A survey released by the National Police Federation that represents RCMP officers shows that 14 per cent of Mounties in Surrey RCMP have decided to apply to the new Surrey Police Service and 36 per cent say they haven’t decided their future plans.
Anyone with a modicum of common sense will tell you that Surrey RCMP officers will prefer to keep their intentions secret just in case those trying to sabotage the new police force succeed.
So, the fact that even 14 per cent have openly said that they will join the new police force and another 36 per cent refused to firmly say they will stick with the RCMP, clearly indicates that 50 per cent will join the new police force.
In fact, more than 50 per cent are expected to join the new police force, RCMP sources say.
Many Mounties are angry with their union and senior officers as well as the three Surrey Councillors – Linda Annis, Brenda Locke and Jack Hundial – who have whipped up false propaganda against the new police force, using every distortion and lie they can make up.
The officers say that they would have started preparing their resumes much earlier for the new police force if they had not been misled by such characters.
Unfortunately, some white nationalist journalists in mainstream media have been going out of their way to carry one-sided stories in favour of the RCMP in spite of the clear democratic thumbs-up Surrey Mayor Doug McCallum received.
The fact is that the opposition is actually directed against the South Asians in Surrey. There has been blatant racism and many South Asians will stop cooperating with the RCMP if they succeed in sabotaging the new police force.
That will create a very dangerous atmosphere in Surrey and will endanger everyone’s life. Make no mistake about it! (And don’t shoot the messenger!)
As The VOICE has consistently pointed out:
1. Surrey Mayor Doug McCallum and seven of his Safe Surrey Coalition members won the election fair and square on the pledge that they would form a Surrey police force to replace the RCMP. In fact, all the eight new Councillors, including the lone one from Surrey First, voted to ditch the RCMP at the very first Council meeting.
2. The Police Act says that any city with a population of more than 5,000 can decide what type of police force they want. So, when the City of Surrey approached the Provincial Government with its proposal, the latter had no option but to give the go-ahead. In spite of three Councillors ditching McCallum’s group, the mayor still controls the majority vote in Surrey Council.
3. Among the tactics that the pro-RCMP forces started resorting to was the call for a referendum on the change in policing. However, legally, only the City can authorize such a referendum – the Province or the federal government cannot. Yet despite this fact, the RCMP bosses have been apparently inciting their supporters to carry on with that demand.
Surrey Mayor Doug McCallum said in a statement: “If this survey is accurate, and 14 per cent of Surrey RCMP members are interested in joining Surrey police, that would provide a good balance and rich opportunities for policing professionals not only B.C. but across Canada to join an exciting new urban police service.
“Once the board hires a chief, he or she will lead our recruitment program. When that launches, we are confident that all experienced officers will see that they can join a modern urban police service, make a difference in their community and that they can build their career and raise their families here in Surrey.”
The job for a chief for Surrey Police Service that is posted on the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police and the Canadian Association of Police Governance websites, along with the Waterhouse Executive Search and Surrey Police Service websites, closes August 28 at 4 p.m.
The new police board is to hold its second meeting on September 15 to decide on who the chief will be.
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