22136 - Origins of the police privatisation proposal
We have a received a request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 for the following: With whom or where did the police privatisation …
Details
We have a received a request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 for the following:
With whom or where did the police privatisation proposal first rise and who is driving it forward and for what reason? What is hoped to be gained from such an event?
We released the following information on 12 April 2012.
The Home Office do not have a proposal, programme or policy to privatise the police. Police forces are already using the private sector to provide staff for control rooms, custody centres and investigations - releasing officers for frontline duties.
The Home Office are currently supporting Surrey and West Midlands Police and their respective authorities as they explore the value of private sector partnering on support services to achieve cost savings and better services for the public. The Government is committed to supporting the police in making arrangements that suit the needs of individual forces, while making best possible use of public funds.
Decisions to engage the private sector are taken by chief constables and approved by police authorities (or, from November, elected Police and Crime Commissioners). As such, decisions to launch a procurement process in Surrey and West Midlands were taken by the respective authorities. You may wish to review papers relating to these decisions available on the Police Authority websites.