After conducting a policy meeting on October 15, the Surrey Police Board approved the mandate of requiring all Surrey Police Service (SPS) officers to be fully vaccinated with the COVID-19 shots by the end of November. The said mandate covers all “experienced and new recruits” and “police applicants” to SPS and will be a crucial requirement before being considered for employment.
The Board emphasized that there is a need for complete vaccination of the members of the SPS force because they will be “directly interacting with the public, including some of the city’s most vulnerable residents.” Apart from preventing the spread of COVID-19, the mandate is also aimed at “taking a leadership role” in the community that the SPS protects and serves.
Chief Constable Norm Lipinski shared that “all of these parties recognize the importance of workplace and community safety amid this devastating pandemic.” He also pointed out the significance that a policy “could be so quickly created and endorsed by the Surrey Police Board and the Surrey Police Union while in the early stages of the collective bargaining process.”
Moreover, Lipinski emphasized that “this is a demonstration of the responsiveness of local control that the citizens of Surrey can expect from Surrey Police Service.” It is expected that by November 30, the first 50 SPS officers will be deployed for their assignments.
