The Surrey Police Service is less than three weeks away from taking over from the RCMP to manage policing in British Columbia’s second most populous municipality, but there is still no formal agreement on how responsibilities will be divided between the two forces.

On November 29, the municipal service becomes the jurisdictional police force in Surrey, while the Highlanders take on what is expected to be a support role for years.

SPS chief Norm Lipinski says he is not concerned about the lack of an agreement, which he expects to be signed “within days.”

“We are putting those pieces together to get us to a place where public safety will not be compromised in Surrey. I’m very, very confident about that… There’s enough overlap, there’s enough people, there’s enough equipment. he said.

The head of the RCMP union says members are anxious to be so close to handing over without a clear understanding of what their jobs will look like.

Brian Sauvé, president of the National Police Federation, says members have not been told what will happen on November 29 and because each police service has its own policies and procedures, there could be challenges.

“I think in general (people feel) anxious, insecure, worried, in a knot if you will. Mainly because nobody knows what’s going on,” he said.

While Surrey Police has been managed by the RCMP, SPS officers have been working alongside them since 2021, while a transition dispute played in municipal and provincial politics.

That dispute ended this year with the announcement of a Nov. 29 transition date, but laws that prevent Mounties from answering to municipal police complicate the handover, requiring a new agreement on responsibilities.

Lipinski would not go into detail about the agreement being worked on, but says the two forces essentially share Surrey geographically, with the RCMP responsible for some areas and the Surrey Police Service responsible for others.

“We’ll start with geography and certain areas, and they’ll start with their geography. Then what happens is that as we build and they shrink, we take over more of their geography. We have a plan for that. it makes total sense,” he says.

Lipinski said SPS has 455 members and will need 785 to fully take over from the RCMP. He said he expects it will take another two to three years for the force to reach full strength.

“Like building a house”

Sauvé said legally the Mounties cannot work under a municipal police force, a situation commonly referred to as “red under blue,” which is why having an agreement on responsibilities is so important.

He said there would be “no shame” in pushing the November 29 deadline to give both sides more time.

“What does November 30th look like? I think the city of Surrey will be safe. RCMP members will do their job,” he said.

“What that looks like and the small background of what it looks like, obviously, I’m very, very curious to see the details. And it’s been disappointing in terms of how much has been given to us,” he said.

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Lipinski said he’s confident things will be ready for Nov. 29.

He said, “there’s nothing terribly onerous about having two chains of command,” and while there may be “unforeseen circumstances,” he’s optimistic the two sides will be able to work them out.

“There will be no risk to public safety and there will be business continuity as we move forward and evolve. And of course there will be things you need to do afterwards because you didn’t have time to do them. forward,” he said.

“It’s like building a house and sometimes you move in and you have to do some of the other elements like painting and so on. But it’s there. The structure is there and we’re ready to go.”