Norm Lipinski’s appointment as Chief Constable of the Surrey Police Service bypasses another top cop Steve Rai, who was the first choice of Mayor Doug McCallum’s cronies. But there were lot of issues with Rai’s appointment including possible conflict of interest which may have led the Board to bypass Rai and pick an old white man in a city with a large South Asian and other immigrant population.

By DESIBUZZCanada Staff

SURREY - Delta Deputy Police Chief Norm Lipinski has been picked by the Surrey Police Board to be Surrey Chief of Police even though questions remain on transition that has no plan and isn’t expected to be ready before 2022.

Lipinski’s appointment as Chief Constable of the Surrey Police Service bypasses another top cop Steve Rai, who was the first choice of Mayor Doug McCallum’s cronies. But there were lot of issues with Rai’s appointment including possible conflict of interest which may have led the Board to bypass Rai and pick an old white man in a city with a large South Asian and other immigrant population.

Surrey RCMP Spokesperson Cpl. Elle Sturko told reporters Friday that the City of Surrey, which is proposing the cut, hasn’t put together a plan to co-ordinate how losing $45 million could affect the Mounties, and whether new money to the new Surrey Police Service will make up the gap.

“There hasn’t been any indication of how that would be implemented or what the impacts would be to our personnel, no plan to address the resources, no plan to address our services,” Sturko said.

 “It is important for all Surrey residents to know that, at this time, the RCMP continues to maintain responsibility for policing in Surrey. The transition of police services is a long and complex process, particularly for a detachment of our size. As such, Surrey RCMP will continue to manage operations until the Municipal Police Unit Agreement has been terminated or replaced with another agreement. This is the responsibility of the Province of BC, City of Surrey, RCMP and Public Safety Canada,” said Assistant Commissioner Brian Edwards, the officer in charge of the Surrey RCMP.

“There is no doubt that this continuing process to transition Surrey’s policing service has been challenging for our people. They are dedicated police officers and support staff, many of who live and raise their families in Surrey. For the past two years, they have continued to do their jobs with professionalism, integrity, and compassion, while working under a cloud of uncertainty for their personal and professional futures. I am proud to lead such a dedicated group of individuals.  

“To the residents of Surrey, please feel confident that your safety remains our top priority as we move through this process.”

Surrey Police Board (SPB) said in the coming weeks, Lipinski will assume leadership of the SPS, bringing over 25 years of experience serving within large, urban Canadian municipalities.

 Prior to joining the Surrey Police Service, Chief Lipinski served as Deputy Chief of both the neighbouring Delta Police Service and the Edmonton Police Service, as well as Assistant Commissioner for the RCMP.

"I am honoured to lead Surrey through this important transition towards a more modern, inclusive, accountable, and community-based policing model," said Chief Constable Lipinski. "I look forward to working closely with Surrey's diverse communities to learn more about their priorities and building a service to meet the needs of this rapidly growing and dynamic city."

The SPB press release said Chief Constable Lipinski was selected through a rigorous recruitment process led by a third-party professional search firm and vetted through objective decision-making criteria framework that placed particular emphasis on leadership experience, demonstrable experience promoting progressive policing policies, including commitment to de-escalation training and ability to foster a diverse and inclusive environment.

The Chief Constable's first order of business is to start recruiting officers. The Chief Constable and Surrey Police Board will also immediately get to work developing Surrey Police Service's first Strategic Plan that will outline the priorities, goals and objectives of the SPS.

Lipinski was also the Criminal Operations Officer for E-Division for five years and spent “a great deal of his time” in uniform and operations. He was also deputy chief in charge of human resources, information technology, training, and finance in the Edmonton Police Service.

Lipinski is a recipient of the Officer Order of Merit (OOM) bestowed by the Governor General of Canada, the Canadian Police Exemplary Medal, the Alberta Law Enforcement Long Service Medal and the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee medal.