Editor,
Re: 6 named to Surrey Police Board by B.C. gov't, Stutt serves as city rep
The appointment of longtime police officer Rob Stutt to the Surrey Police Board is a concerning one that places a question mark over police oversight in the city. It can have ramifications for public perceptions of police governance, particularly as contentious issues around policing arise (whether funding or accountability measures), as they certainly will. We have seen it in other cities.
The establishment of a police board was a big selling point for having a municipal force precisely because it was pitched as providing local oversight, accountability, and governance for policing in the city. But oversight and accountability are premised on independence and autonomy from police forces. There can be no conflicts of interest between police boards and police forces, whether real or perceived, if the public is to have any confidence in the board’s operations.
Stutt’s appointment raises questions about all of this right off the bat. How can the community have confidence in a board keeping police accountable or making tough decisions about policing, when it includes a longtime police officer, someone ensconced in police culture? Policing must be viewed clearly through the lens of community priorities, not police priorities.
This appointment seems like another misstep, and challenge to public confidence, in a process that has been full of them from the start.
Dr. Jeff Shantz, department of criminology
Kwantlen Polytechnic University, Surrey
