The Province has appointed the City of Surrey’s first police board members as part of Surrey’s transition from an RCMP detachment to a municipal police department.

The lieutenant governor in council has appointed seven community members under section 23(1)(c) of the Police Act to the City of Surrey’s municipal police board, joining the mayor of Surrey as chair and a municipal council appointee to complete the nine-person board:

• Chief Harley Chappell, elected Chief of the Semiahmoo First Nation
• Cheney Cloke, director, Fraser Health Authority
• Elizabeth Model, CEO, Downtown Surrey Business Improvement Association
• James Carwana, mediator and arbitrator
• Jaspreet Sunner, lawyer and labour relations representative, Hospital Employees’ Union
• Manav Gill, manager, clinical operations, Fraser Health Authority
• Meena Brisard, regional director, Canadian Union of Public Employees

Following an extensive assessment and screening process, members were chosen by aligning individual skills, competencies and attributes with the needs and responsibilities of the board and to reflect the diversity of the community. Initial appointments will range from 12- to 18-month terms.

Under the Police Act, the board is required to establish and oversee the Surrey Police Department and is subject to oversight by the director of police services, who has a statutory responsibility to superintend policing in B.C. The board has four main governance functions: 

• employing the police and civilian employees;
• providing financial oversight for the police department;
• establishing policies and directions for the department; and
• managing service and policy complaints against the department.

The next step in the City of Surrey’s transition plan will be for the new board to hire a chief constable. Ministry staff will work with the board to assist in the transition process, including providing an orientation and training session in the coming weeks.

A backgrounder follows.