Transition to Municipal Police Force

[Infanteer]

I notice Surrey BC is starting up its own Municipal Police Force.

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I also seem to recall that this was one of the largest RCMP detachments in the country. Anyone know how the "Relief in Place" is working? Are they rebadging Mounties or is it a steady transition with new SPS officers coming in and RCMP moving out?

 

[mariomike]

Are they rebadging Mounties or is it a steady transition with new SPS officers coming in and RCMP moving out?

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[brihard]

It’s the largest RCMP detachment. It’s choppy but it’s moving. SPS has stood up and exists. They’re mostly taking lateral applicants - some RCMP, some from other services - and some recruits off the street. They’ve begun putting supervisory NCOs on the road, so right now there’s a mix of RCMP and SPS working with and for and reporting to each other through a multi-year relief in place.

Not as many RCMP are patching over as Surrey had hoped, but they have decent uptake from municipal officers who live farther east and work nearer to Vancouver proper; SPS is a chance to work closer to home. Most of the Surrey Mounties will likely simply move elsewhere within the Lower Mainland, or use this as leverage for postings back out farther east in Canada.

It’s running more expensively than the Surrey mayor said it would; there’s a lot of ugly politics around this. The province has also had to curb how fast they hire so as to not overly disrupt the operation of other services. SPS signed a fast collective agreement that currently has them as the best paid cost ambles in Canada, and with a poison pill of 1.5 years severance for layoffs, basically to make it cost prohibitive to reverse course and shut the new service down of political winds change.

The whole thing is very much a pet project of the mayor, Doug McCallum. But it’s also totally fair to question why the RCMP are providing municipal policing to a city of well over half a million.

 

[Colin Parkinson]

What hit the wannabe SPS hard is the recent pay raise for the Mounties. Now they have to top that. It may be attractive to young officers, but anyone a fair way into their career will have to think hard about jumping ship. It's unlikely Surrey will be able to afford indexed pensions and you need a big pay jump to counter that. Another issue is that most members seem to last at most 5 years on the street there because of the volume and type of calls. My good friend did 6 and has had enough as a patrol constable. So they might have a hard time keeping people. Of course they are getting off to a bumpy start New Surrey police officer arrested by RCMP, may face breach of trust charge - BC | Globalnews.ca

 

[Infanteer]

The whole thing is very much a pet project of the mayor, Doug McCallum. But it’s also totally fair to question why the RCMP are providing municipal policing to a city of well over half a million.

Thanks. Interesting. Any indication if the other big city RCMP detachments (Burnaby, Richmond, North Vancouver all come to mind) are looking to follow Surrey's lead?

 

[SeaKingTacco]

Thanks. Interesting. Any indication if the other big city RCMP detachments (Burnaby, Richmond, North Vancouver all come to mind) are looking to follow Surrey's lead?

My sense is that they are all watching to see how Surrey works out, first.

Of course, that could all change if the Feds decide to get out of contract policing and force the provinces/municipalities to create their own policing structures…

 

[Brad Sallows]

Could also change if any momentum develops behind the perennial quest to re-establish a provincial police force in BC.

 

[daftandbarmy]

I notice Surrey BC is starting up its own Municipal Police Force.

Home | Surrey Police

www.surreypolice.ca

I also seem to recall that this was one of the largest RCMP detachments in the country. Anyone know how the "Relief in Place" is working? Are they rebadging Mounties or is it a steady transition with new SPS officers coming in and RCMP moving out?

They're making all sorts of headlines

Surrey Police Service officer arrested just 4 months after being deployed​

An officer with Surrey's new municipal police force – who had been on the job for just four months – has been arrested by Surrey RCMP.

The officer works for the Surrey Police Service, which said in a news release that it was releasing information on the arrest "in the interest of transparency."

The SPS did not share the officer's name, age or gender, nor any of the details of the alleged crime, other than that the officer is facing a possible charge of breach of trust, which has not yet been approved by the BC Prosecution Service.

Surrey Police Service officer arrested just 4 months after being deployed

An officer with Surrey's new municipal police force – who had been on the job for just four months – has been arrested by Surrey RCMP.

bc.ctvnews.ca

 

[Colin Parkinson]

My sense is that they are all watching to see how Surrey works out, first.

Of course, that could all change if the Feds decide to get out of contract policing and force the provinces/municipalities to create their own policing structures…

I am not seeing a lot of desire to move from the RCMP here in North Van. In general they do a good job of policing and PR here. Mind you, North Van is where all the successful criminals live and they don't like to poop where they sleep.

 

[QV]

Could also change if any momentum develops behind the perennial quest to re-establish a provincial police force in BC.

I wonder if the Alberta Provincial Police initiative will have any impact.

 

[RedFive]

It’s the largest RCMP detachment. It’s choppy but it’s moving. SPS has stood up and exists. They’re mostly taking lateral applicants - some RCMP, some from other services - and some recruits off the street. They’ve begun putting supervisory NCOs on the road, so right now there’s a mix of RCMP and SPS working with and for and reporting to each other through a multi-year relief in place.

Not as many RCMP are patching over as Surrey had hoped, but they have decent uptake from municipal officers who live farther east and work nearer to Vancouver proper; SPS is a chance to work closer to home. Most of the Surrey Mounties will likely simply move elsewhere within the Lower Mainland, or use this as leverage for postings back out farther east in Canada.

