City terminates RCMP contract:
Council unanimously passed a motion immediately after it was sworn in this week to terminate its contract with RCMP and begin forming a municipal force.The RCMP says it would be the first time a local government would move from the national force since Cape Breton, N.S., made the switch in 2000. Abbotsford, B.C., dropped the Mounties in 1995, when it amalgamated with Matsqui and formed the Abbotsford Police Department, and a small town in Prince Edward Island made the move in the early 1990s.
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Rob Gordon, a criminology professor with Simon Fraser University, said it's a daunting and costly task. While it typically comes with the benefit of lighter caseloads for local officers, it means immediately losing a 10 per cent subsidy that the federal government offers any municipality that uses the RCMP.
"There will be a lot of eyes on Surrey to see whether or not it is cost effective to do this," Gordon said.
Mayor Doug McCallum has defended the expense, which he said voters condoned when they filled all but one council seat with members of the Safe Surrey party, which ran on making the change.
"A local police force will understand the community better and will be more motivated to tackle problems," his campaign platform said.