Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Police Forces’ rejection of privatisation is a triumph of common sense, UNISON said today.
The union welcomed reports that the three forces have decided to work collaboratively to provide key back-office IT and human resources functions, rather than outsourcing them to a private company.
Commenting on the news, Ben Priestley, UNISON national officer for police staff said:
“This is a sensible decision by Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Police Forces and we hope that other forces considering potentially damaging privatisation also drop their plans. Leading change from within the police force, rather than bringing in outside companies that have little or no experience of running these vital community services makes much more sense.
“Privatisation of police services is a danger to the public. Once private companies take out their profits – as they are obliged to do by their shareholders – the pot of money left to pay for local policing will shrink, leaving the public with a poorer police service. And recent polling by UNISON shows that the majority of the public do not want their local police services to be privatised.”
ENDS
