After an initial “hiccup,” the Surrey Police Service says Cloverdalians have nothing to worry about when the SPS takes over East Surrey in less than a month.
Called “District 4” by the SPS, they will officially begin policing the Cloverdale neighbourhood April 1.
“It could be termed a bit of a hiccup, but I just wanted to let everybody know that we are fully committed to this transition continuing,” said Darin Sheppard, an inspector with the SPS.
That “hiccup” was the SPS’s planned strategy and preparation to take over the south part of Cloverdale in four weeks and the north part at the end of July. However, the province told them they are taking over all of Cloverdale April 1, so the SPS has had to pivot and come up with a new transition plan.
Currently looking after the South Surrey area (District 5), Sheppard will be tasked with running Cloverdale come April.
“I’m very excited about that,” he told members and guests of the Cloverdale BIA Feb. 24 as he spoke during the BIA’s AGM, held at the Clova Theatre. “I absolutely love the community.”
Sheppard said he’s met many people in the East Surrey area over the last couple of years and has developed many good relationships with both people and organizations.
He also wanted to assuage any concerns residents may have in terms of public safety. He said the SPS commitment to residents in Surrey and Cloverdale remains unchanged.
“We are working diligently behind the scenes to find ways to close some of the gaps that we’ve now identified given that the initial transition was supposed to be the south half of Cloverdale on April 1 and the remaining half at the end of July,” Sheppard explained. “We are working diligently to ensure this transition continues in the most expeditious manner possible, without any risk to public safety.”
He said when they do takeover, the crisis intervention teams, or CITs (the police mental health units), will be in place and ready to serve the community.
He noted the biggest hurdle he anticipates when the SPS takes over District 4 will be manpower. With officers diverted to tackle the extortion crisis, they will have to put some initiatives on hold and get to them later. He added public needn’t worry about safety; there will be enough boots on the ground to ensure policing needs are well taken care of.
Sheppard said there will be six sergeant teams working in District 4. Operationally, Cloverdale will have three different teams working during the course of the day, a morning shift, an afternoon shift, and an evening shift.
“There will be adequate resources for that,” he said. “We’ll definitely be out in the community. Expect to see more police cars out patrolling, more officers walking foot patrol, and working with the community.”
Sheppard noted the SPS will have a dedicated community policing station in Cloverdale that will eventually be open to the public. He said they’ll take over the current RCMP office on 176A Street immediately, but it will need to be retrofitted to bring it up to modern security standards. He couldn’t offer a timeline of just when the office will open, but he said he doesn’t anticipate any lengthy delays. He also said if there are any issues with the building, such as asbestos or something else, then they will have to open an office in a different location.
“It’s incredibly important to us to have a community policing office that’s accessible to the community in every district in Surrey,” he said. “The chief’s made a commitment to that. I agree—100 per cent—that if we really want to be accepted as part of the community, that is one of the approaches we need to take.”
He said the SPS is continuing to work with the province and the RCMP and that there may be more news about the situation coming out before the April 1 transition date.
Sheppard said the overall transition is still on track to be completed in 2027.