Surrey Police Service still on pause two months after province’s final decision

Nearly two months after the B.C. government ordered Surrey to continue a transition to a municipal police force, the Surrey Police Service says it continues to be in pause mode, unable to go on an active recruiting drive or hire new officers.

Surrey Police Service spokesman Ian MacDonald said Friday that while a staffing rollout plan is being worked on with the province, Ottawa and the city, one does not exist now.

A first human resources plan expired in the spring, and a new plan would outline how quickly the municipal force could add officers and how fast the RCMP detachment would wind down.

The Surrey RCMP confirmed this, noting a new plan will need to be developed to set the pace and timeline for RCMP phaseout.