Surrey, B.C., council votes to keep RCMP, rejecting municipal force
CTV
Brenda Locke, the mayor of Surrey, B.C., says the council has voted to revert its policing back to the RCMP, a move than will cost the city millions of dollars.
City council in Surrey, B.C., has voted to revert its policing back to the RCMP, a move that will cost the city millions of dollars.
Mayor Brenda Locke told reporters Friday that she has spoken to Premier David Eby and Solicitor General Mike Farnworth about council's decision.
The B.C. government recommended in April that the city continue its transition to the independent Surrey Police Service, offering $150 million over five years to help cover costs, but saying it would not pay the estimated $72 million in severance for officers if council decided to go back to the RCMP.
The transition to the independent police force was well underway when Locke was elected last October on the promise to return policing to the Mounties.
Locke says she couldn't estimate the cost of the move back to the RCMP.
“It will obviously be millions, but we don't know what those millions will look like,” she said.
When pushed further on potential costs to taxpayers, Locke said the option to stay with the RCMP was “far, far less costly” than moving forward with the Surrey Police Service.
