Surrey Council Approves Plan to Retain RCMP as Police of Jurisdiction
Staying with the RCMP will save $235M over the next 5 years.
Surrey, B.C. – Surrey Council approved a plan to retain Surrey RCMP as Police of Jurisdiction during its Regular Council Meeting tonight. The final report which details how the RCMP will staff up and ensure safety for all residents in Surrey through excellence in policing and well-established crime prevention programs will be sent to the Solicitor General and Minister of Public Safety by Dec. 15 for his review.
"Now that we know the true cost, it is clear just how much this policing transition will cost Surrey taxpayers,” said Mayor Brenda Locke. “Even accounting for the funds that have already been spent, retaining the Surrey RCMP will still save Surrey taxpayers more than $235 million over the next five years, and this figure does not include capital expenditures. Council has now received the long overdue financial analysis that I have called for since the beginning. To prevent any further unnecessary spending of our taxpayer’s dollars, a prompt decision on policing in Surrey is essential. I look forward to hearing from the Solicitor General once he has had an opportunity to review the plan.”
By keeping the RCMP, a total cost savings of $235.4M would be realized over the next five years. Council approved the plan after reviewing a five-year financial analysis of the transition to the Surrey Police Service (SPS) versus retaining the Surrey RCMP. The full transition to SPS would cost $1,160.2M while retaining the Surrey RCMP would cost $924.8M over five years.
The key element of the ‘Policing Surrey’ Plan involves HR strategies to reach, and maintain, 734 operational RCMP members in Surrey. The Plan takes a people-centric approach and the City and the RCMP will work with interested staff to find career enhancement opportunities.
Read the full report here.