The new fleet is needed to replace aging RCMP vehicles the department inherited
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Surrey’s police board approved spending nearly $7.7 million this year to purchase police cars to replace ones they say are aging out.
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When the policing transition away from the federal RCMP to a municipal department in Surrey started, Surrey Police Service began inheriting vehicles from the Surrey RCMP. SPS is now saying some of the vehicles they received from the RCMP are reaching the end of their usability.
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“SPS’s practice is to decommission active police vehicles at approximately 10 years or 175,000 kilometres, recognizing that it is not financially feasible to replace every vehicle exactly at the target age/mileage,” said a report from the police board’s finance and risk committee, presented at the regular April 30 meeting.
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“However, the age creates ongoing pressure that must be planned for alongside transition growth.”
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SPS media liaison Ian MacDonald said the department factored in the vehicle costs to its budget beforehand. The old vehicles will still remain in use for training and other non-operational support use.
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“Vehicle replacements by police agencies varies across the country, but all seem to find a balance between replacing aging vehicles and spending money on new ones. Police vehicles experience significantly more wear than regular vehicles as they are almost continuously used and used for emergency responses,” MacDonald said in a statement.
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The police board unanimously approved the purchase of up to 68 Ford interceptor police vehicles. Thirty of the vehicles are to be ordered immediately, while the remaining 38 will be ordered in the fall, unless SPS is able to find an alternative supplier. The board report states that demand for Ford vehicles is high and it may be best for SPS to find a different provider.
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In addition to replacing older vehicles, the report states the force needs more vehicles as it increases the number of officers.
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The police department will spend nearly $7.7 million for the vehicles, including customizing them with police logos, shipping costs, taxes and more. Each vehicle would cost about $113,000.
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The police board stated that the city was in support of the department purchasing new vehicles when the topic was discussed.
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In a statement to Postmedia, the city confirmed it approved a $284.5 million budget for SPS earlier this year. However, in the budget, the city approved $7.1 million for the purchase of 68 vehicles and seven motorcycles.
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“The procurement of specific assets, such as police vehicles, is an operational decision of the Surrey Police Board and Surrey Police Service, made within the approved budget framework,” the city stated.
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The vehicles approved to be ordered immediately will not be delivered until early 2027. With payment issued upon delivery, the $7.68 million will be a part of the 2027 SPS budget, the board said.
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An additional 41 vehicles are expected to be delivered to SPS by November 2026. Of those, 25 were purchased in 2024 and 16 were purchased last year.
