Leicestershire Reform to outsource policing to private security firms.

[FoulBlister]

Leicestershire and Rutland's Reform UK police and crime commissioner (PCC) Rupert Matthews wants to cut police funding and spend £2million recruiting 'street marshals' from private security firms instead.

£2million pounds would pay the salary of 60 police officers.

Is this the thin end of the ICE wedge?

https://polfed.org/leics/news/2026/leicestershire-police-federation-press-release-regarding-proposed-2m-outsourcing-of-policing-to-private-security-firms/

Wtaf
this is the beginning of the end for policing as we know it under Reform

and take note for the rest of our public sector

That chief of the Leics Police Federation is very clear about the problems, isn't he?

"The police officers and PCSO’s have the powers, training, infrastructure and experience of dealing with these incidents. They have access to the intelligence, judicial process and relevant safeguarding information.

“They know the high harm offenders who pose the highest risks to businesses and individuals. They are able to work hand in hand with partner agencies, the judiciary to effectively combat them.

“SIA registered security guards do not.

“They have no power to detain and they would simply pick up a phone and call the police. The security guards could be in one town today and gone tomorrow. They will not know who is causing harm, they cannot stop them.

“We have seen first hand how this works and put simply it does not work. The security marshalls were not allowed to run after shoplifters, they would not be able to provide CCTV, they can’t obtain evidence for investigations."

[ETA missing punctuation]

Does the council have power to employ more police officers?

If they don't, then private security makes sense in a way? I don't know the areas so I don't know how people feel about it.

I would definitely prefer that we had more police. Is that possibly the point he's trying to make?

One of my worries with Reform is that they will essentially asset strip the entire country. So I can totally see why people are worried.

OTOH if he's trying to make a point about policing numbers, I can see that too.

Very much trying to give the benefit of the doubt here.... if private security has body worn cameras, then they would act as a deterrent in a way

But I'd also worry about who's being recruited into those roles.

what a mess! And all because policing was cut and no common sense has been applied to where money should be spent.

Rupert Matthews is the police and crime commissioner for Leicestershire and does indeed hold and allocate police funding:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Police_and_crime_commissioner#Police_funding

That press release by the Leicestershire Police Federation, linked in the OP, states:
“It comes on the back of Rupert trying to underfund the police force in February where the police and crime panel, including members of his own political party criticised him publicly.

“He had to do a U turn then and I am asking to do another U turn now.

“Rupert has already tried to slash the money given to policing and when that has failed he has now taken money allocated to policing and chosen to privatise policing."

@PerkingFaintly so he does in fact have the option to hire more police? In that case, it's a really bonkers choice.

I hope it didn't seem like a stupid question. I get very confused about what police commissioners actually can and can't do in relation to the home office

2 million quid will employ 60 coppers?

i think you need to re check that figure - it might employ a few for twenty years

Aren’t PCCs about to be abolished?

This private security police thing was piloted in my town a few years back.

All they did was collar hundreds of people in the town centre for dropping cigarette butts and crisp packets so they could rake in the B-law fines.

They didn't actually police anything at all. Just glorified traffic wardens really.

Oh me too. I've had to mug up after reading the Police Federation press release.

Like you, my first instinct was to look for a sensible explanation, and hope it was just someone trying to make hay out of a misunderstanding.

Then I read the article.

I still don't know how recruitment/retention of police officers works, but the Chair of Leicestershire Police Federation is stating that Matthews is actively taking funding away from the real police to give to these private security guards.

@Quitelikeit , £2,000,000 ÷ 60 = £33,333.

Does that sound about right for a PC or PCSO?

PCCs are directly elected by local people. They are politicans.

Their job is to set the precept paid by local people as part of their council tax then commission policing services while holding the police force to account. They appoint senior officers and fund crime fighting initiatives, and community projects that may support safety and the reduction of crime.

IMO I’ve seen very few examples of PCCs holding chief constables to account in any way that compares to the former police authorities. They’re too close to them and there’s too much politics involved.

@PerkingFaintly

i think you need to delve a bit deeper, add on their pension, add on the employers ni contributions etc and I think u will find a policeman costs a lot more than just his salary and that is for one year then what r u going to do make them all redundant

I would think so given that figure would roughly correlate to half the fiscal year (a half year of salary) assuming all are let go & all severance pay paid out by 4 October as these are job cuts of existing PCs / PCOs. So you would not save a great deal per police officer let go right away.

£2m would not pay the costs of 60 for a full year. This figure must be the lower figure of potential savings for rest of fiscal year if 60 are given notice of reduction in force almost immediately.

Wonder who's connected to the firms getting the contracts.
Sia security guards instead of police won't make a difference they've no real powers as pp said glorified traffic wardens.

The thugs and neds will see them as sport to torment and at probably not much more than nmw the guards aren't going to get involved and neither they should because they're not the police

I don't think it is the thin end of an ICE wedge*. It just seems to be another instance of what is happening across all public services -- their enshittification via cost-cutting measures such as outsourcing, using agency workers, etc.

I don't doubt that an outsourcing measure such as this gives scope for corruption of various sorts (and that Reform is likely more prone to offering corrupt contracts than other parties). But it doesn't seem qualitatively different from other erosions of public services.

*That sounds like the famous last words of the lookout on the Titanic

Thugs in suits employing thugs in uniform.

Has someone got a friend in private security? These are just people with a vest who don't a hold a warrant so have no powers of arrest.

@Pedallleur oh you're so cynical😁
Not without good reason I may add.

Does, perchance, Mr Matthew’s have a family member or business acquaintance who runs a security company?…

In my experience these sort of private enforcement officers they have no powers of arrest but they are always big forceful blokes who immediately advise you they will call the police if you don't conform.

Their intention is to fine you, the letter you receive from them tells you if you don't pay quickly you will pay more, they are VERY enthusiastic and don't always know the rules/law.

Thank you for all your replies. I'm so glad I'm not the only one who thinks this really stinks. I wonder what sort of backhander someone would get for this transfer of power?

I knew about the horseshoe theory but I never dreamed that "defund the police" would be one of the stances that the far-left had in common with the far-right.

Rupert Matthews has been a rightwing arsehole since he started in the role. I'm just glad PCCs are being phased out. Of course it will be cheaper to employ security rather than Police officers and PCSOs, but in this case quantity over quality is a stupid idea. They should employ however many PSCOs they can with that money, as their job role is to do this kind of policing and they have the training and powers to do it.

Yes, I've been boggling at this too!

Also, if I understood it right, the slogan "defund the police" was being used to mean: redirect funding to mental health services and drug addiction services – the early intervention which keeps people out of major criminality in the first place.

This Reform UK "defund the police" just seems to be about redirecting funding to poorly-trained, unaccountable private security guards with no legal powers who can only use intimidation. Oh, and into the pockets of profit-making security companies.