SURREY, British Columbia, May 22, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The unexpected and growing cost of Mayor McCallum’s Surrey police transition is becoming clearer every day, according to National Police Federation President Brian Sauvé. On Monday, Surrey City Council is scheduled to discuss an additional $500,000 expense to cover IT costs related to the transition.

“This is just the beginning of the additional costs that Surrey residents will be forced to bear if this transition moves forward,” said Sauvé. “Surrey is axing planned community infrastructure like the YMCA building, the Cloverdale Ice Arena, and the Grandview Heights Library, and they are instead spending that money on a costly police transition.”

83%¹ of Surrey residents recently surveyed said that now is not the time to continue with the proposed police transition.

“There are a number of additional costs the City has not accounted for, including human resources capacity for hiring over 800 new officers, benefit plans for new officers, infrastructure for new police detachments, training infrastructure and resources, as well as civil liability and other legal costs,” added Sauvé. “Every day the people of Surrey are learning more about the true cost of the Mayor’s plan, and they are increasingly opposed.”

About the National Police Federation:

The National Police Federation (NPF) was certified to represent ~20,000 RCMP members serving across Canada and internationally in the summer of 2019. The NPF is the largest police labour relations organization in Canada, the second largest in North America and is the first independent national association to represent RCMP members. The NPF will focus on improving public safety in Canada by negotiation the first-ever Collective Agreement for RCMP officers, and on increasing resources, equipment, training and supports for our members who have been under-funded for far too long. Better resourcing and support for the RCMP will enhance community safety and livability in the communities we serve, large and small, across Canada.

For more information: https://npf-fpn.com/.

Media contact:
Brian Sauvé
President
National Police Federation
media@npf-fpn.com
T:  604-861-2684

¹Pollara Strategic Insights survey of Surrey residents, April 2020. More info here.