Could Brenda Locke’s plan to keep the RCMP in Surrey and roll back the Surrey Police Service be good for the VPD? That’s what Vancouver Mayor-Elect Ken Sim thinks.
In an exclusive interview with Daily Hive, Sim spoke about public safety, crime, and policing in the city.
One of Sim’s key election promises was his pledge to bring in 100 new police officers and if the Surrey Police Service was rolled back, that could potentially make staffing the VPD a little easier.
To combat the public safety and mental health crisis, on day one, an ABC majority on Council will requisition for the hiring of 100 new police officers and 100 new mental health nurses — an ABC-led Council will dramatically expand the highly successful Car 87/88 program 1/2 pic.twitter.com/ZRVsfYduZk
— Ken Sim (@KenSimCity) August 15, 2022
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For some background, former Surrey Mayor Doug McCallum infamously pledged to bring a municipal police force to Surrey during the last civic election. This was a promise that McCallum followed through on, and since late last year, a steady rollout of Surrey Police officers has taken place.
A large part of the growth of the Surrey Police Service was thanks to Vancouver officers jumping ship.
In November of 2021, Daily Hive reported that 21 officers had already been lost to Surrey.
As of August this year, the Surrey Police Service had become BC’s third-largest municipal police force, behind the VPD and the Victoria Police Department.
Sim says that “the situation is dynamic” when it comes to hiring new police. But, he insinuated that the Surrey situation makes the Vancouver one a little better, suggesting that Vancouver might have “access to people.”
If we see the Surrey Police Service rolled back in favour of the RCMP, it isn’t guaranteed that former VPD officers will return to their old positions. But it could make Sim’s life a lot easier if they did.
Despite Locke’s priorities concerning policing in Surrey, the Surrey Police Service is sticking to its plan of building up the new Surrey force.