UK Privatizing Police Forces

Some communities in the US, strapped for cash, have privatized or are contemplating privatizing city services, including some police functions. Ann Arbor is looking at turning over police dispatch services to private companies. Police cuts in Sarasota, Florida are forcing them to consider even doing away with their police department altogether. Companies run red light camera systems to catch speeders. Corporations run prisons for profit in many states.

And now, across the Atlantic, the UK government has requested bids from private companies to take over some of the services of at least two of the largest police forces in the United Kingdom: West Midlands and Surrey. The contract specifies, among others, the following activities to be privatised (British spelling), in addition to more traditional outsourced back-office functions (managing forensics, providing legal services, finance, human resources, managing the vehicle fleet, etc):

The Guardian reports that G4S's David Taylor-Smith boasts that private companies will be running large parts of the UK's police service within five years. G4S is the world's largest private security company with 657,000 employees in 125 countries. It already runs six prisons in the UK. G4S also provides more than 10,000 guards for the London Olympics as well as managing the training for 23,000 personnel-- including the military.

• Investigating crimes

• Detaining suspects (but not arresting them)

• Developing cases

• Responding to and investigating incidents

• Supporting victims and witnesses

• Managing high-risk individuals

• Patrolling neighbourhoods

• Managing intelligence

The government has reduced funds to police forces by 20%. Over the next three years, the West Midlands is expected to cut 2,764 police jobs. Authorities expect the “efficiencies” of the private sector to reduce costs and “improve the service provided to the public”. Currently, major British security companies are expected to bid on the contract, worth $2.4 billion to $5.5 billion over the next 7 years, depending on how many other police forces get involved.

Many people are alarmed at the prospect of corporate personnel in the front lines, detaining (though not arresting) members of the public and believe the police will become even less accountable to the public. The government refuses to publish its business case, even under the Freedom of Information Act.

Lincolnshire police have already signed a $315 million contract with G4S, a major security company. Half of the force's civilian staff will transfer to G4S who will also build and actually run a police station (another first).

G4S, who is attempting to garner the lion's share of privatized services for the UK police forces as well as controlling security for the Olympic games has admitted it hasn't been able to hire enough qualified security personnel for the Olympics. So, at the very last minute, 3,500 British soldiers who were to go on leave before either going to or returning from Afghanistan, are being called up for Olympic security detail. G4S will still be in charge.

The Police Federation of England and Wales, who opposes police privatization, said this shows that private companies' primary concern about profit would put the public at risk.

"If the Olympic debacle media reports are accurate, then it is very clear that these private contracts are built upon an expectation that the public sector will step in to pick up the pieces if private industry fails to deliver."

This is the future; corporations will control everything-- unless it's not profitable. They are where our betters-- the 1%-- hide out. If we want to work for one, we already forfeit many freedoms spelled out in the Bill of Rights and other amendments to the Constitution. We can be under surveillance, our email can be read, etc. If we don't like it, if we don't want to uproot our families when they want us to relocate, if they don't want us to smoke or be fat, or if we just feel our rights are important, we have every right not to work. But if the idea of armed contractors roaming our streets-- like they do in Iraq and Afghanistan-- bothers us, I guess we'll just have to go somewhere else. And where will that be in another ten years?