It’s running more expensively than the Surrey mayor said it would; there’s a lot of ugly politics around this. The province has also had to curb how fast they hire so as to not overly disrupt the operation of other services. SPS signed a fast collective agreement that currently has them as the best paid cost ambles in Canada, and with a poison pill of 1.5 years severance for layoffs, basically to make it cost prohibitive to reverse course and shut the new service down of political winds change.

The whole thing is very much a pet project of the mayor, Doug McCallum. But it’s also totally fair to question why the RCMP are providing municipal policing to a city of well over half a million.

That's a pretty good synopsis.

Working in Surrey, I can tell you our staffing is dangerously low, we're constantly being lied to, and there are people running around obstructing the transition as best they can, convinced the whole thing is going to stop when a new Mayor is elected in October.

We stand next to SPS members who make $12,000 more per year than we do, have better quality uniform items and high quality intervention options. We're still waiting for the blue duty shirts and new pistols that have been promised over and over and over. It's incredibly difficult to continue to believe in the Force, and yet here most of us are, refusing to give up on it.

Morale is low, staffing levels are dangerously low, work levels (for GD anyways) are climbing higher and higher, and nobody will give us a straight story about what's going on and when we can leave. I don't know any Mountie personally in Surrey who wants this transition to fail, we all just want out and to move on with our lives.

 

[daftandbarmy]

That's a pretty good synopsis.

Working in Surrey, I can tell you our staffing is dangerously low, we're constantly being lied to, and there are people running around obstructing the transition as best they can, convinced the whole thing is going to stop when a new Mayor is elected in October.

We stand next to SPS members who make $12,000 more per year than we do, have better quality uniform items and high quality intervention options. We're still waiting for the blue duty shirts and new pistols that have been promised over and over and over. It's incredibly difficult to continue to believe in the Force, and yet here most of us are, refusing to give up on it.

Morale is low, staffing levels are dangerously low, work levels (for GD anyways) are climbing higher and higher, and nobody will give us a straight story about what's going on and when we can leave. I don't know any Mountie personally in Surrey who wants this transition to fail, we all just want out and to move on with our lives.

Holy crap. If I were in that position, this would be me ....

 

[RedFive]

That looks like myself and some of my colleagues on days off to be honest. We look after each other cause nobody else cares.

 

[Brad Sallows]

So #resistance isn't always a good thing.

 

[Kat Stevens]

That's a pretty good synopsis.

Working in Surrey, I can tell you our staffing is dangerously low, we're constantly being lied to, and there are people running around obstructing the transition as best they can, convinced the whole thing is going to stop when a new Mayor is elected in October.

We stand next to SPS members who make $12,000 more per year than we do, have better quality uniform items and high quality intervention options. We're still waiting for the blue duty shirts and new pistols that have been promised over and over and over. It's incredibly difficult to continue to believe in the Force, and yet here most of us are, refusing to give up on it.

Morale is low, staffing levels are dangerously low, work levels (for GD anyways) are climbing higher and higher, and nobody will give us a straight story about what's going on and when we can leave. I don't know any Mountie personally in Surrey who wants this transition to fail, we all just want out and to move on with our lives.

My son in law is RCMP living in St Paul but working out of a detachment in "rhymes with Dedwater" AB because his entire chain of cocksuckers command have turned their back on him, due to one upper echelon asshole taking a dislike to him, and have made it impossible for him to operate out of his own detachment. Nobody has his back, and it's starting to have an effect on him.

 

[RedFive]

'Astoundingly arrogant': Surrey RCMP head lambastes city's municipal force

 

[CBH99]

That looks like myself and some of my colleagues on days off to be honest. We look after each other cause nobody else cares.

As much as it might not help practically speaking, on a day to day basis, but I’d reckon more people care than you may think. Me very much being one of them.

But as for nobody in the chain seeming to care, and nobody able/willing to shoot you straight…ooofff


(I think I asked this in another thread, but I could have also dreamed it - but is the infamous/legendary Seb still kicking around those parts?)

 

[brihard]

As much as it might not help practically speaking, on a day to day basis, but I’d reckon more people care than you may think. Me very much being one of them.

But as for nobody in the chain seeming to care, and nobody able/willing to shoot you straight…ooofff


(I think I asked this in another thread, but I could have also dreamed it - but is the infamous/legendary Seb still kicking around those parts?)

The whole profession knows of that guy. Super nice dude and ridiculously competent. Sadly, no. Sudden compartment syndrome and I think he had part of a leg amputated. He’s retired from policing now, owns a martial arts business and doing a consulting firm.

 

[CBH99]

The whole profession knows of that guy. Super nice dude and ridiculously competent. Sadly, no. Sudden compartment syndrome and I think he had part of a leg amputated. He’s retired from policing now, owns a martial arts business and doing a consulting firm.

Guess it’s long past due that I reach out to him! I last chatted with him roughly a year ago, silly guy didn’t mention a peep about any amputations…partial or otherwise.

Thanks for the heads up, much appreciated.

 

[brihard]

Guess it’s long past due that I reach out to him! I last chatted with him roughly a year ago, silly guy didn’t mention a peep about any amputations…partial or otherwise.

Thanks for the heads up, much appreciated.

I’m not certain the amputation happened, but it was seeming likely from what I read. There was a big fundraiser floating around police forums a while back.