The homeless people who lived in tents along Surrey’s Whalley strip for years are gone, either to shelters or modular housing, but the outreach team who policed them is still there.
Surrey’s Public Safety Director, Terry Waterhouse, said it’s important to make sure there’s stability in the area, especially for local businesses.
“They’ve been working to support and understand the needs more broadly than just 135A — so they do outreach across the community now.”
Waterhouse said there will be a review of the team’s role in a few months.
“Once we’ve sort of passed the four or five month mark, we will do another review and make another determination about what the model needs to look like going forward,” he said.
“We’ve been pleased with the type of stability that’s been there, but want to ensure that stability before we make any changes.”
The team includes 16 RCMP officers and four bylaw officers.