by  Amy Reid – Surrey Now

posted Jul 23, 2015 at 12:00 AM— updated Aug 17, 2015 at 4:16 PM

NEWTON — Surrey is moving to a three-tiered public safety model in Newton that involves bylaw officers as it phases out a community patrols contract with BC Commissionaires.

The commissionaires patrols – which are expected to have cost $950,000 by the time the contract expires at the end of 2015 – were added in the wake of the deaths of Julie Paskall and Serena Vermeersch.

In February, Surrey RCMP Chief Supt. Bill Fordy said there had been no significant reductions in crime and expressed concern about the city being liable for the workers. Plus, they have no enforcement powers, he noted.

City manager Vincent Lalonde said the commissionaires were a “stop-gap measure.”

Starting in 2016, the city will transition to the new model where the bylaws department, RCMP and Newton BIA will partner to combat crime in the area’s core.

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