SPS has hired 261 sworn police officers and 54 civilian employees, making it the second largest municipal police agency in B.C.

SURREY Police Service Chief Constable Norm Lipinski said on Wednesday that the SPS had received over 2,000 applications over the past 18 months.
However, the SPS has taken steps to ensure that policing in the Lower Mainland is not destabilized by its recruiting efforts. One of the ways it is doing this is by hiring experienced officers from across the country.
In September, the SPS’s Recruiting Team will be heading to the Greater Toronto Area, Kelowna and Kamloops to meet with experienced officers who are interested in joining the SPS.

“If you are an officer in these areas and want to learn more about SPS, please visit our website to schedule your in-person meeting,” said Lipinski in a message providing SPS updates.

“Currently, 16% of our officers come from outside BC. And while some of our officers may not come from Surrey originally, I believe the most important part is that they will be in Surrey for the duration of their careers, which will allow them to build strong, long-term relationships with the community,” he noted.

To date, the SPS has hired 261 sworn police officers and 54 civilian employees, making SPS the second largest municipal police agency in BC. Of its 261 officers, 120 have been deployed, 14 are recruits in training, 25 are in our experienced officer training, and the remainder are doing critical work building SPS: recruiting, IT, training, community consultation, policy development, and more.

Lipinski said in his message: “We are often asked about the pace of the transition from the RCMP to SPS, and when SPS will take over command of policing in Surrey. Both are very good questions.

“The policing transition is being implemented in a phased and controlled manner over a few years in order to ensure a seamless and safe transition for the public, the RCMP and SPS. The process is being guided by the Surrey Policing Transition Trilateral Committee (SPTTC), which is made up of senior representatives of the three levels of government. This committee also determines the pace of the transition, including our deployment numbers, which is what we base our hiring on at SPS.

“We are currently in phase one of the policing transition, which started in November 2021. During this phase, SPS officers are integrated into the Surrey RCMP detachment every two months, and RCMP officers are gradually demobilized, as outlined in the SPS-RCMP Human Resources Strategy and Plan.

“Phase two will be the change of command from the RCMP to SPS as SPS becomes the police of jurisdiction for Surrey. The timeline for phase two has yet to be determined by the three levels of government, and SPS eagerly awaits a decision on this matter.”

Lipinski pointed out: “A policing transition of this magnitude has not been done in Canada before, and I appreciate the thoughtfulness with which all three levels of government have approached this project, and the careful consideration they give to Surrey residents, RCMP and SPS officers, and the civilian staff supporting policing in Surrey.”