robocop to become reality?

[nick mercedes]

"government plans for police privatisation"

Revealed: government plans for police privatisation | UK news | The Guardian

 

[wemorgan]

What interests me about privatisation of any company are the claims of efficiencies to be made. Quite often these are materialised. Good news for the tax payer. But......if by a change of management and employee contracts savings are made, why can these not be done under state control? - enter stage left, the Unions.

We shouldn't need to always privatise to modernise. If the police forces can be more efficient, then make them so, under state control so any savings (profits in private hands) are kept within the state purse.

 

[nick mercedes]

What interests me about privatisation of any company are the claims of efficiencies to be made.

These are normally overblown to make sure the plans are bulldozed through, what happens when everything is privitised and all aspects of our lives are controlled by offshore corperations?

 

[jaymanek]

Private companies are generally a lot more efficient than state owned bodies.. Of course the figures will have been inflated to serve a purpose but its true.

 

[st4]

All we need is a "blame Thatcher" post and this thread is complete

 

[This is Pete]

So, priviatising the police force results in things being run by the lowest bidder?

So, that'll place the controllers in a call centre in India.

 

[Deleted member 37751]

It's hard enough to get the CPS to prosecute as it is based just on evidence, how many cases would not see court due to 'costs'?

 

[grober]

The problem with any subcontract arrangement is that the customer= you and me =the ratepayer--- ceases to have a degree of direct "political control" via their elected council representatives. [frequently not used enough I know but its there theoretically] Once you "subcontract" the service becomes the subject of labyrinthine contract clauses which effectively insulate the "provider" from the "customer " who is legally powerless to change the effectiveness of any service they are still paying for! The overall cost may go down but frequently so does the service you get for your money. Contract cleaning in hospitals a case in point ---- ward sisters complaining about the cleaning of their wards being told -that's the between the hospital management and company contracted to provide the cleaning -- - MRSA anyone ? How much did that cost the NHS?

 

[markjay]

Having every aspect of our public services privatised is not a good idea, as grober and others said.

Having too much government-owned and government-run services is equally bad - if you think BT are bad now, can people remember how long did we wait for a telephone line before privatisation? Need I mention Royal Mail, with arcane and Kafkaic public-facing services?

Like most things in life... it is about finding the right balance between the two.

 

[MOCAŠ]

Like most in things in life... it is about finding the right balance between the two.

And to be fair, this initiative is will not affect core policing activities, despite the sensationalist thread title. It's about tasks that can already be - and are - performed by private companies.

There will be those that see this as the thin end of the wedge, but law enforcement will not follow suit without new legislation, and there's no political appetite for that.

 

[c955]

"You have 20 seconds to comply."

 

[whitenemesis]

All we need is a "blame Thatcher" post and this thread is complete

Nah, it was the Nazis!


(Godwin's Law - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godwin's_law)

 

[MOCAŠ]

All we need is a "blame Thatcher" post and this thread is complete

Nah, it was Hitler!

Nope - it's ain't over until Orwell gets a look-in.

 

[whitenemesis]

Nope - it's ain't over until Orwell gets a look-in.

What's a big green bird gotta do with it all??

 

[This is Pete]

"Thank you for calling the 999 emergency service. Your call is important to us. You are currently number 20 in the queue, please continue to hold. Your call is important to us"

Fixed that for you.

 

[MOCAŠ]

What's a big green bird gotta do with it all??

You'll find out when he puts his wing on your shoulder and squeaks "You're nicked!"

 

[markjay]

The idea that every single person working for the police has to undergo rigours 2-year training including hand combat has been abandoned some time ago, with many of the logistics, maintenance and IT services already carried-out by civilians. At which point, it is not a major step to have these civilians employed and managed by private companies.

The principal behind it is not far removed from 'Blunkett's Bobbies'. While Labour didn't go as far as having private companies actually employ them, Labour did see the waste in having fully-trained police officers carrying-out duties that did not call for their range of skill and training and could be carried-out by others with more limited training (and presumably on lower pay).

 

[artyman]

Private companies exist to make a profit for shareholders, no public service should be for the profit of a shareholder, it is for the benefit of the community. The 'profits' should be ploughed back into the public service, not someone's pocket. However that is not to say that public services shouldn't be run in an efficient cost effective manner.

Rather like the PFI that has built my local hospital,the NHS trust is paying handsomely for this 'facility' so some mega corp is making a nice little earner from our taxes. It's time to stop this enexorable privatisation of everything, certain things should always be in public ownership and not for sale, for the profit of individuals.

 

[MOCAŠ]

no public service should be for the profit of a shareholder, it is for the benefit of the community.

This all hinges on what you deem to be a "public service". For instance, is waste collection a public service? If so, should the government purchase all the waste trucks and employ all the binmen - or is this better handled by a private contractor that specialises in this service?

The real question is which option offers better value (not just lowest cost) to the taxpayer. If a private company can provide a service more efficiently than the public sector, then that should represent a net benefit to the community. The devil's in the detail, though...

 

[grober]

If your house is being broken into please press one if you are being physically assaulted press two if your neighbour is being raped press three if the house across the road is being used as a cannabis farm please contact your local electricity provider. Otherwise please wait for an operator. While you are waiting do you know that G*S is a multinational company incorporating such household names as Sec*ricor, Arm*ur International, R*ck Steady and Wack*nhut. So if you want to run airport security, private prisons, money security services and immigration detention facilities you know where to come. In addition you may wish to consider that for the payment of a small extra monthly fee you can avail yourself of our "enhanced " policing facility. Want faster response times to 999 calls, extra police patrols in your neighbourhood or secure housing estate facilities- secure gated compounds dog patrols,--- sign up today. From this summer 999 calls will change to a new 0870 number this will offer a new improved emergency call number to facilitate rapid response to your call which is important to us. Calls will charged at £5 per minute for the first 5 minutes and £2 minute thereafter. while you are waiting here's some music---- cue endless loop of Land of Hope and Glory.