West Midlands Police and Police Authority have placed a notice in the Official Journal of European Union (OJEU) asking for expressions of interest from suitably qualified external organisations to work with the force. The force says it is solidifying plans to develop closer links with the private sector.
Combining with the business sector is aimed at totally transforming the way the force currently does business – improving the service provided to the public. Due to the length and value of the contract – which could be about £1.5 billion over ten years for the West Midlands force alone – the Authority is legally required to place a notice in the OJEU.
According to West Midlands Police the areas of service listed in the notice are deliberately broad to allow the force to explore the skills, expertise and solutions a partnership could bring. Not all the activities listed in the OJEU notice will necessarily be included in the final scope but if the force were to add other areas of business at a later date that would require a completely new and costly procurement exercise.
Chief Supt Phil Kay, who is overseeing the project, was widely interviewed when the news broke on March 3. He said: “This is about how we deal with the challenging conditions that we face and how we look to innovative ways to try and continue improving on delivering the service that we provide to communities. We want to explore how working with people in the private sector might be able to give us a new dimension and help us transform our service.”
“Both chief constables remain accountable for the services provided. This is about maintaining the office of constable and being clear that some things have to be done by people with warranted powers. Our mission remains to serve and protect the community.
We also want to see what areas of business there are where we can work with partners in the private sector to deliver in a way that is more cost effective, efficient and helps to improve the service.”
He added: “Police officers and PCSOs will still be carrying out front line services, such as street patrols and arrests: we are looking at innovative ways of helping free officers from duties which don’t need a serving police officer to carry out, such as guarding crime scenes and collecting CCTV.”
He added that in the next few weeks the formal procurement process is due to begin with private sector partnerships looking for suitable partners who could help us transform how we operate. If a private sector partnership arranagement does go ahead it will be around 2013/14 before any chosen partner will play an active part in what we do.
“This provides our organisation with a huge and important opportunity to embrace new ideas and technology and revolutionise our ability to take in and process information.”
