No regrets from mayoral combatants as Surrey Police take over after six-year saga

For years they were locked in opposition over whether to replace the RCMP in British Columbia’s second largest city with a municipal police force.

But Surrey, B.C., Mayor Brenda Locke and her predecessor, Doug McCallum, both say they have no regrets.

On Friday, the Surrey Police Service took over from the RCMP and became the city’s force of jurisdiction after a six-year saga set in motion by McCallum, whose vision has finally become reality.

Along the way, the troubled transition was marked by court challenges, the change of municipal government and accusations of bullying from Locke.

Locke defeated McCallum in 2022 on a pledge to revert to the Mounties, then battled in vain to prevent the transition that the province eventually forced through.

At a news conference to mark the transition at the Surrey Police Service headquarters, Locke acknowledged she “did a lot to try and keep the RCMP in Surrey” but said she was “standing up for Surrey taxpayers” and now all sides will work together to make sure the municipal police are successful.

She was flanked by newly minted Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General Garry Begg, Surrey Police Chief Constable Norm Lipinski, and RCMP Assistant Commissioner John Brewer.

“I know some people, including many here today, just wanted me to drop it and let the transition move forward, and I can understand why that path might have been appealing,” Locke said.

“No one involved in this very public debate did it for fun. We may have disagreed on which police service was the best for the city, but I don’t question whether we were each doing what we felt was the best for our city.”

McCallum said in an interview Thursday that he only wished the transition to a municipal force could have happened sooner.

“We did it because we felt that we wanted to have a lot more local control in Surrey,” he said.

“And also that we wanted sort of a new type of policing, which is proactive and working in the community … and that’s happened a lot in the last six years as we slowly transition,” he said.

Surrey Police Service officers have been working alongside the RCMP since 2021. Now, the municipal force will have the leadership role, with the Mounties offering support until the transition is complete.

McCallum proposed a municipal force in 2018, during the first council meeting of his second stint as mayor of the city of about 600,000 people.

But in 2022, after the first officers had already been deployed, McCallum lost re-election to Locke, who promised to reverse the transition, landing her in very public conflicts with former public safety minister Mike Farnworth, who was in favour of the transfer.

Locke accused Farnworth of bullying and misogyny.

In the end, Farnworth used his authority to force the city to move forward with the Surrey Police Service, and the municipality lost a bid to have the decision reversed by the B.C. Supreme Court.

Locke, who long argued that switching to a municipal police force was too expensive, thanked the province on Friday for “coming to the table and acknowledging our concerns” and agreeing to a $250-million funding deal over 10 years.

“There are no more sides. We must be united in our efforts,” she said.

Lipinski has said that the complete transition away from the RCMP will likely take until 2026-27.

He told the news conference that Surrey Police will be responsible for the neighbourhoods of Whalley and Newton and more than 20 citywide programs. This represents more than half the workload in the city, he said.

The RCMP will continue to cover the rest of Surrey while more municipal officers are hired and trained to take over.

“Becoming the police of jurisdiction is a significant milestone, but it’s not the end of the policing transition. We are still growing, and our organization continues to grow, in collaboration with the RCMP,” he said.

Lipinski said police buildings and headquarters, as well as key contact numbers, will stay the same. Videos posted online show that signs with the new municipal force branding have started going up.

Begg, who took over from Farnworth after this year’s election, called the day a historic “landmark achievement.”

“Today signals the beginning of a new era for Surrey, an era defined by community-led policing, innovative approaches and practices that aligns with the values and needs of Surrey,” said the former RCMP officer.

McCallum said the community has already noticed changes in the years the municipal officers have been working, including what he says are more officers patrolling the streets.

“It’s all about getting out in our community, and talking to our community, and that makes our community feel a lot safer,” he said.

A formal change-of-command ceremony is expected next year.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 29, 2024.

Ashley Joannou, The Canadian Press