Police commissioners should privatise back-office services, says CBI

26 Nov 12
Business leaders have urged newly elected police and crime commissioners to open up some police services to competition from private firms and reduce costs, amid budget cuts of 20% to forces in England and Wales.
By Richard Johnstone | 26 November 2012
 

Business leaders have urged newly elected police and crime commissioners to open up some police services to competition from private firms and reduce costs, amid budget cuts of 20% to forces in England and Wales.

In its Force for the future report, the CBI said today that increasing the use of independent providers for back-office functions would free all police officers for frontline work.

An estimated 6,600 officers are currently employed in areas that could be provided by companies, such as criminal record checks, forensics and interpreting services, the CBI found.

Opening up administrative services, including IT and human resources, to competition could save a projected £1.5bn from forces’ combined annual £5.5bn spend on support functions, it concluded.

Police forces need to save a total of £2.4bn to the end of 2014/15, the Inspectorate of Constabulary has estimated. The new commissioners, who were elected earlier this month, will set forces’ budgets.

The CBI called on the Home Office to clearly state which police functions do not need to be undertaken by warranted officers as this would support the opening up of functions to new providers.

Police watchdogs should also be given new inspection responsibilities, the CBI said. The Independent Police Complaints Commission’s remit should be expanded to include private providers, and the Inspectorate of Constabulary should formally examine how forces are progressing on service reform.

Commissioners should consider joint procurement of goods and services with other public authorities. The report cited Essex Police, which has collaborated with councils as well as other emergency services on software purchasing and information sharing, and has to date saved £1.74m.

CBI policy director Katja Hall said the police service was ‘under significant pressure to maintain the quality of its service, while meeting necessary budget cuts’. Carrying on as normal was ‘not an option’, she added.

‘Faced with this challenge the new police and crime commissioners should work with independent providers to deliver back-office and operational support services to free up more officers for the front line.

‘The police force can also benefit from the independent sector’s investment in cutting-edge technology to tackle new challenges like cyber-crime and fraud.’

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