To think that Privatising the Police is a bad idea?

[NarkedPuffin]

Here.

The Tories have finally gone insane.

Quote from Guardian:

The breathtaking list of policing activities up for grabs includes investigating crimes, detaining suspects, developing cases, responding to and investigating incidents, supporting victims and witnesses, managing high-risk individuals, patrolling neighbourhoods, managing intelligence

The aricle might have been misleading. For years, people have complained that nothing happens where litter dropping is concerned (and other misdemeanours like that). These neighbourhood security people will catch people dropping litter - including cigarette ends - and people cycling in pedestrian areas where cycling is prohibited. There are many other irritating activities like spitting in the street where it should be stopped but nothing happens (as far as we know).

Anyway, Police used to give out parking tickets. That job is now done by non-Police, isn't it? And they give out parking fines so litter fines and spitting fines will probably now happen.

*article

The situation with police resources is bad enough now and it will not get worse. Why the senior police management can't understand that it can't be done properly now as there aren't enough funds or funds are being spent in the wrong areas but will somehow be done by a private company whose track record is pretty poor fr less money is beyond me! They senior management are a bunch of divs and I feel sorry for those hard working officers who are going to have to deal with the outcome. Yet another stupid government idea ... Just like PCSOs who are being phased out as the government have finally seen the light that they are overpaid and are meaningless. For every 10 PCSos I would rather hAve PCs.

Where is the logic and the common sense?

It's on the BBC now as well

here

The bit that gives me the heebie-jeebies is about private firms providing victim and witness support.

Cookcleanerchaffeur, I assume you have a lot of experience in emergency services management to state that senior management are a bunch of divs ?

I was thinking about the element of accountability etc last night and thought about how our custody service is accountable. They are paid by my force to run the custody centres and are directly accountable to the police authority; they have to provide a minimum level of service dictated by both the police authority and the legislation covering detention of suspects (PACE). The police authorities & chief officers (a police authority is slightly different to a police force but it is essentially charged with securing efficient policing of a police area which is delivered by the police force - eg Sussex Police is governed by the Sussex Police Authority, the members of which are not members of the police force) in their turn are accountable to the public that they serve.

It will be the police authorities of each force area that dictate the service levels and what needs to be provided by the private sector - and just like any other business, if they do not provide the goods they will not secure the contracts. Certainly every change that Reliance makes to their custody service has to be discussed with the police before and is subject to long discussion

SQ, can I just ask you why providing victim/witness support gives you the heebie jeebies ? It is almost entirely provided by police/local authority staff (witness care officers - which is what I do, IDVAS, CRi) and volunteers (victim support, witness service). Apart from the police officers that are Family Liaision officers who only work on fatality cases, the vast majority of support is dealt with by civilian staff - which could be done just as effectively by the private sector.