ICYMI: No decision, just a recommendation: Province throws back Surrey's policing question to the City
Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth recommends (but does not decide) Surrey transition to the SPS
Continue with the transition and we’ll help cover the costs. That’s the basic message attached to the provincial government’s recommendation that Mayor Brenda Locke wind-down the RCMP and make the Surrey Police Service the force of jurisdiction.
In a Friday morning news conference from Victoria, Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth hid behind the Police Act and backed away from making the decision for Surrey. He damned Mayor Locke with faint praise while also paving the way for the city to “sit down and look at the report and all the information in it.”
Memo: Farnworth to Locke - If you continue to want the RCMP, you’ll make your citizens pay and pay dearly. But - the decision is yours.
With the province picking up the much talked about transition costs, the wind has been knocked out of the sails for Locke and her majority on council. Moreover, if you believe Farnworth, the ongoing difference in cost between the Surrey Police Service and the RCMP will only be $30-million a year.
We want to ensure we have safe and effective policing in the City of Surrey.
Farnworth has not said what that ‘public safety in Surrey’ belief means. He’s praised the RCMP and talked about his commitment to the force around the province. Yet, it’s hard to see where he finds the transition being any benefit to public safety. Perhaps that’s in the report…but I doubt it.
Next: This does not close the door on confusion. Former Mayor Doug McCallum has already issued a statement, thanking Farnworth and the province. Will Locke rollover…not bloody likely. Expect a huge fight to escalate - an expensive one at that.
Bruce Claggett is a 35 year veteran in the news media, having worked as a reporter, newscaster, producer/editor, senior editor, news director, journalism instructor and media consultant. He holds a BA (political science/geography) from UBC, B.Ed. (secondary education) from UBC and a Dipl. T. (broadcast journalism) from BCIT. He continues to work as a guest host on 980/CKNW, media trainer and communications advisor.