The Surrey Police Service is less than three weeks away from taking over from the RCMP to manage policing in British Columbia’s second most populous municipality, but there is still no agreement on how responsibilities will be distributed between the two forces.

On November 29, the municipal service became the competent police force in Surrey, while the Mounties took on what was expected to be a supporting role for years.

Surrey Police Chief Norm Lipinski said he’s not worried about the lack of a deal, which he hopes to sign “within a few days,” but the head of the RCMP union said that members were worried about being so close to the transfer of power. without a clear understanding of what their work will look like.

Brian Sauvé, president of the National Police Federation, says members have not been informed of what will happen on November 29 and that, since each police service has its own policies and procedures, there could be difficulties.

Although Surrey Police Services is managed by the RCMP, Surrey Police Service officers have worked alongside them since 2021 while a transition dispute played in municipal and provincial politics.

That conflict ended this year with the announcement of the November 29 transition date, but laws that prevent mounted police from responding to municipal police complicate the transfer of power, requiring a new agreement on responsibilities.

Lipinski won’t go into detail about the current agreement, but says the two forces essentially divide Surrey geographically, with the RCMP responsible for some areas and the Surrey Police Service responsible for others.

“We’ll start with the geography and some areas, and they’ll start with their geography. Then as we build and shrink, we take over more of their geography. We have a plan for that. It’s totally logical,” he said.