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1130 NewsRadio has learned Surrey Police Service (SPS) Chief Norm Lipinski\u2019s time in the top job is coming to an end. He\u2019s been told he must either resign or he\u2019ll be forced out this week after spending years under the microscope in the province\u2019s fastest-growing city.<\/p>\n
The decision follows a Surrey Police Board (SPB) meeting on Monday.<\/p>\n
1130 NewsRadio has obtained an internal memo written by the Surrey Police Union to its members, stating it has yet to receive \u201cformal notification\u201d about Lipinski\u2019s position, despite numerous requests for clarification.<\/p>\n
In a statement later Tuesday morning, the SPB confirmed Lipinski\u2019s departure but did not provide a reason.<\/p>\n
The board says Deputy Chief Constable Todd Matsumoto has been appointed Interim Chief Constable. It says it will soon start the process to find a permanent replacement.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to assure our partners and all community members that we remain focused on protecting public safety and providing uninterrupted service delivery to the community. We are confident in the leadership team of SPS, and in the continued professionalism of all SPS personnel,\u201d the board stated.<\/p>\n
The development, reportedly, isn\u2019t going over well with union members.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile we continue working to determine the facts, I want members to know that your union is fully engaged and actively seeking answers,\u201d it reads.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe union has repeatedly raised concerns regarding staffing, recruitment, retention, wellness, operational sustainability, and workload pressures. We have warned that public safety cannot be maintained indefinitely through overtime, goodwill, and the personal sacrifices of our members.\u201d<\/p>\n
The union\u2019s statement says members have been warning about staffing shortages, which have \u201creached critical levels in many areas of the organization.\u201d<\/p>\n
It continues, \u201cOvertime shifts are routinely going unfilled. Members are experiencing increasing fatigue and burnout. Development opportunities are being cancelled because of staffing shortages. Wellness resources are strained. Morale continues to deteriorate. Many members no longer believe the organization has the staffing, resources, or operational support necessary to sustain the current pace of transition safely and effectively. None of these concerns are new.\u201d<\/p>\n
The memo suggests Lipinski\u2019s removal could be a politically motivated move by Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke.<\/p>\n
\u201cChief Lipinski did not create the political instability surrounding Surrey policing. He did not create the funding shortfalls. He did not create the staffing shortages. In fact, many of the concerns our members have today are concerns he repeatedly raised himself.\u201d<\/p>\n
It adds, \u201cMany members will inevitably view this as an attempt to hold one individual responsible for broader failures in governance, resourcing, planning, and political decision-making. This perception will only be strengthened by the fact that these reports come shortly after the province declined to renew the previous Police Board and after years of political interference, uncertainty, and instability surrounding policing in Surrey.\u201d<\/p>\n
The memo says the union will push for a new chief who serves its members and the public, and not just City Hall.<\/p>\n
Locke has had a contentious relationship with Lipinski and the SPS over the years.<\/p>\n
While addressing the media last month following a double deadly shooting, Locke was brief with words of praise.<\/p>\n
\u201cI will say that the police chief has moved the agenda along, in terms of creating a Surrey Police Service, so I\u2019ll leave it at that,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
In February, the SPS received $47 million less than its union had hoped for in this year\u2019s budget after the city said it underspent the previous year.<\/p>\n
The board had asked for $331.5 million for 2026.<\/p>\n
The union memo notes the reduction.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur members see the consequences of those decisions every day. Frontline officers, civilian professionals, supervisors, investigators, trainers, and support staff are being asked to do more with less while continuing to meet the expectations of one of Canada\u2019s largest and fastest-growing cities.\u201d<\/p>\n
In a statement Tuesday, Surrey City Coun. Linda Annis, who\u2019s among Locke\u2019s competition for the October mayoral election, says Lipinski\u2019s removal raises concerns about Locke, who won the last civic election in 2022 on a campaign to keep the RCMP in power.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe mayor\u2019s opposition to the Surrey Police Service is well known,\u201d said Annis.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you only have to look back at her four-year term to see how much time, effort and money she has put into ending the transition and getting rid of our local police service\u2026The mayor has treated the SPS like a political football, and that has to be hard on the men and women of our police department.\u201d<\/p>\n
Annis tells 1130 NewsRadio it\u2019s a \u201cslap in the face\u201d to police.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen the mayor got elected, the first thing she did, of course, was say that she didn\u2019t want the Surrey Police Service,\u201d Annis claimed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen she instructed the Surrey Police Service to stop hiring new officers. Then she took the provincial government to court and just a few months ago she cut the police budget by $47 million when we were really in a crisis here in Surrey. So she has not been supportive \u2014 in the way that she needs to be \u2014 of the police chief. \u201c<\/p>\n
Annis says Lipinski has done an \u201cincredibly good job,\u201d and faced many challenges.<\/p>\n
\u201cGiven the opportunity, he would\u2019ve built an incredible police force for the city of Surrey.\u201d<\/p>\n
She says whoever succeeds Lipinski will be in the same situation.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith the number of gang shootings and the number of extortions that we\u2019ve been having in Surrey, our police chief, no matter who it is, needs every possible tool at his or her disposal.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lipinski was hired in November 2020 and came with more than four decades of experience on the job.<\/p>\n
During his tenure, the city has been dealing with a high-profile extortion crisis.<\/p>\n
1130 NewsRadio has reached out to the Surrey Police Board and the mayor\u2019s office for comment.<\/p>\n
This is a developing story. More to come.<\/p>\n
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