A Surrey Police Service (SPS) officer has been arrested by the Surrey RCMP and faces possible breach of trust charges. The Criminal Code of Canada defines breach of trust as involving an act, or failure to act, not authorized by law or the trust placed in the trustee. It includes an intent to defraud.
The Surrey Police Service claimed in a news release that it
was announcing the arrest “in the interest of transparency.” However, they have
not named the officer and provided no details about what acts were involved—so not
exactly transparent. They have said that the officer was hired in May 2022 and
had a little more than a year of previous policing experience. The officer has
been suspended with pay pending the outcome of the criminal investigation,
which is being carried out by the Surrey RCMP.
The Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner has confirmed
that it has been notified of the arrest. Deputy police complaint commissioner
Andrea Spindler said in a statement:
“Upon request from the Surrey Police Service, the OPCC will
be initiating a Police Act investigation into the conduct of the member in
relation to this matter. The Commissioner has also determined that it is in the
public interest that an external police force investigate the matter and the
Vancouver Police Department (VPD) has been assigned as the investigating
agency.”
Spindler added that the Police Act investigation will be
suspended pending the outcome of the criminal investigation and any prosecution
that might ensue.
Surrey Police Service officers only signed their first
contract in March and are already among the highest paid in Canada, despite the
force not even being fully operational. Starting salary is $70,000, increasing to
$89,000 after the first year, while after three years an SPS constable can take
a salary of approximately $122,000.
Surrey Police Service and its backers, including Mayor Doug McCallum, have touted the SPS as a new form of policing. Yet early returns point to it showing a lot of the undesirable features of the old policing. Earlier this summer it was announced that SPS officer(s) were under investigation for misconduct related to a training session that allegedly included acts of sexual violence.
