SURREY – 83% of Surrey residents agree that now is not the time to put money from Surrey taxpayers towards Mayor McCallum’s policing transition, according to a new poll released today by the National Police Federation (NPF) in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak.
“Surrey residents have made their priorities clear, focusing on the need for core services and support for those who have been impacted by this pandemic,” said Brian Sauvé, President of the National Police Federation. “People are clearly telling us this is not the right time for this policing transition plan.”
The survey, done by Pollara Strategic Insights and commissioned by the NPF, includes a randomly selected sample of 803 Surrey residents between April 17th and 27th, 2020.
Key findings from the survey include:
- 90% of residents say Mayor and Council should take a step back to evaluate spending plans to focus on residents’ most urgent priorities
- Only 16% of Surrey residents say that replacing the Surrey RCMP with a municipal police force should be a major priority right now.
- Support for the Mayor’s plan dropped from 48% in January to 31% in this April survey, while opposition increased from 46% to 60% during the same period.
“COVID-19 has shown how important it is to have dedicated and experienced emergency responders who know their communities,” added Sauvé. “Now is not the time for a disruptive change in policing. We encourage City Council to re-think this plan and focus on the health and safety of people and their communities.”
Crime has decreased steadily in Surrey since 2007 and is now at a ten-year low. Surrey is served by 850 members of the RCMP who speak 51 different languages.
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
[email protected]
604-861-2684