SURREY Police Service (SPS) has released its 2023 Report to the Community which details the activities and development of Surrey’s new municipal police service. 

The report provides updates on the progress of the policing transition, information on the hiring and deployment of SPS officers, and SPS’s approach to community engagement throughout 2023. Financials for SPS’s operational and capital budget are also included, along with a message from Chief Constable Norm Lipinski.

“With the provincial government’s decision to continue with the policing transition in July 2023, and the subsequent amendment of the BC Police Act in October, Surrey residents and Surrey policing staff received the long-awaited assurance that the transition to SPS will be completed,” said Chief Constable Norm Lipinski on Tuesday.

The report also provides an update from Surrey Police Board Administrator, Mike Serr, who was appointed to this temporary role in late 2023 by BC’s Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General Mike Farnworth to assist with the policing transition.

View or download the Surrey Police Service 2023 Report to the Community at www.surreypolice.ca/publications.

LIPINSKI said in his message: “This past year was filled with many milestones as Surrey Police Service (SPS) continued to grow, however 2023 was most notably the year when the future of municipal policing in Surrey was solidified.
“With the provincial government’s decision to continue with the policing transition in July, and the subsequent amendment of the BC Police Act in October, Surrey residents and Surrey policing staff received the long-awaited assurance that the transition to SPS will be completed. This will allow us to collectively continue to build Surrey’s own policing service with confidence, purpose, and excitement.
“While the debate on policing over the past year did create some delays in our recruiting, hiring, and deployments, the policing transition is getting back on track under the guidance of the Strategic Implementation Advisor, Jessica McDonald, and with the support of Surrey Police Board Administrator, Mike Serr.
“With the Province’s appointment of Mr. Serr as Board Administrator in late 2023, the appointments of our Surrey Police Board members were paused. I want to thank each of our board directors for their hard work, resilience, and commitment to the SPS project. Standing up a new police agency is not an easy task, and these individuals took it on with gusto. Thank you for your outstanding work over the past three years.
“As has often been said before, this policing transition is unprecedented. We are all travelling a path that has not been travelled before. This journey requires finding and creating new mechanisms to make change happen, and working together to lay a path where there may have not been one before.
“To the residents of Surrey, thank you for welcoming SPS officers into the community, and thank you for your support as we bring a new era of policing to Surrey.”

SERR said: “2023 was an interesting year for the Surrey Police Board as it continued to navigate the complex and historical transition from a contracted police service to the independent, locally based Surrey Police Service (SPS).
“In November 2023, BC’s Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General appointed me as Administrator of the Surrey Police Board to assume the functions of the Board and assist with Surrey’s transition to SPS. The appointments of all Board members were temporarily paused.
“Civilian oversight is integral to building and maintaining trust and confidence in our police
services. When I accepted the role as Administrator, it was with a great sense of responsibility. I have worked with police boards for the last eight years and I recognize and value the importance of their role.
“As Administrator, I have continued to build on the work of the Board. Their accomplishments prior to my appointment are nothing short of extraordinary. They have reviewed and approved over 275 policies, supported the development of collective agreements, assisted with SPS’s strategic growth and implementation plans, worked closely with staff to build the 2023 and 2024 budgets, and maintained general oversight of the work of SPS.
“My first order of business when appointed was to review the 2024 provisional budget. With clarity from the Minister that SPS will become the police of jurisdiction in Surrey, we developed a growth budget in careful collaboration with the provincial government and Strategic Implementation Advisor to ensure SPS’s hiring will not destabilize policing in British Columbia.
“There is still much work to be done, and I am confident in the abilities of Chief Lipinski and his talented team of sworn and civilian staff. In speaking to the team at SPS, I am truly impressed by their commitment to public safety and serving and protecting Surrey with pride and honour. I look forward to continuing to support this work and I know the residents of Surrey will benefit from having a local and innovative police service that is reflective of the community.”