RCMP Supt. Jennifer Hyland is Surrey Police Deputy Chief: New Boss Same as Old Again

The new Surrey Police Service is shaping up to look an awful lot like the RCMP force they are supposedly replacing in Surrey. Earlier this year superintendent Jennifer Hyland, officer in charge of Ridge Meadows RCMP, was announced as the first of three deputy chief constables hired to the Surrey Police Service. Hyland’s first day in the position starts on January 25.

This hire comes after the naming of Norm Lipinski to be the first chief of the city's municipal force on November 19, 2020. Lipinski also has RCMP ties, having served as assistant commissioner with the RCMP’s E Division (British Columbia).

In an interview with the Surrey Now-Leader Hyland reports that she will be responsible for support services. In her words:

“Ultimately my bureau is responsible for all things recruiting, all things with respect to the workplace and culture, all things leadership and training, the strategic plan and Canadian engagement, and so basically everything that builds the foundation and the structure of the police force is going to fall under my bureau.”

This is truly troubling given all of the recent documentation of the longstanding toxic culture of bullying, harassment, and sexual violence within the RCMP. It is also deeply disturbing given the recent statements by RCMP commissioner Brenda Lucki and Alberta RCMP deputy commissioner Curtis Zablocki claiming that there is no systemic racism in the RCMP.

Of further concern is the fact that superintendent Hyland was the officer in charge of the Ridge Meadows RCMP when their officers shot and killed Kyaw Din in his home on Colemore Street while he was in distress and needed help on August 11, 2019,

The Din family has called murder charges against the officer who shot Kyaw Din. They also called for superintendent Hyland to resign, and demanded police no longer respond to mental health calls.

Superintendent Hyland should still be called to account for the killing of Kyaw Din. She should not be welcomed to Surrey.

The Surrey Police Service is supposed to be grounded in the day-to-day realities of life in Surrey but Hyland lives in Maple Ridge, Lipinski lives in Yale Town, and police board members Elizabeth Model and Harley Chappell live in Burnaby and Chilliwack, respectively.