SURREY, BC – Surrey residents are clear on two things in a new Pollara poll commissioned by the National Police Federation (NPF): they do not want a new Surrey Police Service or support Mayor Doug McCallum.
The poll taken in August, shows that 58% of Surrey residents oppose Mayor Doug McCallum’s RCMP transition plan, with 44% of that subgroup strongly opposed. NPF President Brian Sauvé says the results show the Mayor’s policing plan continues to drag his popularity down.
“Mayor McCallum is continuing to ignore the will of Surrey residents, the vast majority of whom oppose his plan,” said Sauvé. “A stunning 72% of those polled agreed that his costly plan to remove the Surrey RCMP is a good reason not to vote for Doug McCallum in the next municipal election.”
The poll, the latest in a series conducted this year, also asked respondents about their priorities for the new Surrey Police Board:
- 86% agreed the Board should disclose any increases to the annual police budget required to keep service levels at exactly the same level as the current RCMP;
- 86% agreed the Board should report to the public a full accounting of all start-up and transition costs before a final decision on the transition; and
- 79% agreed that given the City’s financial challenges, the Board should delay the implementation of the transition until after the municipal election in 2022 so all costs can be determined and considered.
“The results are clear that Surrey voters don’t believe they are getting all of the information they need or want when it comes to the true cost of this plan,” added Sauvé. “The new Board has an opportunity to provide real governance and leadership on this file by demanding answers from the Mayor.”
A referendum on the Surrey transition plan continues to be popular with Surrey voters, with 70% in support. The poll, conducted between August 11 and 24, included a mix of online (500) and telephone (306) in the sample1.
1 The margin of error for a probability sample of this size is ± 3.5%, 19 times out of 20. Data has been weighted by age, gender, ethnicity (South Asian), and balanced between three sub-regions based on postal code groupings, as per the latest census data to be representative of the adult population in the City of Surrey.
About the National Police Federation:
The National Police Federation (NPF) was certified to represent ~20,000 RCMP Members serving across Canada and internationally in the summer of 2019. The NPF is the largest police labour relations organization in Canada, the second-largest in North America and is the first independent national association to represent RCMP Members. The NPF will focus on improving public safety in Canada by negotiating the first-ever Collective Agreement for RCMP officers, and on increasing resources, equipment, training and supports for our Members who have been underfunded for far too long. Better resourcing and support for the RCMP will enhance community safety and livability in the communities we serve, large and small, all across Canada.
For more information: https://npf-fpn.com/.
Media contact:
Brian Sauvé
President
National Police Federation
media@npf-fpn.com
T: 604-861-2684