Policing Transition

In 2018, the City of Surrey decided to transition from the RCMP to its own municipal police service. The Province of BC approved this change and work began on the transition from the RCMP to Surrey Police Service (SPS). SPS will become the police of jurisdiction for Surrey on November 29, 2024.

Transition process

Phase 1 - Blended SPS-RCMP Policing (Nov. 29, 2021 - Nov 28, 2024) 

SPS officers are regularly integrated into the Surrey RCMP detachment, while RCMP officers are redeployed to other RCMP detachments/units. SPS officers work under the operational command of the RCMP, which is the current police of jurisdiction. Both SPS and RCMP police officers and vehicles are serving Surrey.

Phase 2 - Change of Command (Begins Nov. 29, 2024) 

SPS will become the police of jurisdiction on November 29, 2024. On this date, SPS will assume responsibility for policing and law enforcement in Surrey. The BC RCMP, as the provincial police service, will continue to operate in Surrey, providing temporary transitional supports to SPS until the transition is completed. Residents will continue to see both SPS and RCMP officers and vehicles in Surrey until the transition is completed.

Phase 3 - Transition Completed (Date TBD)

The transition will be fully completed when all policing duties in Surrey are conducted by SPS officers. The timeline for this will depend on several factors, including establishing a pace of SPS hiring that will allow the transition to ramp up while the RCMP reduces its support, as well as enhancing any infrastructure, and transferring files, and exhibits from the RCMP to SPS. 

 

Police of jurisdiction - November 29, 2024

Since the Province of BC announced that SPS will become the police of jurisdiction for Surrey on November 29, 2024, the City of Surrey, SPS, RCMP,  the Province of BC, and Public Safety Canada have been working closely together to advance the planning and establish the model for the change of command from the RCMP to SPS.

On November 29, 2024, SPS will assume policing and law enforcement as the City of Surrey’s police of jurisdiction. The BC RCMP, as the provincial police service, will continue to operate in Surrey, providing temporary transitional supports to Surrey until the transition is completed.

Under the new policing model, the public will see both SPS and RCMP officers and vehicles serving Surrey until the policing transition is complete. 

The transition will be fully completed when all policing duties in Surrey are conducted by SPS officers. The timeline for this will depend on several factors, including establishing a pace of SPS hiring that will allow the transition to ramp up while the RCMP reduces its support, as well as enhancing any infrastructure, and transferring files, and exhibits from the RCMP to SPS.

To learn more about the change in Surry's police of jurisdiction, please visit: 

Surrey's New Police Service

 

Transition timeline

2018

  • City Council unanimously votes to establish municipal police service

2020

  • Province of BC approves Surrey's policing transition
  • Civilian Surrey Police Board established
  • Board creates Surrey Police Service (SPS)
  • First Chief Constable selected by Board

2021

  • SPS begins recruiting and hiring sworn and civilian staff 
  • Phase 1 of the transition begins with first deployment of SPS officers into policing operations

2022

  • SPS becomes 2nd largest municipal police agency in BC as hiring and deployments continue
  • RCMP begins moving Surrey RCMP officers to other communities
  • New City Council votes to retain the RCMP and cancel the transition to SPS

2023

2024

  • Province sets November 29, 2024 as the date for SPS to become the police of jurisdiction for Surrey with the RCMP providing temporary transitional supports to SPS until the transition is complete. 
  • Province and City of Surrey announce an agreement has been reached to complete the transition from RCMP to SPS.
  • Deployment of SPS-branded vehicles begins
  • SPS is police of jurisdiction for Surrey.  
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Transition costs

Financial updates for SPS are posted regularly on the Surrey Police Board website.

SPS's 2024 provisional budget is $141.5M. Based on the City of Surrey’s current financial reports, our 2024 budget accounts for only 42% of the City's allocated policing funds. Read more about our 2024 budget here. 

The one-time policing transition budget was established by City Council to support the infrastructure development of SPS over five years, covering start-up expenses including equipment and IT. In 2020, this budget was increased to $63.7M following decision to build new IT infrastructure rather than using the current aging technology.

The unionization of the RCMP has increased costs for all RCMP-policed municipalities, closing the gap in costs between the RCMP and municipal police. In addition, the federal 10% cost-share that comes with RCMP contract service comes with a cost to the municipality, as it allows the RCMP and governments to retain some control over detachment resources, including deployments to emergencies and major events.

SPS is an investment in the future of our rapidly developing city. Public safety is an area where you want the best service, not the least expensive.

