End of Langley Joint Policing Agreement leads to finger-pointing

Policing in Langley is undergoing a shakeup, as the Township of Langley officially ended its joint policing agreement with the City of Langley Saturday.

The township council approved ending the agreement two years ago, but what comes next is unclear.

The Township of Langley Mayor Eric Woodward is accusing the City of Langley of refusing to engage in mediated talks to come up with a transition plan.

“We’ve been quite willing to work with the City of Langley, essentially begging them to meet with our staff. The Ministry has ordered them to meet with our staff, and they have refused to meet with our staff,” Woodward told The Leader Spirit.

City of Langley Mayor Nathan Pachal has countered the finger-pointing, saying it’s the Township of Langley that has refused to pick up the phone.

“We have definitely sent correspondence to the township noting that we’re willing to negotiate, and we have for the last, I guess, almost three years now,” said Pachal.

The City of Langley says the province will need to approve a de-integration of the two municipalities’ police forces. The Township of Langley says it’s already happening.

The City of Langley says the province isn’t on board. The Township of Langley says it is.

“I don’t believe it’s in the best interest of either municipality, but let’s just, hypothetically, say the province says we need two autonomous detachments — and to be clear, they have not, but let’s say they’ve said that: we still need to have an agreement on how we share resources today, and that’s something that we are eager to work to as a city,” said Pachal.

But Woodward says, “All of that is largely untrue.”

“The province has put in writing to the City of Langley multiple times that they’re required to proceed with de-integration.”

The rift stems from differences of opinion on funding. The City of Langley has a smaller population, and its mayor says it already pays an outsized amount on policing. Langley Township says despite that, the severity of crime is much worse in the City of Langley and it still needs to be paying more.

“How billing takes place and all that is going to change, but that doesn’t really materially impact the policing, and it shouldn’t materially impact the cost for either municipality as well,” said the city mayor.

“For some reason, the City of Langley chronically looks to the Township of Langley to subsidize its existence. At this point, it’s up to me and my council to serve our residents and taxpayers, and that’s what we’re doing,” said the township mayor.