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Surrey Police Service's 2nd round of public consultation underway

First round done 3 years ago
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Surrey Police Service patch/File photo

The Surrey Police Service is undertaking a second round of community consultations – the first was done three years ago – concerning what the public expects from its new police force as it's poised to replace the Surrey RCMP on Nov. 29 as police of jurisdiction.

"Our results will be forwarded to the City of Surrey," Chief Constable Norm Lipinski told a Surrey Police Board meeting on July 31. "We'll be working with their staff; I will be working with the city manager on those results and the board will be informed as per the information obtained from the City and their priorities, their goals, objectives for 2025 that will assist in ultimately developing a plan for 2025 for the Surrey Police Service."

Board Administrator Mike Serr told Lipinski a "really important part" is what the mayor's and council's priorities are for public safety here "and how our strategic plan and your strategic plan is going to align with their priorities."

Supt. Allison Good provided a breakdown of how the 2024 Community Consultation Plan will unfold, with surveys, interviews and focus groups. She said roughly 100 interviews some 60 to 90 minutes in length will be conducted and include a "broad cross-section" of the community over six to eight weeks, into mid-September.

"We have already started and are well underway in our one-on-one interviews which are occurring both virtually and in person," Good said, adding the final report will be presented to the board in November.

The board's next meeting is set for Sept. 18.

Lipinski, meantime, provided an update on the policing transition.

"We now have three levels of government, the RCMP and the SPS working together," he said. "It's great to have the City of Surrey at the table; it's been very helpful, we are making progress. Much of what we're working on is still very much in draft form so I can't speak to it as of yet but I think in the coming weeks some of it will come to crystalization and we will be having a communications plan with the public sometime probably in September as we put together the entire plan."



About the Author: Tom Zytaruk

I write unvarnished opinion columns and unbiased news reports for the Surrey Now-Leader.
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