View SPS financial updates

SPS hiring

SPS's hiring is aligned with the City of Surrey's annual policing budget, which provides funding for a total of 785 police officers in 2024. Any future increase to the number of police officers in Surrey would be requested by the Chief Constable through the Surrey Police Board, and would require the approval of Surrey City Council. 

SPS regularly hires both recruits and experienced officers. Recruits are hired for the three annual Police Academy classes at the Justice Institute of BC. They undergo ten months of training and are then deployed in Surrey. Experienced officers are hired for upcoming deployments and to support the extensive work required to build a police agency. Like any organization that is staffing up, SPS needs to hire an appropriate mix of ranks, experience levels, and skill sets to ensure we have the proper structure, supervision, and mix of job functions as we grow.

SPS implemented several strategies to ensure our hiring does not destabilize policing in the region:

  • Staggered hiring
  • Recruiting locally and nationally (SPS officers come from 26 different agencies)
  • Consultation with police chiefs to understand any of their hiring/staffing challenges
  • Not over-hiring from any one police agency – particularly smaller agencies
SPS Staffing (as of October 2024)
  • Sworn Police Officers: 445
    • Senior Officers: 29
    • Staff Sergeants: 20
    • Sergeants: 94
    • Constables: 302
    • Females: 84 (19%); Males: 361 (81%)
    • Visible Minorities (self-identified): 189 (43%); Indigenous: 19 (4%)
  • Civilian Employees: 73

Operational deployments

The deployment of SPS officers into policing operations is being done in phased and integrated manner to ensure a seamless and safe transition. Currently, SPS officers work under the operational command of the RCMP, which is the police of jurisdiction at this time. SPS will take over command of policing as the transition progresses.

Groups of SPS officers are regularly integrated into the Surrey RCMP detachment, as RCMP officers are redeployed to other RCMP detachments/units. These group deployments began in November 2021 and today there are well over 200 SPS officers deployed into policing operations within the Surrey RCMP detachment.

SPS officers are currently deployed to:

  • Frontline policing
  • Investigative sections
  • Gang enforcement
  • Traffic services
  • Police mental health outreach
  • Community response

The SPS officers who are not currently deployed into the RCMP detachment are serving other important functions:

  • Those who are waiting for deployment spots to become available in the RCMP are temporarily doing work to support the building of SPS.
  • Other officers are serving in the policing administrative positions they were hired for. Like all police agencies, SPS has a number of administrative and support units such as Recruiting, Employee Services/HR, and Training. While the officers in these units are not ‘deployed’ into the blended SPS/RCMP operations, they are actively performing the jobs they were hired to do. Ensuring a timely transition to SPS will reduce costs by eliminating the administrative overlap of running two police agencies in Surrey.

SPS milestones

  • June 2020: Province of BC establishes Surrey Police Board 
  • August 2020: Police Board creates Surrey Police Service 
  • November 2020: Chief Constable selected 
  • January - February 2021: Deputy Chiefs hired
  • March 2021: Agreement signed for CUPE 402 to represent civilian employees 
  • May 2021: SPS crest, vision and values revealed 
  • June 2021: SPS launches community consultation 
  • July 2021: First swearing-in ceremony held for SPS police officers 
  • August 2021: Surrey Police Union certified to represent SPS police officers 
  • September 2021: SPS surpasses100 staff hired 
  • November 2021: Operational deployment of first group of SPS officers 
  • February 2022: First SPS Strategic Plan released 
  • March 2022: Collective Bargaining Agreement reached with Surrey Police Union
  • April 2022: First class of recruits begins with SPS 
  • August 2022: SPS becomes second largest municipal police agency in BC
  • November 2022: Surrey Police Inspectors' Association is established
  • January 2023: SPS surpasses 200 officers deployed into policing operations
  • March 2023: First SPS recruit class graduates from the JIBC
  • October 2023: Police Amendment Act, 2023 passed, requiring Surrey to be policed by a municipal police service
  • January 2024: SPS surpasses 400 staff hired
  • April 2024: Province announces Nov. 29, 2024 as date for SPS to become police of jurisdiction
  • July-Sept 2024: First 30 SPS-branded vehicles are deployed into policing operations. 
  • Sept 2024: SPS has hired over 50% of its full officer complement.

Surrey's New Police Service

For Frequently Asked Questions about SPS becoming the police of jurisdiction for Surrey and what that means for you.
Visit here