The British Columbia government confirmed it had reached an agreement with the City of Surrey that will complete the transition to the Surrey Police Service (SPS) by providing oversight, accountability, and cost mitigation for people and businesses. BC Public Safety Minister and Solicitor General Mike Farnworth said Surrey residents “have told both levels of government that they want us to be focused on keeping people safe.”“This agreement provides stability, certainty and safety for the people of Surrey,” said Farnworth in a Wednesday press release.“I look forward to working with the mayor and City of Surrey, the Surrey Police Service and the RCMP to complete this transition as quickly as possible while ensuring safety for Surrey residents.”Through the agreement, the BC government said it will provide $30 million per year to assist with transition costs until 2029. It added the agreement provides a financial guarantee of as much as $20 million per year if SPS salary costs are higher than RCMP costs would be from 2029 to 2034 for actual costs. Surrey supports the transition, agrees a separate police tax is unnecessary, and will provide space, funding, and payroll for the SPS. Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke said city council “has worked hard to ensure that the provincial government would support the police transition beyond its initial $150-million offer.”“With the $250 million now offered by the province, Surrey council has accepted the provincial funding for the police transition,” said Locke. “The new funds from the province will help to lessen the financial impact of the transition to Surrey taxpayers.”Although Surrey will be changing its policing model, Locke pointed out city council recognizes the service of the RCMP. In response, she said it was grateful for all of the actions Surrey RCMP has done to serve and protect the community for the past 70 years with its exemplary service. The SPS will become the police of jurisdiction on November 29. With this agreement, the BC government said the City of Surrey has appointed policing experts Tonia Enger and Clayton Pecknold to represent it at the Joint Implementation Table alongside representatives from BC Public Safety and Solicitor General, Public Safety Canada, the RCMP, and the SPS. It said the SPS Board’s budget for 2024-2025 fits within Surrey’s financial framework. The budget sets out a plan to hire 526 SPS officers by the end of 2024, making up about two-thirds of its authorized policing strength for 2024. The BC government directed the City of Surrey to move forward with the SPS and scrap the RCMP in 2023. READ MORE: UPDATED: BC government mandates Surrey use municipal police service, boot RCMP“People’s safety in Surrey and across the province is non-negotiable,” said Farnworth. “The city has failed to meet the requirements I placed to prevent a situation where there are not enough police officers to keep people safe in Surrey.”Farnworth said in May he was satisfied the SPS transition was upheld in a judicial review. READ MORE: UPDATED: BC public safety minister declares victory in Surrey police judicial reviewSince the ruling favoured his side, he said now “is the time to come together to complete the transition to the Surrey Police Service.” “The safety of people in Surrey and across British Columbia has always been my main priority,” he said.
