Surrey Police Service offering huge signing bonuses, better shifts to lure officers

The Surrey Police Service is looking for a few, good officers – and is offering big money and promising better working conditions to get them to sign on.

The SPS is a new agency, but is facing the age-old problem of competing with other police agencies for experienced officers. The SPS has about 522 sworn officers right now, but the end goal before the RCMP leaves the city is 860.

The staffing issue is crucial because the SPS can’t fully take over policing in Surrey from the RCMP until it has enough officers. The full transition was supposed to be completed early in 2026, but looks like it will stretch on until 2027.

The SPS does have a wave new recruits, with a Surrey Police Report showing that as of June 30, 78 had graduated from training and been deployed, with another 42 recruits in training, with 2026 earmarked for their deployment.

It’s the experienced officers, however, that are in high demand for police agencies across Canada, and so the SPS must make attempts to lure them. The agency is competing against departments in such places as Vancouver and Victoria, but also in Alberta as the Calgary Police Service has been on record as doing recruitment drives in Metro Vancouver.

The SPS is focusing on two areas in their pitch to lure experienced officers – money and working conditions.

For money, the SPS has announced large signing bonuses.

“A limited number of experienced police officers who apply with SPS as an exempt candidate and are hired as a Frontline Constable will receive up to $25,000,” reads a post by the SPS. “This signing bonus will help compensate experienced officers for the costs involved in switching police agencies (ex. lost leave banks or training costs that have to be repaid).”

This breaks down as:

• $20,000 for experienced officers hired as Frontline Constables (for members from all police agencies, excluding the Surrey Provincial Operations Support Unit);
• $25,000 for experienced officers hired as Frontline Constables who are currently working in Surrey policing and want to stay in Surrey (for members currently working in the Surrey Provincial Operations Support Unit).

SPS is also offering up to $10,000 to help cover relocation expenses for experienced officers who do not live in Metro Vancouver.

Money has repeatedly been cited as a major factor for police officers because of the high housing costs in Metro Vancouver and Greater Victoria.

“These are all facts that we currently know. Housing and rental costs – very expensive housing – in B.C. are the driving factors,” said Const. Andy Buck, a recruiting officer for the Calgary Police Service, in an interview with Black Press Media in 2023. “There’s no provincial sales tax in Alberta, so salaries are comparable, but your money is going to go a little further.”

The second area of focus is on offering a better workplace for officers.

The SPS has highlighted a “major incentive” for officers being the use of two-person vehicles and more modernized shift schedules.

“SPS has implemented a combination of two-person and one-person vehicles for the Frontline,” reads a statement. “This allows for a safer and faster police response to calls for service requiring a multi-officer response. We worked closely with our Frontline officers to build a shift schedule that works for both our officers and the community we serve. The result is a modern Frontline shift schedule that was recommended by 91 per cent of our officers.”

The benefits of SPS’s frontline shift schedule are being called “significant”:

• More hours of rest during days off (up to 115 hours)
• Shorter overnight shifts (10 hours instead of 12)
• Overnight shifts don’t start until later in the evening, allowing for more family time
• Same shift for each 4-day block, resulting in less sleep disruption
• Increased ability for SPS to provide officers with training
• Increased team cohesion and supervision, with the full team having the same start/end time.
• Overlapping shifts which increase ability to relieve officers at end of shift

MAINTAINING DIVERSITY

The SPS is making a big push to hire experienced officers, while also maintaining its goal to have a force that accurately reflects the diversity of the Surrey community.

Here is the breakdown of the SPS force, according to a June report to the police board.

Management (Sworn)

• Male: 27 (79.41%)

• Female: 7 (20.59%)

• Non-visible minority: 17 (50.00%)

• Visible minority: 11 (35.29%)

• Indigenous: 5 (14.71%)

Sworn Officers (Total)

• Male: 448 (81.16%)

• Female: 104 (18.84%)

• Non-visible minority: 295 (53.44%)

• Visible minority: 236 (42.75%)

• Indigenous: 21 (3.80%)

Sworn Officer Diversity (Self-Identified)

• Asian: 55 (10%)

• South Asian: 129 (23.4%)

• Black: 5 (1%)

• Southeast Asian: 7 (1%)

• Hispanic: 1 (<1%)

• Filipino: 14 (<1%)

• Middle Eastern: 4 (<1%)

• Other: 18 (<1%)

• Not a visible minority: 242 (44%)

• Multiple visible minorities: 3 (<1%)

• Blank (no identification): 53 (9.6%)

A total of 35 languages are spoken among SPS sworn officers.

“Recruitment remains a priority, with ongoing efforts to ensure that the department remains representative of the community it serves,” read the report.