‘This is definitely a crisis’: Surrey police chief speaks out as city faces growing extortion threats

In the epicentre of extortion violence, Surrey’s chief of police explains why he thinks the crime wave is escalating.

Surrey’s chief of police faced the media on Friday as the city faces a growing threat of extortion with more than one case per day to begin the new year.

In a one-on-one interview, Chief Norm Lipinski explained to CTV News that the Surrey Police Service and the B.C. Extortion Task Force are working together to prevent attacks, but just this month, he says, there have been 34 extortion-related cases and eight shootings.

“This is obviously a concern for the Surrey Police Service,” said Lipinksi.

He went on to say that there are 15 SPS members working with the task force to find solutions and preventive measures. He also mentioned “Project Assurance,” wherein uniformed officers are out overnight in high-risk areas.

Since the task force was created in September, he says November and December saw a drop in the number of shootings. It appeared to be making an impact, but once January came, there was sudden surge in violent attacks.

“There’s many theories about that. I’m not sure why that is, but I checked with my counterparts across the country, and in fact, Peel Regional had a spike as well,” said Lipinski.

Those theories include more people joining the extortion crime wave due to it potentially being profitable because people are paying.

Lipinksi says the SPS’s focus is on bringing those that are committing these criminal offenses to justice and applying additional deterrence, such as overnight teams, to discourage potential extortionists.

This interview with the chief comes just days after the head of the B.C. anti-extortion task force, Asst. Comm. John Brewer, refused to say the situation in Surrey is a crisis after the city had 132 extortion threats and 49 shootings just last year.

The refusal led Premier David Eby to question whether Brewer should remain in that role.

Brewer later apologized, writing in a statement that he did not mean to call into question the force’s commitment to the task when he repeatedly challenged using the term “crisis” to characterize the shootings a day earlier.

He said he had been trying to reassure the public in an update on the task force’s work, and he did not intend to put focus on whether he regarded the situation as a crisis.

CTV News posed the question to Surrey’s police chief and he didn’t hesitate.

“This is definitely a crisis,” said Lipinski.

On Saturday, Surrey police began an investigation into an extortion-related shooting at a house in Surrey’s Bear Creek neighbourhood where police say the victim may have fired back.

This comes as CTV News has been told by several Surrey residents over the last year that they were considering arming themselves as the number of extortion attempts on the South Asian business community grew.

Chief Lipinksi sympathized with the community living in fear, but strongly urged against fighting violence with more violence.

“It’s never a good idea to bring the law into your hands,” he said Friday afternoon.

He is calling on the public to report any threat and to not pay whatever is being asked, as the problem will only grow if crime is profitable.

Lipinksi continues to call on the provincial government for additional resources, such as more boots on the ground and use of a helicopter, as they work to put an end to this vicious crime wave.