Policing
Policing is one of the core services of government, but there is a wide range of support services undertaken by uniformed police officers that are capable of being delivered by civilians from the public or private sectors. These include facilities management associated with new and refurbished infrastructure, and IT-enabled services.
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Sustaining Value for Money in the Police Service (Web Page) Audit Commission, 2010
This report proposes that around £1 billion could be saved from police services without cutting services to the public.
UKA Frontline Force: Proposals for More Effective Policing (PDF) CBI, 2010 A report on the spending and crime-fighting challenges facing the UK government and police in the coming years. It makes recommendations on collaborative procurement between forces, partnerships between police and other local services or the private sector, and re-engineering processes and pay structures to deliver greater efficiencies and better outcomes. UK
High Level Working Group Report on Police Value for Money (PDF) Home Office, 2010 A report on how police forces can meet the impending challenges of decreasing budgets and increasing public expectations. It looks at improving productivity at the frontline, delivering savings in support services and the back office, better procurement and increased partnership working. UK
Making Time: Freeing Up Front-Line Policing (PDF) Sotiropoulos, Alexis, 2008 The Serco Institute A report on the UK market for police services. It focuses on the implementation of reforms and innovations by police forces that have permitted more efficient use of support services and freed up warranted officers to return to front-line duties. UK
Footing the Bill: Reforming the Police Service (PDF) Loveday, Barry and McClory, Jonathan, 2008 Policy Exchange A report on improving police efficiency despite declining central government funding by proposing opportunities for workforce modernisation and private provision of certain services. UK
Fitting the Bill: Local Policing for the 21st Century (PDF) Loveday, Barry and McClory, Jonathan, 2007 Policy Exchange A report based on a survey of local police commanders who identify factors that would improve policing as well as their attitudes to targets and resource management. UK
Public Services at the Crossroads Brooks, Richard (Ed.), 2007 Institute for Public Policy Research (ippr) This report argues that UK public services in 2007 are "at a crossroads" with a new government offering the opportunity to steer a new course in reform. It focuses on the health, education and criminal justice sectors to outline "a progressive agenda" in which social justice is placed at the heart of public service policy. It is cautiously optimistic about the role played by (quasi-)markets in public services, arguing that the principle reason for private and voluntary sector involvement "is not the inherent superiority of one type of provider over another, but rather the opportunity that such diversity offers to generate competitive pressure for improvement among providers from all sectors". ISBN: 978-1-86030-315-9 UK
In Search of Security: The Future of Policing in Canada (PDF)
Law Commission of Canada, 2006
Better Policing Through Partnership (PDF) CBI, 2006 Report on the use of private sector providers to assist in police functions such as custody and investigation, as well as in ICT and estate renewal. The reforms aim to deliver greater productivity and efficiency in addition to releasing more police officers for front line work. ISBN 0 85201 642 5 UK
Police Workforce Modernisation: Impact Assessment of Changes to Workforce Mix (PDF) Accenture, 2006 Home Office A survey of police forces in England and Wales assessing the impact of the Workforce Modernisation pilots and other similar initiatives which make use of civilianisation, contracting out and re-engineering of processes to achieve greater efficiency. UK
Modernising the Police Service: A Thematic Inspection of Workforce Modernisation - The Role, Management and Deployment of Police Staff in the Police Service of England and Wales (PDF) HM Inspectorate of Constabulary, 2004 Home Office A report on the progress in reform of police working practices by employing a mixed economy of civilian staff and contracted services to help release police officers to front line duties. UK
Criminal Records Bureau: Delivering Safer Recruitment? (PDF) House of Commons Public Accounts Committee, 2004 The Stationery Office Based on the NAO report (below) the Committee made recommendations on contract procurement and implementation as well as public protection. UK
Criminal Records Bureau: Delivering Safer Recruitment? (PDF)
National Audit Office (NAO), 2004
The Stationery Office
Report on the public office designed to run criminal record checks for employers which was established through a public-private partnership. Includes a discussion of how well the service model for the CRB was understood at the time of project commissioning. Session 2003-2004
Forensic Science on Trial (PDF) House of Commons Science and Technology Committee, 2005 The Stationery Office A report on the transformation of the Forensic Science Service into a PPP and regulation of the forensic science market. UK
Public Private Partnerships: Airwave (Web Page)
House of Commons Public Accounts Committee, 2002
The Stationery Office
Response to the NAO report (below). The committee also considered the use of a "clawback" clause that would have allowed the Home Office to share the gains accrued from further partners coming on board after negotiations had ended, such as the Fire and Ambulance Services.
Public Private Partnerships: Airwave (Report) (PDF)
National Audit Office (NAO), 2002
The Stationery Office
Policing a New Century: A Blueprint for Reform (PDF)
Home Office, 2001
The Stationery Office
The Dorset Police Authority (Western Division) PFI Project [Does not link directly to document] (PDF) Public Private Partnerships Programme (4ps), 2001 A report on the procurement of one of the early PFI police projects to build four new stations and supply support services. UK
The New Structure of Policing: Description, Conceptualization and Research Agenda (PDF) Bayley, David H. and Shearing, Clifford D., 2001 National Institute of Justice A research report written for the US Department of Justice examining the "multilateralisation" of policing services worldwide and the challenges posed by new providers within and outside nation states. US
Policing for Profit: The Future of South Africa's Private Security Industry (Web Page) Irish, Jenny, 1999 Institute of Security Studies (ISS) A general overview of the use of private security to deliver policing services in South Africa and its expansion into other African countries. South Africa
Partnership Policing: A Role for the Private Security Industry to Assist the SAPS in Preventing Crime? (PDF) Minnaar, Anthony, 1999 African Security Review Vol 8, No 2 An outline of the issues surrounding the use of private security in public policing. The importance of training is stressed as is the poor perception of private industry by police. South Africa
A Co-operative Approach to Crime Prevention: Police and Security Sectors Working Together (PDF) Golsby, Mark and O'Brien, Bob, 1998 Edith Cowan University A research report based on a survey of police, private security and Non-Police Government Agencies in South Australia which examines the relationship between the three so as to identify better ways of working together. Australia
Private Prisons and Police: Recent Australian Trends
Moyle, Paul , 1994
Pluto Press
A collection of essays reflecting the perspectives of academics, practitioners and industry which addresses the theoretical and practical issues surrounding the contracting of prison and policing services.

