Surrey Police Service deploys more officers as fate of department hangs in limbo

The future of Surrey, B.C.’s fledgling municipal police force remains in limbo, but that hasn’t stopped it from deploying more officers.

The Surrey Police Service said Monday that it had deployed another 18 constables to work alongside front-line and investigative RCMP officers.

The deployment was approved by both police agencies along with the Surrey Policing Transition Trilateral Committee to ensure sufficient policing resource levels, the SPS said in a media release.

“As with previous deployment cohorts, these officers come from various police agencies and add valuable experience to frontline call response,” the SPS said.

“Every deployed SPS officer completes a six-week training course to ensure all provincial policing standards are met and to familiarize them with SPS policies and practices.”

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The deployment leaves the SPS with 333 police officers, 205 of whom are involved in policing operations and 39 of whom are in training. The service has now onboarded 394 employees in total.

Surrey city council voted last year to disband the SPS, following through on a campaign promise by Mayor Brenda Locke.

However the final decision lies in the hands of Public Safety Minister and Solicitor General Mike Farnworth.

The city sent a report laying out a framework to wind the police service down to Farnworth in mid-December. The SPS and Surrey RCMP have also submitted their own reports weighing in on the possibility to the ministry.

Farnworth is expected to make a decision “early” in 2023.