THE transition of policing service in Surrey reached another milestone on Tuesday with the first deployment of Surrey Police Service (SPS) vehicles into policing operations.

On July 2, 10 fully marked and equipped SPS police vehicles went into service. Twenty additional vehicles will be put into service in late July and August, for a total of 30 vehicles deployed by the end of the summer.

SPS officers will be driving these vehicles while responding to calls for service and providing proactive policing in Surrey. As the SPS fleet grows, some SPS officers will continue to drive RCMP-branded vehicles at this time. This is part of the phased transition leading up to SPS becoming the police of jurisdiction on November 29.

Surrey residents began seeing SPS officers and uniforms in the community when the first group of officers was deployed in December 2021. Since then, SPS officers have had hundreds of interactions with the community and responded to thousands of calls for service, familiarizing residents and business owners with SPS. Now many of these officers will also be able to drive SPS branded vehicles while carrying out their policing duties.

“Getting Surrey Police Service vehicles on the road is an essential step forward in Surrey’s policing transition,” says SPS Chief Constable Norm Lipinski. “As we prepare to take over policing on November 29, it is important for residents to become familiar with the look of their new police service so they will be comfortable approaching SPS vehicles and officers whenever they need help or have questions.”

The SPS will continue to share important developments as it moves through the critical path toward assuming command of policing in Surrey. You can find more information on Surrey’s policing transition at www.surreypolice.ca/policing-transition.