Linda Annis Pushes for Surrey Police Training Centre
Surrey councillor and mayoral candidate Linda Annis is renewing her call for a regional police training centre in Surrey, saying the province’s current system can’t keep pace with the growing demand for new officers.
In a statement, Annis said the Justice Institute of British Columbia (JIBC) in New Westminster—currently the main police training hub—no longer has sufficient capacity to serve departments across the Lower Mainland.
She welcomed the provincial government’s recent move to increase the JIBC’s annual intake from 192 to 288 recruits, but described it as a short-term fix rather than a lasting solution.
“I’ve been calling for a new police training centre in Surrey for several years now, and the time has come to make it a reality,” Annis said. “There needs to be a modern facility with greater capacity, and Surrey is the logical place for it. Anything else is just a band-aid measure.”
Annis noted that demand for officers has steadily risen over the past decade, further amplified by the creation of the Surrey Police Service.
She also compared staffing levels, highlighting that Vancouver has about 1,400 officers, while Surrey has only around 800, despite both cities having nearly equal populations.
“Surrey is as large as Vancouver, Richmond, and Burnaby combined,” she added. “Expanding our police force and training infrastructure must be part of Surrey’s future.”
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