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the editor,
Re: “So much for local control of Surrey Police”, the Now-Leader editorial, online.
“Local control” is a fundamental principle of municipal policing and was the subject of a recent opinion piece. However, it is important to accurately define what local control means. It does not refer to the mayor and council who have control of the police.
Instead, the local control that a municipal police service provides to a community lies in the fact that it is controlled by the citizens, not by any level of government.
Surrey Police Service (SPS), like all municipal police agencies in BC, is governed by a civilian police board. Surrey residents can go directly to the police board to voice their concerns and priorities, without having to go through elected officials.
Once the transition to SPS is complete, the governance structure essentially removes the police from politics by allowing the public to directly access their police service.
This is the real strength of a municipal police model.
While the Minister of Public Security and the Attorney General oversees the police for the province, he does so only to ensure that each community is provided with adequate and effective policing. This is the minister’s current role in the Surrey Police transition.
With a municipal policing model, the people of Surrey will have a say in how policing is carried out in their community. It is the responsibility of Surrey Police Council to ensure that SPS priorities, aims and objectives meet the expectations of the public and those of the city council.
The council also provides full transparency to residents by publicly displaying monthly expenses, current police staffing numbers, public complaints and collective agreements. Council directors have a vested interest in having a police service that is accountable to everyone.
This is what “local control” in policing really means.
Melissa Granum, executive director, Surrey Police Board
[email protected]
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