Surrey city council cast an historic vote Monday night on the next course of action for Surrey香蕉视频直播檚 embattled policing transition. On a 5-4 vote, council decided to maintain the Surrey RCMP as this city香蕉视频直播檚 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 Farnworth香蕉视频直播檚 approval to that end, as well as issue a letter on council香蕉视频直播檚 behalf to the Surrey Police Board 香蕉视频直播渢o pause all new hiring and expenditures pending further Council direction.香蕉视频直播�
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.
香蕉视频直播淲e have no idea where we香蕉视频直播檙e at with this transition, there香蕉视频直播檚 been very little public consultation,香蕉视频直播� Annis said. 香蕉视频直播淲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.香蕉视频直播�
香蕉视频直播淚 think there香蕉视频直播檚 absolutely nothing wrong with engaging with the public and asking for their opinion,香蕉视频直播� 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, 香蕉视频直播渁s expensive and as time-consuming as it would be,香蕉视频直播� would 香蕉视频直播渃reate that transparency and openness that we香蕉视频直播檝e all run on.香蕉视频直播�
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, 香蕉视频直播淭he nine of us elected to council on October 15 should not be making this final decision.香蕉视频直播�
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 香蕉视频直播渢his costly back-and-forth will remain a political football unless the voters of Surrey are finally allowed to decide this issue.香蕉视频直播�
Nagra urged to 香蕉视频直播済et the numbers out香蕉视频直播� from the Surrey Police Board. 香蕉视频直播淩ight now we don香蕉视频直播檛 have any numbers,香蕉视频直播� he said. 香蕉视频直播淧lease make a wise decision, let香蕉视频直播檚 get all the numbers before we vote on this.香蕉视频直播�
香蕉视频直播淚香蕉视频直播檓 not saying, you know, that the SPS is better than RCMP or RCMP is better than SPS, all we香蕉视频直播檙e saying is let香蕉视频直播檚 look at the numbers one more time before we make any decisions.香蕉视频直播�
Elford said going 香蕉视频直播渂ack in time to untransition to the RCMP香蕉视频直播� would once again render Surrey an 香蕉视频直播渦nderpoliced city.香蕉视频直播� The Newton resident said he香蕉视频直播檚 been personally victimized under the RCMP香蕉视频直播檚 watch, including having 19 bikes stolen, a 香蕉视频直播渕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.
香蕉视频直播淒o I want to wake up in the middle of the night to chase a burglar out of my living room?香蕉视频直播� Elford said. 香蕉视频直播淚 do not want to go back to a police force that is undermanned and continues to be undermanned to this day.香蕉视频直播�
In response, Coun. Rob Stutt said he fails to see how Elford 香蕉视频直播渉as provided any proof that a change of the policing that we香蕉视频直播檝e had for the last 70 years would improve by a new police force.香蕉视频直播�
香蕉视频直播淲e hear let香蕉视频直播檚 look at the numbers one more time. I would like to look at the numbers one time. We haven香蕉视频直播檛 seen the numbers yet,香蕉视频直播� Stutt noted. 香蕉视频直播淭hat香蕉视频直播檚 the issue.香蕉视频直播�
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 香蕉视频直播渙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 hasn香蕉视频直播檛 yet been solidified or finalized in terms of what does that plan look like rolling out to completion of transition.香蕉视频直播�
Locke also weighed in.
香蕉视频直播淔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,香蕉视频直播� 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.
香蕉视频直播淭hey are that now,香蕉视频直播� Locke said. 香蕉视频直播淲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.香蕉视频直播�
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 香蕉视频直播渢oxic香蕉视频直播� RCMP if the process to reverse the SPS policing transition to keep the Surrey RCMP as the city香蕉视频直播檚 police of jurisdiction goes ahead.
The Surrey Police Union pledge, released Nov. 10, says 94 per cent of its members have declared 香蕉视频直播淣o Intention香蕉视频直播� 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 香蕉视频直播済reat plan香蕉视频直播� to keep the Surrey RCMP as the city香蕉视频直播檚 police of jurisdiction, adding, 香蕉视频直播淲e will not leave any of the SPS officers behind, we will pick them up.香蕉视频直播� She reiterated this in her inauguration speech on Nov. 7, at city hall.
SPU President Rick Stewart said the officers 香蕉视频直播渧oluntarily signed this declaration because of a number of specific reasons related to the RCMP, and as such, Mayor Locke香蕉视频直播檚 hiring plan shows no regard for the will of our members香蕉视频直播� and 香蕉视频直播渢he attraction of working for a Surrey-based municipal police force remains as one of the main factors behind our successful recruitment thus far.香蕉视频直播�
Locke expressed dismay.
香蕉视频直播淚 would tell you that quite frankly I香蕉视频直播檓 disappointed with this tactic that the SPS union has taken and as I said in my statement, this plan will be people-centric.
香蕉视频直播淭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,香蕉视频直播� Locke told the Now-Leader. 香蕉视频直播淚t香蕉视频直播檚 a new day for Surrey and we香蕉视频直播檙e going to do exactly what the voter had asked and so we香蕉视频直播檝e moving forward on that. But you know, we香蕉视频直播檝e got to get beyond the back-and-forth and that香蕉视频直播檚 important. I know we all want to have a shared goal.香蕉视频直播�
That goal, she said, is keeping residents safe.
Brian Sauv茅, president of the National Police Federation, said policing 香蕉视频直播渟hould not be politicized.
香蕉视频直播淭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.香蕉视频直播�
On the matter of council instructing City of Surrey staff to in turn instruct the Surrey Police Board to cease hiring and spending, the board香蕉视频直播檚 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 香蕉视频直播渨ith respect to their budget and their hiring.香蕉视频直播�
Granum says the board has 香蕉视频直播渆very intention香蕉视频直播� of 香蕉视频直播渓ooking to the province for guidance on next steps and advice香蕉视频直播� and 香蕉视频直播渋t香蕉视频直播檚 also important to understand that the hiring that香蕉视频直播檚 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.香蕉视频直播�
Those hires, she said, have been completed.
香蕉视频直播淪o any stoppage to hiring would have a ripple effect into the spring,香蕉视频直播� Granum said. 香蕉视频直播淚t香蕉视频直播檚 really, really important to understand is that the province has given us direction to continue deploying police officers and to continue hiring. That香蕉视频直播檚 the direction from the province itself.香蕉视频直播�
This, Granum explains, overrides what council decided Monday night 香蕉视频直播渨ith our approved budget, yes.香蕉视频直播�
香蕉视频直播淭he bottom line is hiring these police officers that we香蕉视频直播檝e already given employment offers to and who香蕉视频直播檝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.香蕉视频直播�
So it香蕉视频直播檚 the province that has the say, not city council at this point, within the 2022 budget. 香蕉视频直播淭hat香蕉视频直播檚 something really important as well is council ultimately approves our annual budgets so we香蕉视频直播檒l be submitting a budget for next year, and we香蕉视频直播檒l have to determine next steps once council makes a decision on the budget for next year.香蕉视频直播�
That said, Granum notes 香蕉视频直播渋t would be ideal香蕉视频直播� for Farnworth to make his decision 香蕉视频直播渋n a timely manner香蕉视频直播� because council needs to plan its budget and 香蕉视频直播渋t needs to understand which direction it香蕉视频直播檚 going.香蕉视频直播�
香蕉视频直播淎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. There香蕉视频直播檚 a common goal there.香蕉视频直播�
tom.zytaruk@surreynowleader.com
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