A new poll finds that over 80 percent of Surrey residents feel that now is not the time for the city to transition from the RCMP to a municipal police force.
Conducted by Pollara Strategic Insights and commissioned by the NPF, the survey includes a randomly selected sample of 803 Surrey residents between April 17 and April 27. It found that a whopping 83 percent of Surrey residents feel that the city should take a step back from the transition in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Surrey residents have made their priorities clear, focusing on the need for core services and support for those who have been impacted by this pandemic,” said Brian Sauvé, President of the National Police Federation.
“People are clearly telling us this is not the right time for this policing transition plan.”
According to the poll, a staggering 90 percent of residents feel Mayor and Council should take a step back to evaluate spending plans to focus on residents’ most urgent priorities. What's more, only 16 percent feel the transition should be a priority at this time.
The poll also finds that support for the Mayor's plan has waned since the start of the year. In January, 48 percent of residents were in favour of the transition, in comparison to 31 percent in April. Furthermore, opposition to the plan increased from 46 percent to 60 percent during the same period.
Three-quarters of respondents said they had a favourable opinion of the Surrey RCMP detachment, and over half of the 55+ demographic said they have a 'very favourable' opinion of it.
“COVID-19 has shown how important it is to have dedicated and experienced emergency responders who know their communities,” added Sauvé. “Now is not the time for a disruptive change in policing. We encourage City Council to re-think this plan and focus on the health and safety of people and their communities.”Last year, the province gave the City of Surrey the green light to establish Surrey's municipal police department, which will replace the city's RCMP detachment.
Currently, the Surrey RCMP is the largest detachment in the country. Of the 19 Canadian communities with a population of more than 300,000 residents, Surrey remains the only city without a local police department.
Surrey is served by 850 members of the RCMP who speak 51 different languages.
