SURREY – Whether City police will work better than RCMP remains to be seen as gang problem and killing is also out of control in Abbotsford, but Doug McCallum and his Safe Surrey team is sticking to their election platform and moving fast to remove RCMP.
This week, Surrey appointed Terry Waterhouse as the General Manager, Policing Transition.
“With his extensive experience in the criminal justice system and his most recent tenure as General Manager of Public Safety, Terry is well suited to lead the transition planning to a municipal police department for Surrey,” said Mayor Doug McCallum. “Terry’s expertise and ability to work with government partners, the RCMP and other external partners will ensure that the transition will be made as smoothly and as quickly as possible. I am confident that the Province and the RCMP will continue to work with us to make this change as seamless and as quickly as possible for the benefit of all the residents in Surrey.”
At its first Regular Council Meeting on November 5th, Council unanimously approved a motion to start work on creating a Surrey Police Department and serve notice to the Federal and Provincial governments that the City of Surrey will be terminating its contract with the RCMP municipal police service. The evolution of policing services from the Surrey RCMP to a municipal police service will require a dedicated team focused on achieving a successful transition and Terry’s new assignment will be integral as he develops and leads the transition process.
“The task at hand is of utmost importance to the residents of Surrey and it is incumbent on us to have an orderly evolution of policing services for the City,” said Terry Waterhouse, General Manager, Policing Transition. “We are moving quickly to put a team together that will allow us to cover off all aspects of this important endeavour.”
