SURREY Police Service (SPS) on July 28 will expand its policing service in Surrey as they begin providing policing service to the west side of South Surrey.

Since becoming the police of jurisdiction for Surrey on November 29, 2024, SPS’s policing presence has been primarily concentrated in Whalley / City Centre (District 1) and Newton (District 3). The RCMP Surrey Provincial Operations Support Unit (SPOSU) has been policing the remaining police districts: Guildford (District 2), Cloverdale (District 4), and South Surrey (District 5), as part of the phased policing transition plan.

Over the past eight months, SPS has hired over 100 more police officers. This growth, along with the continuing demobilization of RCMP SPOSU members, has allowed SPS to expand its policing operations in the city.

In March, SPS expanded its investigative capacity in Newton, and now SPS is ready to take over frontline and investigative duties for the west side of South Surrey. Specifically, SPS will assume responsibility for the geographic area including, and to the west of, Highway 99, including the Peace Arch Border crossing and the Semiahmoo First Nation. SPS plans to expand their service to the east side of South Surrey this fall.

Although South Surrey residents will be seeing more SPS officers in their community, there is no change to how they access police services – police office locations and phone numbers remain the same (604-599-0502 for non-emergencies or 9-1-1 for emergencies).

“Surrey Police Service is excited to continue expanding our community presence and we look forward to serving South Surrey,” said SPS Chief Constable Norm Lipinski. “We appreciate the support from the residents and businesses during this comprehensive move to Surrey’s own police service. We also remain grateful to the RCMP for assisting us on the delivery of effective public safety in the City during the policing transition.”

In 2026, SPS plans to assume policing responsibilities in Cloverdale as the next step towards transition completion. Representatives from the City of Surrey, RCMP, Province of BC, and SPS are all working together to develop and implement each phase of the policing transition. The RCMP SPOSU will continue to provide temporary policing support in Surrey until SPS is fully established. Residents will continue to see both SPS and RCMP officers and vehicles in Surrey until the transition is completed.

Meanwhile, the RCMP’s SPOSU said that it wishes to convey its thanks and ongoing commitment to provide continued police service to South Surrey residents and businesses on the east side of the area known as District 5.

SPOSU will continue its service to the community in the area east of Highway 99 toward the Cloverdale / Langley border and the Pacific Highway Border Crossing.

“It was our pleasure to serve the South Surrey community on the west side, and to those people who live on the east side of the district, it will be our honour to continue providing you with police service until SPS is able to expand to South Surrey entirely,” said Chief Superintendent Wendy Mehat, the Officer-in-Charge of SPOSU.

While members of the RCMP’s SPOSU will continue to work out of the South Surrey District 5 office, it will be shared with SPS partners who are providing service west of Highway 99, including the Peace Arch Border crossing and the Semiahmoo First Nation.

“The members have appreciated the community’s support in the past and look forward to your continued support as we work with our SPS partners to complete the transition,” said Mehat.

For more information on Surrey’s policing transition, visit www.surreypolice.ca/policing-transition.