Mayor Doug McCallum’s dissatisfaction with the RCMP force serving his city reached new heights – and lows – this month, with Surrey’s 11th recorded homicide of the year.
Nine hours after the discovery of a suspected gang-related killing in the 14200-block of 70A Avenue on Nov. 9, the newly sworn-in mayor issued a news release stating: “This latest incident of deadly gun violence further emphasizes the need for the City of Surrey to have its own city police force.”
Does it? Seriously?
McCallum’s unabashed statement suggests a leap in logic that, had Surrey had its own civic force, the latest murder would never have occurred.
Quite a leap, to put it politely. And more than a little opportunistic.
READ: McCallum says shooting emphasizes need for own police force
READ: Mayor’s comment ‘undermines trust’
It doesn’t take a mathematician to look for zero homicide rates in more-populous Vancouver or less-populous Abbotsford to determine whether either of their municipal police forces have been successful in curbing their deadly gun violence. They haven’t, nor should they be expected to. The issue is far more complex than that, and it involves not only the officers patrolling the streets, but the justice system and our lawmakers across all three levels of government.
The decision by McCallum’s Safe Surrey Coalition civic team this month – joined curiously by a fledgling lone Surrey First councillor – to terminate the city’s contract in two years may well follow up on their campaign promise. But to do so without any proper public investigation on how this will effect the city – never mind without a referendum – seems nearly as opportunistic, if not jingoistic.
While unprecedented, BC RCMP Deputy Cmsr. Brenda Butterworth’s statement that she “will not allow public confidence in policing to be undermined or eroded” – issued the same day as McCallum’s news release – was welcomed. And not just by RCMP loyalists, but by many who live and do business in, or travel to and through, Surrey.
McCallum may very well be on the right track by replacing the RCMP, but he owes it to his residents – not just his most loyal voters – to back up campaign promises with proper research and assessment.
Otherwise, his challengers will seem fully within their rights if they are opportunistic enough to make hay with the very first homicide that occurs under the watch of Surrey’s new civic police force.
