Surrey Police Service says ‘significant progress’ made in recruitment

The drive to have the Surrey Police Service fully take over policing in the city from the RCMP continues to inch along as the local police board was updated on how many officers have been sworn in.

A report to the board said the SPS has made “significant progress” in its goal.

As of Sept. 30, SPS has 583 sworn officers towards its goal of 860 officers by the end of the transition.

“Newly hired Experienced Officers (EO) attend six weeks of customized SPS training prior to their deployment,” said the report. “An EO class started at SPS on September 8, 2025, and will join other EO’s who have been recruited from various agencies across Canada, contributing to a wide array of skills, expertise, and perspectives that will be invaluable as the service continues to expand.”

The drive to recruit experienced officers has included an offer of a $25,000 bonus. The SPS was recently in Calgary, Alta. at a job fair trying to recruit people to join.

As of Sept. 30, 78 SPS recruits have graduated from the Justice Institute of BC (JIBC) Police Academy and have been deployed. SPS currently has 43 recruits in training.

“SPS has made significant strides in hiring and deploying officers while maintaining a strong focus on diversity,” the report said. “The department continues to expand both in terms of total staffing numbers and diverse representation, which is vital for ensuring that SPS can effectively engage with and serve the community.”

Below are the current diversity statistics for the sworn officers and management roles:

Management (Sworn)

• Male: 27 (79.41%)
• Female: 7 (20.59%)
• Non-visible minority: 17 (50.00%)
• Visible minority: 12 (35.29%)
• Indigenous: 5 (14.71%)

Sworn Officers (Total)

• Male: 472 (80.96%)
• Female: 111 (19.04%)
• Non-visible minority: 307 (52.66%)
• Visible minority: 255 (43.74%)
• Indigenous: 21 (3.60%)

Sworn Officer Diversity (Self-Identified)

• Asian: 57
• South Asian: 139
• Black: 7
• Southeast Asian: 8
• Hispanic: 1
• Filipino: 18
• Middle Eastern: 5
• Other: 17
• Not a visible minority: 253
• Multiple visible minorities: 3
• Blank (no identification): 54
• Languages Spoken: A total of 36 languages are spoken among SPS sworn officers.