As Surrey council made its first step last week towards cancelling the city’s RCMP contract in favour of starting its own municipal force, White Rock officials say policing in their city isn’t expected to be affected.
At its first regular meeting Nov. 5, Surrey council voted unanimously to pull out of the RCMP contract and create a Surrey Police Department.
City of White Rock communications manager Farnaz Farrokhi said the city is not anticipating any changes if Surrey gets a new municipal force.
White Rock Mayor Darryl Walker confirmed he had met with White Rock RCMP Staff Sgt. Daryl Creighton, but he’s yet to have a sit-down meeting to discuss policing issues since he was sworn in the same night as Surrey council’s policing vote.
Asked about potential effects to shared resources between the two detachments, Walker said he hopes to have a meeting with Creighton in the near future.
“That will be one of the issues, certainly I’m sure, we’ll discuss,” Walker told Peace Arch News Monday.
Monday, Creighton said he’s been contacted by the mayor’s office and has confirmed an appointment with Walker for later this week.
Surrey Mayor Doug McCallum’s Safe Surrey Coalition, which holds eight of nine seats on Surrey council, campaigned on a promise to replace Surrey RCMP with its own police force.
Surrey First’s Linda Annis, the lone councillor not on McCallum’s slate, also supported the unanimous resolution.
After the shooting death of a 22-year-old man in Surrey last week, McCallum issued a statement Friday saying the shooting “is yet another example of the ongoing trauma and fear that are being inflicted on the communities, residents and families of Surrey” and further emphasizes the need for Surrey to have its own city police force.
BC RCMP’s commanding officer Brenda Butterworth-Carr responded to McCallum’s statement that day, saying his statements risks “undermining public trust and confidence in policing.”
“Any erosion of public trust and confidence challenges our ability to solve complex cases with assistance from people who are often reluctant to participate in the first place. This concern is not unique to any one police force,” Butterworth-Carr said in a news release.
South Surrey-White Rock MP Gordie Hogg told PAN Monday that he has a meeting scheduled with McCallum Tuesday and that he hopes to discuss the policing issue.