‘The fix was in’: Hiring process for Surrey municipal police chief raises concerns

Community leaders are raising concerns and seeking answers on the hiring of a chief to lead the new municipal police department in Surrey, B.C.

Norm Lipinski, an officer with decades of experience in municipal policing in Edmonton, Alta., and Delta, B.C., was announced last week.

7:40 Reaction to Surrey’s new municipal police force hire

Coun. Brenda Locke criticized the police board for only taking two weeks to decide in a process she said has been “secretive” and “non-transparent.”

“From the get-go, there has been political interference,” Locke said.

The police board has not yet responded to Global News’ request for comment.

Mayor Doug McCallum, who also chairs the police board, was elected in 2018 on a platform that included getting rid of the RCMP in Surrey and moving to a municipal service in a bid to better target rising crime.

Brian Sauvé, president of the National Police Federation, the union that represents RCMP members, compared Surrey’s selection process to what is happening in Toronto after Police Chief Mark Saunders stepped down amid the Black Lives Matter movement and calls to defund police.

Toronto’s search for a new top cop includes a community consultation process with a focus on the kind of chief residents want to see, Sauve said.

“Surrey had an opportunity,” he added. “The whole premise of this move to a municipal police service was to create something new that reflects the community. You can’t really reflect the community unless you talk to the community.”

Locke said many residents still oppose the transition to a municipal force, but some who support it had also hoped to see diversity at the top of the new department.

4:04 Surrey hires its first police chief

Kash Heed, a former solicitor general and former municipal police chief himself, told Global News that Steve Rai, a deputy chief with Vancouver police who lives in Surrey and is of South Asian descent, was equally qualified and also applied for the job.

“We know that glass ceiling — the glass is very, very thick,” Heed said.

“A few of us have managed to get through that thick glass, but others have not … this is another indication of how thick that glass is for that glass ceiling.”

Sukhi Sandhu of anti-crime group Wake Up Surrey, however, said race should not be the focus of the conversation now that a new chief has been chosen.

“There needs to be better accountability on budgeting,” he said. “There needs to be more consultation with residents. Rather than creating division, I think we need to create some unity.”

Speaking to Simi Sara on 980 CKNW Wednesday morning, Lipinski said he plans to start work in mid-December and his first order of business will to hire three deputy chiefs.

“No one person represents an organization; it’s the entire organization,” he said.

“So when I look at picking my deputy chiefs and other ranks throughout the department and recruits — I am going to really, really focus on diversity and gender equity.”

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–With files from Emily Lazatin