Briefly: RCMP help needed for two more years as new force hires recruits. Chief Lipinski signs-on at midnight.
Bob Mackin
After 73 and-a-half years, Surrey is under local police command again.
At midnight Nov. 29, the Surrey RCMP ceased to be the police of jurisdiction in British Columbia’s second most-populous city. The Surrey Police Service (SPS) era began.
theBreaker.news has obtained an audio clip of Chief Norm Lipinski signing-on. A source said that Lipinski’s comments extended to nearly seven minutes and took precedence over all other radio communication.
For the time being, SPS will patrol Whalley and Newton while it continues to recruit officers. The RCMP, under its provincial contract, will police the rest of Surrey. The transition, which began under 2018-elected mayor Doug McCallum, could take until 2026 or 2027 to be complete.
Mayor Brenda Locke defeated McCallum in 2022 on a promise to keep the RCMP. Surrey lost a court challenge and the NDP government agreed to pay $250 million to enable the transition. theBreaker.news revealed secret elements of the pre-election deal, including the silencing of Locke.
The RCMP began policing Surrey on May 1, 1951, after voters decided to phase out the 1887-founded Surrey Police Force. Voters were not given a say this time around.
CLICK AND LISTEN TO THE SURREY POLICE CHIEF’S FIRST DISPATCH
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