British Columbia Public Safety Minister and Solicitor General Mike Farnworth said he is satisfied the Surrey Police Service (SPS) transition was upheld in a judicial review. Since the ruling favoured Farnworth’s 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,” said Farnworth in a Thursday statement.“Every action I have taken has been rooted in ensuring safe and effective policing so that when people call 9-1-1, help is on the way.”He said this ruling “helps to provide certainty for the future of policing in Surrey, and I look forward to continuing that work.”The BC government directed the City of Surrey to move forward with the SPS and scrap the RCMP in July. 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.”Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke said the court challenge revealed large holes in the transition to the SPS on several levels. “And the true cost will have an extremely, extremely onerous impact on the City of Surrey and especially on Surrey taxpayers,” said Locke. “Which may I add is something that all of the NDP MLAs in Surrey and Coun. [Linda] Annis, [Mike] Bose, [Doug] Elford, and [Mandeep] Nagra are more than willing to find acceptable for our residents.”.The BC government established a target date for the SPS to assume policing and law enforcement in Surrey on April 23. READ MORE: BC government sets target date for Surrey Police Service transitionOn November 29, the SPS will start to be the police of jurisdiction, where it will become responsible for policing and law enforcement on behalf of the City of Surrey. The BC RCMP will remain active in Surrey, providing support to it until the transition is completed, with them working together under a temporary operational co-operation and assistance agreement. “The people of Surrey have told us they want this to be over,” said Farnworth.
