LETTER: Surrey police chief ouster part of a ‘political shipwreck’
Published 7:30 pm Wednesday, June 3, 2026
Editor,
Just when you think Surrey’s sad policing shipwreck cannot sink any lower, it breaks through and finds a new depth to sink to. The ouster of Chief Norm Lipinski, followed by the resignation of Surrey police board chair Harley Chappell, raises many questions about who is running the ship, how, and why.
To be clear, I am no fan of the former chief and have concerns about the first years of the Surrey Police Service. Not least is the fact that this supposedly new model police force has killed four people since January 2025, more even than the RCMP.
Yet removal of the Chief, with no explanation, at a meeting the board chair was not present at is far beneath any level of transparency and accountability that residents deserve. Chappell’s resignation statement is stunning and raises alarm: “I feel the political tentacles and pressures have reached far too deeply into our newly formed SPS board, and I morally and ethically cannot be part of this moving forward.” He further says he feels “it to be in violation of our governance policies and provincial police act.”
Did the board have problems with the force’s direction or is this a political maneuver? Personal beef? The community deserves direct, clear, and timely answers. They should have been provided with the notice of Lipinski’s departure. This shambolic state of affairs is unacceptable.
Honestly, the last several years of political nonsense regarding policing in Surrey have done harm to the community. Why should any resident trust City Hall to get any of this right? And what is really going on with policing in the city?
Dr. Jeff Shantz, Department of Criminology
Kwantlen Polytechnic University, Surrey