In the same breath as announcing its new interim president, the Surrey Crime Prevention Society apologized for its former president’s public criticisms of the Surrey Police Service’s lack of diversity.
Mani Deol-Fallon was announced as the new president in the interim in a tweet from the society’s executive director Karen Reid Sidhu on May 6.
IMPORTANT NOTICE pic.twitter.com/va6Wro6H29
— Surrey Crime Prevention Society (@PreventCrimes) May 6, 2021
Deol-Fallon replaces Upkar Tatlay, who resigned as SCPS’s president after a May 4th interview on CBC’s The Early Edition. In the interview, Tatlay said that with the implementation of the Surrey Police Service needs “to do a better job” in reflecting the diversity of the city.
“We need to really drill down and get into the granular details about what those positions reflect. What I’m hoping is these aren’t just cursory hires, that they’re reflected in leadership,” he said.
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Days later, in the same tweet introducing Deol-Fallon as the interim president, the society tweeted this statement: “Recently, Mr. Upkar Tatlay publicly shared personal statements that were not made on behalf of Surrey Crime Prevention Society. We sincerely apologize to our community partners.
“Surrey Crime Prevention remains committed to collaborating with its partners to enhance safety, and we will continue to reflect and honour the diversity of the City of Surrey.”
The statement adds that Tatlay “has resigned as president of the board.”
On Wednesday (May 19), Reid Sidhu told the Now-Leader Tatlay’s resignation happened at a board meeting after his interview on TV.
“He decided to resign for personal reasons as stated in his letter,” Reid Sidhu told the Now-Leader.
The Now-Leader has reached out to Tatlay for comment.
Deol-Fallon is “a life long community organizer, a wife of 25 years, a mother of 2 young women, and a proud resident of Surrey since 1981,” states SCPS’s website. She works in the private aviation industry as a marketing and business development professional.
The Surrey Crime Prevention Society was informally organized in 1981, but then incorporated as a registered, non-profit society in 1984. Its mission is to take a 360-degree “holistic approach to community safety through programs delivered by our trained and dedicated volunteers.”
In 2019, 399 volunteers contributed 23,612 hours toward “the enhancement of community safety in Surrey,” with the majority of volunteers being high school or university students “dedicated to making a difference.”
In a November 2020 corporate report for City of Surrey grants for 2021, the Surrey Crime Prevention Society was set to receive $260,000, “the same as last year.”
lauren.collins@surreynowleader.com
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