Council has approved the City’s policing priorities for 2026, setting a strong focus on combating organized crime and extortion, completing the transition to the Surrey Police Service, and strengthening collaboration with community and health partners to improve public safety.
“Public safety is one of Council’s most important responsibilities,” said Mayor Brenda Locke. “These priorities reflect what residents are telling us, while ensuring policing in Surrey is effective, accountable and focused on the issues having the greatest impact on our community — especially the rise in extortion and organized crime.”
Under the BC Police Act, Council is responsible for setting municipal policing priorities, which the Surrey Police Board must consider in directing the Surrey Police Service. As the City enters its first full year with the SPS as the police of jurisdiction, these priorities establish clear expectations moving forward.
Council endorsed four key policing priorities to guide operations in 2026:
- Completing the police transition by finishing the buildout of the SPS in a timely and financially responsible manner, while maintaining effective frontline service.
- Responding to the extortion crisis through focused efforts to disrupt and dismantle organized crime networks, working closely with regional and provincial partners.
- Strengthening collaboration across City departments, bylaw enforcement, and health and social service partners to better address public disorder, mental health and addiction-related impacts on community safety.
- Planning for the future of policing in Surrey, including work with Council on a long-term service delivery model that meets the City’s evolving needs.
“These priorities align Surrey with leading police agencies across Canada while addressing issues unique to our city,” said Brian Edwards, general manager of public safety. “They also recognize that public safety goes beyond policing alone and requires strong partnerships across government and the community.”
As part of Council’s approval, the City will collaborate with the Surrey Police Board and the SPS throughout 2026 to launch a broad review of community safety priorities. This work will include engagement with residents, stakeholders and partner agencies and will inform the development of a comprehensive public safety strategy in 2027.
Picture Courtesy: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ethan Cairns
