The Chair of Cleveland Police Authority has today again emphasised that ‘providing the best possible service to the public—and ensuring the interests of staff’ will be the crucial test in deciding whether to go ahead with involving a private sector partner in developing the Force’s Information technology systems and some elements of call handling services.
Councillor Dave McLuckie, speaking after members of the Police Authority had agreed to ask two bidders to continue developing their proposals, also strongly rejected suggestions that involving a private sector partner would amount to putting profits first, stressing that they would only approve such a move ‘if we are totally satisfied that it will make us more efficient, protect the interests of staff and, above all, deliver a better service to the public.’
Following the decision the two bidders remaining in the process, Cap-Gemini/Reliance and Steria, will be asked to develop finalised proposals for consideration by the Authority early next year.
Said Councillor McLuckie “I know that some are claiming that this is about putting profit before the service to the public—in fact the truth is the very opposite.
“We know that the top priority for the vast majority of people is having officers and community support officers on their streets and in their neighbourhoods. That is our priority too—that is why we have committed ourselves to maintaining officer numbers at the highest level in the Force’s history.
“One of the best ways of putting more officers on the beat is to improve the efficiency of our ‘back office’ activities. For example our decision to involve a private sector partner in our custody and medical services released 36 officers for front-line services.
“We need to ensure that we operate all our services as efficiently as possible if we are able to maximise the money we can put into front-line policing. That is why we are examining the potential for working with a private sector partner to help deliver some other services—including information technology and some aspects of call handling.
“Far from undermining the services our aim is to make them better—for example improving the way we handle calls from the public such as arranging times for officer visits and calling back to check if people are happy with the service they have received.
“The reality is that working with partners, both private and public, is a vital part of modern policing...in our case it has helped us provide some of the best buildings and facilities in the country, equip our officers with vital mobile technology and significantly increase our community support officer numbers.
“We have made great strides forward in recent years in bringing down crime, improving detection and gaining one of the highest public confidence levels in the country. We have achieved that be being prepared to make the changes required for the challenges of Twenty First Century policing. We need to maintain that momentum.”
Chief Constable of Cleveland Police Sean Price said: “This process has always been about improving the quality of service to the public and ensuring the interests of our staff. The move to two bidders is part of that process, and I would stress that a final decision has not yet been made.
“We are keeping our staff and their union representatives fully updated and they have been reassured that the Control Room and call taking functions, including the 999 service, would remain at Cleveland Police Headquarters under any of the proposed partnership schemes. They are also fully aware that all the proposed partnerships are conditional on existing staff continuing to be employed under their current terms and conditions. I would also wish to emphasise that all incidents will remain under the command and control of trained Cleveland Police officers.
“It has been wrongly suggested that involving a private sector partner is about putting profit before our people. I would reiterate that this has nothing to do with profits; it is about improving our service to members of the public and ensuring the interests of our staff.”