Photo: The Canadian Press A Surrey Police Department logo appears on an officer’s jacket in Surrey, BC, Monday, October 31, 2022. The union representing members of the newly formed Surrey Police Service says its officers and civilian workers have “no intention” of join the RCMP if the municipal force was scrapped. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Daryl Dyck The union representing members of the newly formed Surrey Police Service says its officers and civilian workers have “no intention” of joining the RCMP, should the municipal force be abolished. A statement from the Surrey Police Union says 94 per cent of its members have signed a pledge to refuse to apply for or join the Mounties if newly elected Surrey mayor Brenda Locke keeps her campaign promise to reverse the transition of the city from the national police to the municipal. The union says it issued the statement after a media interview in which Locke said she is working on a plan with the RCMP to ensure police and civilian staff are “taken care of” if the municipal force could be disbanded. The union says 275 of 293 front-line officers have signed a statement rejecting any jump in what the pledge card describes as a “toxic” RCMP work environment that includes “a lack of local decision-making, instability in staying in Surrey and absence of accountability”. Union president Rick Stewart says Locke’s questionable hiring plan “shows no respect” for the will of union members. The transition to the Surrey Police Service is set to begin in 2021 after former mayor Doug McCallum won provincial approval to form the municipal force, which he argued would be more responsive to local issues. The union says that, following Locke’s latest comments, its members voluntarily signed a pledge that includes the statement “I joined in good faith to contribute to Surrey, however a highly divisive political climate directly affects my personal and professional life.” . “The attractiveness of working for a Surrey-based municipal police remains one of the main factors behind our successful recruitment so far,” Stewart says of members who left jobs in other police forces to work in the city. He says Locke’s plan does not address these concerns. “If Mayor Locke truly wants to take a people-centered approach to policing, we remain open to collaboration, transparency and accountability to support the best interests of Surrey residents,” says Stewart.
