G4S claims it has made a ‘solid start’ to its contract with Lincolnshire Police, including managing the force’s fleet.

However, in the wake of the much-publicised London Olympics debacle, other police forces are now less certain about introducing similar contracts to April’s £200 million 10-year Lincolnshire Police deal.

Earlier this year the Surrey and West Midlands police forces jointly invited bids to take over the delivery of a wide range of services, including fleet management.

Under guidance from the Home Office, the forces advertised contracts worth £1.5 billion to private companies to run policing services.

However, Surrey Police Authority has now agreed to suspend involvement in the business partnering programme, while the West Midlands Police Authority has deferred a decision on the selection of partners until the November election of its new Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC).

Meanwhile, the possibility of Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Police following Lincolnshire’s lead in outsourcing a range of backroom services, including fleet management, to G4S has been put on hold pending further work. The forces were among 10 that had signed a framework agreement with G4S indicating interest in the project.

The forces’ joint working group will look again at the outsourcing idea after further investigation.

Utilising the private sector is a major issue for all police forces as they consider, with Home Office backing, the option of outsourcing support services in a bid to collectively save millions of pounds.

The G4S contract with Lincolnshire Police, which operates a fleet of 400 vehicles, could save up to £28 million.

Lincolnshire Police Authority said: “The Authority has a stringent governance structure and a support team monitoring service delivery. The contract has only been in place for a short period, and G4S has made a solid start.”

Reflecting on the Olympic Games staffing fiasco Lincolnshire chief constable Neil Rhodes said: “These issues have no bearing on the contract with Lincolnshire Police.”

G4S says its policing support division is run entirely separately to its global events business, which has managed the Olympics contract that resulted in a massive shortfall in security personnel being recruited for Games sites.

A spokesman said: “G4S has been reliably supporting police forces for more than 20 years. In Lincolnshire, we have been supporting the force since April and have made a solid start in delivering specific services and savings.”

Nevertheless, Labour MP Keith Vaz, who is chairman of the House of Commons Home Affairs Select Committee, has urged the “close monitoring” of the contract.

Decision delayed until after election

Vaz said: “Those who monitor this contract should look at it very carefully to make sure it is robust and they are carrying out their responsibilities.”

The decision as to whether other police forces will follow Lincolnshire’s lead appears to increasingly rest with the PCCs with elections taking place on November 15.

Each of the 41 police force areas in England and Wales, excluding London, will directly elect a Commissioner. Their responsibilities include police strategy and the force’s budget.

Surrey Police Authority said that it was “minded to withdraw altogether from the programme”, subject to a more detailed options paper which will be presented at its next public meeting on September 6.

An Authority statement did not link the decision to the Olympics security debacle. It said members raised particular concerns around the impending arrival of PCCs with many candidates opposing the partnering programme.

West Midlands Police Authority has decided to defer any decision of the selection of partners until the election of its PCC.

Labour leader Ed Miliband, addressing some of Labour’s PCC candidates, said the G4S Olympic scandal “beggared belief”.

He said: “Before they are awarded any new policing contracts, we need a review of G4S and other private companies’ ability to deliver.”
 

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