January 29,2026
RED FM News Desk
Surrey First councillor and mayoral candidate Linda Annis says declaring a state of emergency over extortion and related violence must be followed by immediate, concrete action to have real impact.
Annis argues public safety is the city’s top priority and cannot be addressed by Surrey alone, calling for strong coordination with provincial and federal governments. She says extortion threats and shootings are dominating conversations across the city and rival past gang violence in severity.
She supports a more visible police presence and increased resources for the Surrey Police Service (SPS) and RCMP, including more officers, expanded use of traffic and police-specific cameras, roadside checks in high-risk areas, and immediate access to helicopters, with a long-term goal of a dedicated SPS aircraft.
Annis also proposes systemic changes, such as allowing police in B.C. to lay charges, deeper federal screening of visa applicants, faster deportation of non-citizens involved in serious crime, hiring 300 additional SPS officers over four years, and building a police training centre in Surrey.
She says tackling extortion and gun violence will require sustained cooperation between all levels of government, warning that without decisive follow-through, a state of emergency risks becoming “just words on paper.”
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