Losing officers to Surrey’s new police force is a real concern and the Delta Police Department is hoping to minimize the losses and the impact.
That’s what Delta Police Chief Neil Dubord conveyed during last week’s virtual city town hall meeting with Mayor George Harvie.
Dubord noted the Surrey Police Service is expected to hire 200 more officers next year with about 300 more in 2023.
“So, as they build on their march to 800 members or so, we’re going to see transitions of police officers throughout the Lower Mainland to the Surrey Police Service,” said Dubord. “We’re working hard in Delta to try and ensure we provide the environment for our police officers that they enjoy their work and they continue to develop professionally and that they contribute to the community in a meaningful way.
“We do have a different way of policing here in Delta. They have an ability to connect with the community in a more meaningful way and that’s important that we find in many of the officers we hire and many of them come from this community and want to serve back within their community, and that’s very helpful.”
Dubord said a request has been made to Delta council to use approximately $500,000 in surplus police funds at the end of the year in a special reserve that would be used for offsetting costs over-and-above the budget to deal with officers transitioning to Surrey, including overtime and recruitment costs.
He said some police departments in B.C. have taken unique steps to attract and retain officers including the Victoria department, which had been offering experienced officers $20,000 to relocate to its department.
“That obviously raised many concerns here in the Lower Mainland because, if one department was able to offer that, that causes many other departments to look at that kind of incentive to be able to retain officers,” said Dubord. “We know that being able to attract the right kind of officers for the next two or three decades, and being able to retain our experienced police officers, is critical, and some of that comes down to us being able to ensure we have the budgeted funds to contribute to not only the advertising for the right officers but the overtime to maintain the right officers and their professional development.”
The most prominent name in the Delta Police Department who has already left was Norm Lipinski, a deputy chief in Delta who was named the inaugural chief of the new Surrey force.
A Union of B.C. Municipalities report notes, “It is reasonable to expect that experienced officers or those with specialized skillsets may view the SPS as an attractive employment opportunity. While the extent of officer attrition is unknown, it is important that the RCMP, municipal police departments, and municipal police boards have robust strategies to assist with succession planning, officer retention, and future recruitment.”
