Unite: G4S civilian investigators should send shock waves across the country
Unite the union, which represents police staff has demanded that home secretary, Theresa May steps in to halt police privatisation as the disgraced security company G4S advertises for civilian investigators to work for Warwickshire police.
A report in the Guardian newspaper has uncovered that adverts for civilian investigators to work for Warwickshire police have appeared on the G4S Policing Solutions website.
Unite, whose police force members fiercely oppose police privatisation, have been warning that core policing functions, including 999 call handling, prisoner transfer and forensics could be put into the hands of profits-first companies. This latest development points to the rapid acceleration of the privatisation of core police functions central to justice. To make matters worse the company at the heart of the privatisation plans G4S, was responsible for the security shambles at the Olympics which brought international embarrassment to the UK in the run-up to the London Games.
Unite national officer, Peter Allenson said:
"Civilian investigators employed by G4S, responsible for investigating crimes, should send shock waves across the country. You would have thought that following the G4S fiasco at the Olympics any police force with an ounce of sense would have steered clear of G4S and stepped back from privatisation.
"The public have a right to be alarmed by this development. This represents a major acceleration of the privatisation of the police and it has massive implications for the public's right to a fully accountable police force which puts people before profit.
"This development should be a wake up call for Theresa May. It's time she intervened to halt police privatisation. The consequences of not learning the lessons from G4S at the Olympics could be a disater for crime prevention and justice."
The secretary of state for defence, Philip Hammond has today expressed appreciation of the limits of the private sector and has praised the military rescue of the Olympic Games security. He noted the failure of G4S to meet the Olympics security requirements has shown the limitations of private sector companies taking on public sector contracts, the defence secretary, said.
ENDS
Ciaran Naidoo on 07768 931 315
Unite is Britain and Ireland’s largest trade union with 1.5 million members working across all sectors of the economy. The general secretary is Len McCluskey.
The following is the Guardian report which exposed the G4S adverts. http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/aug/14/g4s-advertises-staff-police-crimes
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