The RCMP's efforts to maintain authority in British Columbia have failed following a power struggle with the newly formed Surrey Police Service.

The B.C. Supreme Court's ruling against keeping the RCMP in Surrey charts a path for other Canadian communities to make the transition to municipal policing.

Soon after the decision, the federal government issued a joint statement with the Surrey Police Service on its willingness to engage in modern co-operative policing models.

Maintaining public safety and the integrity of criminal investigations were seemingly the motivating factors behind the rare joint news release, in addition to informing the public that the Surrey Police Service would take over as the force of jurisdiction on Nov. 29.

But there is a key question left unanswered: what does a modern Surrey Police Service look like in the year 2024 and beyond?

Read the complete article