Victoria: After Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke on Friday announced that the city council has voted to retain RCMP in the city as its police force, B.C. Solicitor General and Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth said the City of Surrey has offered their corporate report under a non-disclosure agreement and they will review the city’s report.
In a statement, Mike Farnworth said as Solicitor General, he is required to ensure effective and adequate policing in Surrey and across B.C. He said when people call the police, they need to be confident that help will arrive.
“I must be satisfied that the City of Surrey’s plan will ensure effective and adequate policing is maintained in Surrey and throughout the province. Once staff have been able to review the city’s report, I will be able to determine if the plan achieves this objective,” Mike Farnworth said in a statement.
“We continue to require a comprehensive plan from the city to meet the requirements I laid out as necessary. In the absence of such a plan, this could quickly destabilize an already precarious situation in Surrey and significantly decrease police presence in other areas of the province,” the Public Safety Minister added.