City councillor raising additional concerns about transition to Surrey police force
Posted July 9, 2019 10:16 am.
Last Updated July 9, 2019 10:32 am.
SURREY (NEWS 1130) – Surrey City Councillor Linda Annis is once again citing concerns about the city’s policing plan, saying the fact that a transition from the RCMP to a municipal force will result in fewer officers is just “the tip of the iceberg.”
According to Annis, the report recently sent to the provincial government on the transition outlines “example after example” of a plan she says shortchanges public safety.
The City of Surrey’s transition plan was handed over to the B.C. government in June for review.
RELATED: ‘Phoney baloney’: Surrey group says city’s claims of sweeping support for municipal force are a farce
She says the budget included is vague, and that should be troubling to taxpayers.
Annis also takes issue with the idea of replacing officers with unarmed community safety officers. She says bringing in outside forces will mean officers don’t have any connection to the community.
Last month, results of a public consultation released by the city suggested nine out of 10 people in Surrey support replacing the RCMP with a municipal force. The results of the survey have been questioned by some groups, who claim misleading questions would have skewed the results.
With files from Taran Parmar.
