The list of issues raised in the debate over the investment and operational value of Surrey’s switch to a municipal police force from the RCMP model it has had since 1951 goes well beyond dollars and cents.
Atop that list for Metro Vancouver is another business issue that needs a region-wide plan: crime-fighting.
The National Police Federation and other opponents of Surrey Mayor Doug McCallum’s municipal police force plan have criticized what they claim is the lack of clarity over the financial and social costs of the shift to a local law enforcement operation.
And the costs here are significant. Under the Surrey policing transition plan, the annual crime-fighting budget in 2021 will increase by an estimated 11% to around $193 million for the new Surrey police force from $174 million for the city’s current RCMP-contracted service.
The McCallum plan also includes 5% more police department staff in its municipal policing equation. So more money, more staff.
But it would also bring local policing control and accountability to the City of Surrey rather than leaving both in the hands of the federally accountable RCMP. In addition, a Surrey police force will provide greater flexibility of operations and deployment of resources to address safety issues deemed to be local priorities.
Municipal police forces also help ensure that officers are drawn from local populations rather than from regions with no knowledge of local cultures and concerns.
But overriding all of the above is the need for Metro Vancouver to create a region-wide police force to maximize the efficient deployment of resources from all its municipalities in a co-ordinated fight against criminal enterprise and the continued erosion of social and safety standards now faced by all Lower Mainland municipalities.
