The government wants police forces in England and Wales to sell contracts to the private sector to run policing services. This means that private companies could be running services like crime investigation, forensics, 999 call handling, custody and detention and a wide range of other services. UNISON, the UK's leading trade union, is opposed to this planned privatisation as we believe that it will change the face of policing and have serious implications for public safety.
West Midlands and Surrey Police, under guidance from the Home Office, have advertised contracts worth £1.5 billion to run policing services in both forces. Most other forces in England and Wales have expressed an interest in the contract.
This privatisation is being pushed by the coalition government on purely ideological and cost – cutting grounds. It is the people of West Midlands and Surrey who will suffer initially from the consequences of poorer services, as private companies cut-back to increase profit. And as more forces follow in their footsteps, we will all suffer
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