Surrey Police Service faces critical understaffing

The Surrey Police Service is facing significant systemic understaffing and underfunding, according to a local report. Currently, the service operates with an average of 98 officers per 100,000 residents.

This figure is notably lower than the Canadian national average of 180 officers per 100,000 people. For comparison, Montreal maintains 213 officers, Vancouver has 195, Toronto has 171, and Calgary has 145 per 100,000 residents. The current staffing levels in Surrey must cover a territory larger than Vancouver, Burnaby, and New Westminster combined.