PRIVATE firms WILL be offered the chance to run back office functions under radical plans to restructure police services in the West Midlands.
West Midlands Police has formed a partnership with Surrey Police on a new project that aims to strike a deal with businesses to help transform the way the police works.
A contract tender filed with the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) stated that the project wanted to find “the best of business innovation and ways of working while preserving the integrity of the office of constable”. And it added: “It is anticipated that the strategic partner will also directly manage some services with the forces.”
The latest development will add to the uncertainty faced by civilian workers over the future nature of their jobs, while union bosses have describing it as “an area of anxiety”.
Sponsored by the Home Office, the Business Partnering Programme has been designed to look at whether long-term partnerships between the private and public sector could help transform public services faced with swingeing government cuts.
The force has to find £126million in savings over four years. But with the financial outlook continuing to look gloomy, the argument is that simply slicing into services will no longer work and business transformation is the only way forward.
The force’s Chief Constable Chris Sims has already said any partnership with the private sector would have to be more radical than simply outsourcing services. However, exactly how back office functions will be transformed remains to be seen as the force waits to see what ideas private companies come up with before drawing up a concrete plan.
Chief Supt Phil Kay, who is overseeing the project, 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 the community. 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.
“The OJEU notice is, in effect, an advert telling the market what we want to do and gives companies a chance to express an interest.
“Then we will go through a really detailed evaluation process to see how that might progress and the wider opportunities available to us.”