition from RCMP to the Surrey Police Service.
Lipinski said he is confident things will be ready for Nov. 29.
He said, “there’s nothing super onerous about having two chains of command,” and while there may be “unforeseen circumstances,” he’s optimistic the two sides will be able to work through them.
“There will not be any public safety risk, and there will be business continuity as we move forward and as we evolve. And, of course, there will be things that you have to do thereafter because you didn’t have the time to do it before,” he said.
“It’s like building a house, and sometimes you move in and you have to do some of the other elements, such as painting and so forth and so on. But it’s there. The structure is there and we’re ready to go.”