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The Surrey Police Board will name a new chair after a chaotic week that included the abrupt departure of the chief of police and the former chair’s resignation in protest.
Perm Jawanda will be elected as chair at the board’s next meeting on June 17, according to a news release Friday from the board’s executive director Jason Kuzminski.
Kuzminski said Jawanda is an experienced executive and board director with more than 30 years of experience working in “complex, multi-partner environments.”
She previously worked as vice-president of partner retail at Rogers Communications, according to her biography on the board’s website.
On June 2, the board announced Surrey Police Service (SPS) Chief Const. Norm Lipinski had left the service. The board’s chair at the time, Harley Chappell, said the board made the decision to remove Lipinski at a meeting Chappell did not attend.
Chappell resigned in protest of the decision just hours after Lipinski’s departure was made public.
Lipinski has since told police union members in a letter that he was terminated without cause.
The former police chief had been in the middle of Surrey’s controversial transition from RCMP to a municipal police force.
A number of board members were replaced earlier this year when existing members’ appointments were not renewed by the province.
Remaining Surrey Police Board members refused to talk to media after a meeting on June 4.
Now the police board says it will launch a recruitment process for the next chief constable and bring on an executive search firm for advice.
The board will also begin the 2027 budgeting process and says it is focused on “providing the governance and oversight necessary to build a trusted, modern, and responsive police service.”