BREAKING NEWS: County police authority to enter into £200m cost-cutting contract with private firm
POLICING across Lincolnshire will be “transformed” according to the county’s police authority, which today agreed to outsource a huge section of its support services to a private firm.
The move, which has been described by the authority as “a benchmark for service delivery nationwide”, comes in response to a 20 per cent budget cut imposed by the Government, to be achieved by 2014/15.
In Lincolnshire this cut translates to £20.8m in four years and the new contract, which has a total value in excess of £200m, has been awarded to G4S.
The partnership will help the force deliver essential cost savings, while underpinning local policing and enabling investment in new technology.
It will deliver the following services to support front line policing:
• Police operational services
• Custody (excludes custody sergeant role)
• Force control room (excludes inspector role)
• Crime management bureau
• Central ticket office and collisions unit
• Criminal justice unit
• Firearms licensing (excluding manager and initially licensing officers)
• Resource management unit
The deal will offer business support in terms of
• ICT
• HR services (excluding occupational health unit)
• HR learning and development
• Assets and facilities management (including fleet management)
• Finance and procurement
• Support services
In a joint statement Lincolnshire Police Authority chairman Barry Young and Chief Constable Richard Crompton said the authority was determined to provide a sustainable solution for policing Lincolnshire.
They said: “We are confident our decisions will not only ensure the best possible outcomes for the communities we serve, but also that they have put us firmly in the vanguard for change in the way British policing is delivered.
“Throughout this period of change – probably the most significant in the history of Lincolnshire Police – our priorities have always been, and will continue to be, protecting the people of Lincolnshire, providing the best services possible and the best value for money.
“The aim has been to create a model that will transform policing and its delivery – allowing the organisation space to begin to bridge the financial gap whilst maintaining, modernising and improving services.
“This new approach will make significant savings, while providing investment in key areas like IT infrastructure. The subsequent streamlining of processes will free up officer time to concentrate on operational policing.
“The partnership deal has the widest scope of any for policing in the country and is now open to other Authorities. The Lincolnshire model is the new benchmark; underpinning the future of local policing and investing in new technologies and services.
“This new approach will mean that the leanest police force in Britain, which already provides its services at the lowest cost per head of population, will be able to meet the challenges laid down by the government whilst also meeting the high standards rightly expected by the people of Lincolnshire.
“This is not a total solution and the Authority still faces significant financial challenges, but it does provide a solid foundation to secure quality and value for money policing of our communities in the future.”
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Wednesday 23 May 2012
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Comments
There are 4 comments to this article
Page 1 of 1
woody
Wednesday, December 21, 2011 at 07:39 PMConsidering G4S have to make a profit and the Police don't something has to give somewhere. The old guff about economy of scale no longer washes either considering the constant and on-going diasters of inviting private industry into the public domain.
Mr Angry of Tonbridge
Wednesday, December 21, 2011 at 05:50 PMAt least they admit it's a cost cutting exercise before trying to say that it is in the best interests of the public. And I don't like the word "transformed" being used because it does not necessarily mean that things are going to get better. Call me a cynic, but it makes one wonder if Mr Crompton will get a job with G4S when he retires from the police?
woody
Wednesday, December 21, 2011 at 05:22 PMI should add, in workds taken from elsewhere, perhaps one of the worst cases involving G4S In 2009, an Aboriginal man from Western Australia died of heat stroke after being transported in a G4S (then GSL) van without air conditioning or water.[22] Criminal charges were never laid despite a GSL company spokesperson admitting there were "grounds for concern". This came after GSL had already been criticised in 2005 for their handling of Australia's detained immigrants in a report undertaken by former Head of Queensland's Corrective Services Keith Hamburger.[23] The G4S helicopter robbery occurred on 23 September 2009 in Sweden. Both G4S' own security and the police work were criticised.[24]
woody
Wednesday, December 21, 2011 at 05:08 PMG4S were known as Securicor Group 4 and these days run themselves something akin to a private police force. Controversy follows them around like a bad smell across the globe in my opinion and they have been responsible for the terrible situation in Australia Refugee Camps, were Implicated in the holding down 46-year old Angolan deportee Jimmy Mubenga on departing British Airways flight in 2010 at Heathrow, the result of which was the man died and these is an ongoinging investigation into the conduct of G4S and its officers. These are just a couple of the incidents from a catalogue of such 'happenings' that, in my opinion makes this 'Private law enforement agency' unfit for duty with Lincolnshire Police. Rather than creating a bechmark Lincolnshire Police are potentially creating furture problems not only for themselves but the public too in my opinion.
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