With the handover from the RCMP to the Surrey Police Service only hours old, leaders of both forces and members of government came together to publicly mark the occasion Friday, including Mayor Brenda Locke who fought the transition for the past two years.

At midnight, the SPS officially took the reins of policing in B.C.'s second biggest city, ending 73 years of Surrey contracting services from the RCMP.

Locke, who was elected in 2022 on a platform of retaining the RCMP, called the day "emotiona…