The proposal was being discussed at a time when forces face 20 per cent spending cuts. The biggest-ever police privatisation programme ran into difficulties yesterday when two forces at the centre of the £1.5bn scheme delayed the project in the face of stiff opposition. The private sector had been given carte blanche to come up [...]
18
May 2012
Police forces put £1.5bn privatisation plan on hold
May 18, 2012 By Leave a Comment
05
May 2012
Anti-corruption pledges urged – but Surrey chief fears she cannot stop ‘distasteful’ exodus. Dozens of people involved in Britain’s biggest private-sector policing contract have been ordered to sign “anti-corruption” agreements amid concerns about senior officers retiring and then immediately rejoining on lucrative deals with security firms. Surrey Chief Constable Lynne Owens – the head of [...]
17
Apr 2012
PCSO jailed for telling suspect to flee police hunt
April 17, 2012 By Leave a Comment
A police community support officer hired because she was a lesbian has been jailed after telling a friend to flee town when detectives were looking for her. Lisa Stapley, 39, was recruited by North Wales Police under a positive discrimination programme because of her sexuality but recruiters failed to spot that she had an unusual [...]
25
Mar 2012
A cash-strapped police force are recruiting five spin doctors – at a cost of £140,500 – whilst axing 500 front line officers. Sussex Police say they need to spend the money on the posts within the press office to maintain their ‘popular website’, teach officers to use Twitter and sell the idea of cuts to [...]
22
Mar 2012
End of ‘bobby on the beat’ as third of police stations close
March 22, 2012 By Leave a Comment
A third of police stations have closed or are set to close, most of them in small towns and villages. Hundreds of thousands of residents living in rural areas will soon be left without a local station and will have to report crimes to officers based miles away. A survey by the Sunday Telegraph of [...]
16
Mar 2012
Police officers to be made redundant for the first time
March 16, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Police officers could be made redundant for the first time, in a radical reform of the service’s culture now being considered by ministers, according to The Daily Telegraph today. There is talk of ending the ‘job for life’ culture that exists in the police service – a ‘festering scab’ that successive governments have been picking [...]
15
Mar 2012
The fallout of the phone-hacking scandal could increase the culture of secrecy at Scotland Yard because of potential whistleblowers being prevented from speaking to the Press, the Leveson Inquiry has been told. Sandra Laville, crime correspondent for the Guardian newspaper, said an “over-reaction” to the crisis had led to a clampdown on all but the [...]
03
Mar 2012
Private companies could soon be responsible for investigating crimes, patrolling neighbourhoods and detaining suspects under a scheme proposed by two of the countries largest police forces. West Midlands Police and Surrey have invited bids from private security companies to take over delivery of a wide range of services currently carried out by police officers. The [...]
