No change in Herts and Beds Police plans to work with failed Olympic security firm G4S
Richard Young
Friday, July 13, 2012
2:01 PM
Herts and Beds police have said they are still going ahead with a business plan to privatise backroom operations with troubled Olympic security firm G4S.
The authorities, alongside the Cambridgeshire force, said today that proposals to move management of 10 departments to G4S to help tackle a £73m shortfall in government funding are going ahead as planned, despite yesterday’s announcement by the firm that it has failed to meet its commitment to provide enough security guards for the Games.
The firm has only 4,000 of the promised 10,000 guards in place, leading the government to call on the army to meet the shortfall.
In a joint statement the three authorities said: “Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire have commissioned a full business case which will examine in detail the proposal to outsource our Organisational Support functions via the Lincolnshire Police contract, with G4S as the supplier.
“As the work to develop a full business case and apply due diligence continues, the ability and capacity of G4S to deliver the range of services under consideration across the three forces will naturally be carefully scrutinised.”
The failure of G4S to meet its contract was cited as a factor in a decision by Surrey Police Authority yesterday to scrap similar plans with the firm.
More News
- Former traveller site bought by council
- Royston car dealership celebrate baby Zafira’s arrival
- Vandals target Royston allotments
- Foxton teen up for award for charity work in memory of brother
- Melbourn Village College set to join Comberton Academy
- Barn meeting held over rural crime in Royston
- Royston schoolchildren ‘travel’ the world
- Personal trainer gets muddy for charity
- CCTV cameras aim to catch vandals in Royston
Royston Town FC
E-Edition
Crow Offers
Crow Twitter
Retailer List
Herts Business Awards
ADVERTISEMENT
3 comments
Bob's story is by no means unique. There are many similar about the latest Olympics security fiasco. G4S is a £7.5bn global company, the world’s third largest in employee numbers. Does anyone imagine they will have a problem in fleecing home counties plods. They clearly ran rings (x 5) round LOCOG.
Report this comment
patrick newman
Friday, July 13, 2012
This is a comment from a poster in the Welwyn & Hatfield Times about the recent Red Hot Chilli Peppers concert at Knebworth Park ................................................................................."I was one of the security staff bussed in from London. .We were given no information to give to people about where to go at the end of the gig, and ended up working a 19 hour shift, only to find at the end that our coach hadn't turned up, so were forced to wait at the site in the wind, rain and cold, until we had to arrange our own taxis to the train station for the first train at 0630am! This was 24 hours after our coach had left London for the gig! No instructions from our management just abandoned as they went back to hotels! G4S is the company in case you wondered....."
Report this comment
Bob
Friday, July 13, 2012
This is clearly a reckless decision and ideologically driven as the Authority Chairman who is likely to be the Commissioner in November is a County Tory. I dont think any of the forces has experience of both shared services and outsourcing on this scale. Do they really think their "scrutiny" of G4S will be better than that exercised by LOCOG!
Report this comment
patrick newman
Friday, July 13, 2012