Community Engagement

At SPS, our goal is to build authentic and trusting relationships by listening to all voices in the community.

Connecting with our community through active listening, empathy, and compassion is at the forefront of our community policing model. Our goal as a police service is to put the community first in all that we do by building authentic and trusting relationships between Surrey Police Service (SPS) and the diverse communities we serve. Since its inception, SPS has made community engagement a cornerstone of our service, and our officers make a daily commitment to engage and build trust with the community. 

Officers outside speak with man at community engagement

Community 1st

The Community 1st (C1st) Unit works alongside various teams within the Community Policing Bureau to coordinate activities, consultations, and information sessions that support meaningful and long-term engagement. While the C1st Unit engages with the entire Surrey community, there is a focus on working and building relationships with groups that have had a historic distrust of police. Community 1st aims to eliminate systemic barriers and biases in policing, and ensure SPS is listening to all voices in the community.

The C1st Unit will develop community programs, services, and targeted outreach, that will allow SPS to:

  • Reduce barriers to reporting hate-motivated crimes and incidents
  • Solicit ongoing community feedback to improve SPS services
  • Use technology and face-to-face conversation to engage with residents, particularly those who feel uncomfortable reaching out to police via formal channels
  • Deliver measurable solutions to public concerns
  • Collaborate with local organizations and groups to work together to solve complex issues that impact the safety and well-being of the community

 

Dale standing in front of Wellness sign

Sergeant Dale Quiring, Community 1st Unit

It’s our goal to build trust in the community, one person at a time. The Community 1st Unit will strive to listen to all voices and act on recommendations to make Surrey safer and stronger.

Community consultation

As SPS grows, we will continue to gather meaningful feedback from Surrey residents and business owners about the public safety issues that matter most. As a municipal police service, it is our responsibility to listen and act on recommendations and respond quickly to emerging crime trends.

During the early stages of SPS, we conducted a comprehensive community consultation to gather important feedback that informed our first strategic plan. From June to October 2021, SPS and the Surrey Police Board carried out a three-part community consultation project which included a community survey, stakeholder interviews, and focus groups. In total, over 1,200 Surrey citizens were consulted. The sample sizes used for this consultation are considered statistically accurate for Surrey’s population by the independent researchers involved in this project.