A partnership between the police and private sector could be the key to unlocking valuable funds for cash-strapped police forces. That is according to a new report published by the security contractor G4S, Lincolnshire Police and the county’s Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC), Alan Hardwick.
One year on from the start of the G4S-Lincolnshire Police Strategic Partnership, which saw the bulk of the force’s organisational services transferred to the multi-national firm, Lincolnshire Police has been able to make estimated savings of 18 per cent – more than the 13.6 per cent originally guaranteed by G4S. The savings achieved mean Lincolnshire now spends the lowest amount per head of population on policing in England and Wales. According to Lincolnshire’s PCC, Alan Hardwick, if the other 42 forces in England and Wales could achieve this level of spending, the savings to the national purse would amount to £1 billion.
Alan Hardwick said: “At the end of 2011, we set out to explore how Lincolnshire Police could deliver services to the people of Lincolnshire more effectively and efficiently, whilst also meeting the challenges of reductions in public sector funding.
“What resulted was an innovative partnership with G4S, and the widest ever outsourcing provision for any police force in the UK. Just over twelve months on from when the contract commenced, we have today published a report on our progress, and I am pleased to say it is working well, delivering not only savings above those expected but also tangible improvements in service that can only benefit our communities.
“Tomorrow’s Spending Review is likely to outline billions of pounds of additional cuts to public spending. This is on top of sizeable reductions already made. For police forces, whose budgets are already nearly 20 per cent leaner than in 2010, the challenge – to improve quality while finding savings – is about to get bigger.
“If others want to deliver more for less, they should come to Lincolnshire. We have not only managed to reduce crime by over 14% (better than most other forces), but we have done so while putting more officers on the beat, improving public confidence and delivering a better service to our communities.”
John Shaw, Managing Director of G4S Policing Support Services, said: “When we embarked on this partnership with Lincolnshire Police, we made a pledge to guarantee savings to the force, while improving the service to the public. On 1 April 2012, we took over the operation of 18 operational and organisational services, with 575 civilian police staff transferring overnight to G4S. We promised the force a ‘soft landing’ – introducing change gradually as well as enabling police officers to concentrate on frontline duties.
“We have achieved more than we could have expected. We have made significant improvements in the areas one might expect a business outsourcing specialist like G4S to deliver, such as HR and, but also in areas not typically associated with outsourcing provision, such as the Force Control Room –now one of the best performing areas of the partnership.
“We pledged to guarantee savings to Lincolnshire Police of £3.6m per annum – equivalent to a 13.6% saving – while delivering a better service; we have already surpassed this, achieving over 18% estimated savings (over £5m), which equates to the cost of 35 police officers more than we promised. And this has been achieved with no loss of service, and in many areas real service improvements as measured by the force, such as in the response to 999 calls for example. This is an outstanding result and one on which I expect we will be able to improve over the next nine years.
“There will be many forces around the country facing difficult decisions about how to maintain services in the face of constricting budgets. The past year has been enormously challenging and there are important lessons which can be learned from our experience. We hope that by sharing some of our experience, other forces can learn and ultimately benefit.”
For more visit the G4S website.
