SURREY - A Craigslist job posting has raised some eyebrows at Surrey city hall.
The listing, which appears to have been posted by Commissionaires BC, was for a "Community Patrol, RCMP" position in Surrey on a 36-week contract, paying $22 anhour with a start date of April 22, 2014.Coun. Barinder Rasode brought the matter up at Monday's Surrey council meeting, expressing concerns about both the process and the contracting out of police work.Mayor Dianne Watts responded to Rasode's concerns, saying she should have received an email on the matter. Rasode insists she did not."Contracting out community police services is a major shift in service delivery. The decision should not be taken lightly and the public must be involved in the process," Rasode said after the meeting. "A proposal wasn't brought before council or committee,and therefore the normal city process has been ignored."Rasode believes the Commissionaires will not have the experience to manage highrisk individuals, or have the appropriate public safety knowledge or connection to the community.The post stated, "Community Patrol Representatives are considered a unique and distinct element of the RCMP. The primary purpose of this position is to assist the RCMP to enhance visibility, accessibility and responsive policing. The successful candidates in this role will be designated to conduct foot and static patrols in the Surrey area."The job requirements included assisting RCMP in targeted areas of Surrey by providing a visible presence to the community; establishing relationships with the RCMP, transit police, business owners and community members; attending daily briefing with the district commander; any other responsibilities and duties as required by the RCMP and site supervisor; and more.On Tuesday, which was the deadline for applications, the post had been taken down.The job post required applicants to have a Basic Security Training License, and Rasode said that isn't enough. Basic Security Training is a 40-hour course with a focus on ethics, legal studies, report writing and personal safety. BST is required before applying for a license."I think Surrey deserves a long-term policing plan," Rasode said, adding she'd like to engage the public and explore alternative solutions.Surrey's city manager Vincent Lalonde said he was "surprised" when he saw the posting."I talked with our Officer in Charge (Bill Fordy) and he also didn't know that they were putting out a posting, although we had some discussions with the Commissionaires, for sure, because we're in the process of trying to put together a program that will replace the community safety officers."In March, it was announced the RCMP's Community Safety Officer pilot program had been cancelled, affecting 10 police officers in Surrey.Those positions, and seven others in the province, will be eliminated in 2015. The officers, however, will not lose their employment but rather be assigned to different roles within the RCMP."So, basically, Bill (Fordy) and the city have been working and looking at how to replace these community safety officers and certainly, Commissionaires are one of the options we were looking at," Lalonde said, adding that no decisions have been made.Watts and Lalonde both said the issue is on the agenda for next week's police committee meeting. At that time city staff will get direction from council on which way to go, Lalonde said.Surrey RCMP Cpl. Bert Paquet said, "This is an initiative of the City of Surrey, after extensive consultation with the Surrey RCMP, aimed at complimenting the Surrey RCMP response."On Wednesday, Paquet said the department was not aware that Commissionaires BC would be posting for positions, but it is not unusual given that hiring of personnel is their responsibility."We are, however, pleased to see that the Commissionaires are taking proactive steps in anticipation of contract approval."Paquet said all of the particulars around the initiative, including the hiring of personnel, is being handled by the city, but added, "the deployment of these resources is entirely with the Surrey RCMP."Commissionaires BC could not be reached for comment.areid@thenownewspaper.com