Surrey policing poll: Public leans to RCMP, but unsure who should decide

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A recent survey of British Columbians shows strong support for retaining the RCMP in Surrey, though opinions are mixed over who should make the final decision.

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In a Leger poll of 1,001 people from all regions of B.C. released this week, 46 per cent said the RCMP should stay as the police of jurisdiction in the province’s second-most-populous city.

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Twenty-six per cent favour a municipal Surrey Police Service, and nearly the same number, 27 per cent, are unsure.

But when asked to choose who gets to make the call, there’s no clear winner: 40 per cent say Surrey’s civic leaders led by Mayor Brenda Locke should decide, 36 per cent side with the Public Safety Ministry Mike Farnworth, and nearly a quarter (24 per cent) aren’t sure.

Whatever their opinion, a lot of people across B.C. are paying attention to the issue, which was a municipal election hot topic last October and has yet to be resolved after much back and forth between the city and the B.C. government.

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Eighty-six per cent say they are following the issue at least to some degree, and one in five (18 per cent) are watching the news closely. More than half (55 per cent) are paying attention to the issue. Interest in the issue is somewhat higher in Metro Vancouver but is fairly strong right across the province.

Nearly two in three, 63 per cent, said they support a public referendum on Surrey policing.

A recent city council vote went 6-3 in favour of retaining the RCMP, while the province has recommended continuing with the transition to the Surrey Police Service.

Breakdowns by region and other subgroups, such as education, household makeup and ethnicity, show the results are quite consistent regardless of where people live or who they are.

jruttle@postmedia.com

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