Does Surrey need own force

Photo: CTV

Surrey's mayoral race got a little more interesting recently after one of the candidates tossed out the idea of a new police service in the city.

Candidate Doug McCallum has proposed the creation of a of a new Surrey Police Department to help fight the increase in crime in that city.

"This is very effective in cities around the world," said McCallum, who was previously Surrey's mayor from 1996 to 2005. "We want to use this program to analyze where (crimes) happen and maybe where some of the people who are committing the crimes live."

McCallum says the recent rise in gun crimes and other violent crimes prompted the proposal.

"We're talking about all crimes, but in particular in Surrey we have a lot of gun violence and drive-by shootings," he said.

Gang violence in Surrey has been a major focus during the election campaign.

-with files from CTV