G4S are not cowboys
they are bandits.
"We don't need no steekeeng project management, it gets in the way of the gold"
Cambridgeshire police are reviewing a potential contract with troubled Olympic security provider G4S. The deal on the table would see G4S take over back-office functions inclusing ICT for three forces - Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire - and would result in 1,191 staff being rehired by G4S, according to the …
So, if selling the police is treason, and selling the police is Tory* policy, then ... ?
* It doesn't matter, though, which group of venal persons are in power - they are all the same. The inability of the LibDems to use their power to stop the worst excesses of the Tories by simply saying "we'll withdraw from the coalition", as happens all over Europe (and probably elsewhere in the world) shows that they are as bad (presumably because they don't want to force an election, since the chances of any of them being re-elected after their spineless performance is negligible).
No one is, you just don't understand how it works. G4S has a compelling commercial offering, I know, I work for a competitor, and I've seen it, it is very hard to beat. The problem is that all of us have to play catch up, and come up with something better, at a better price. If you have this kind of offering, and you are bidding into a bunch of contracts, all the same, remember all Police forces are doing this over the next few years, you get economies of scale your competitors can't match, and you have a successful track record, and in part they do.
So they bid 4 contracts, and win 1, great, no problem, win 2, resourcing issues start, the people who know the job are already on contracts. So the more you win, the more resource problems you have, win all 4, and it's a disaster, you can't deliver any. So bid one, ah risk, you might loose, and you're not in the game for the other 3.
Ultimately all the procurements are run independently, yes the forces talk, but they will go for the best bang for the busk, and you have to have a damn good reason not to award to the best value solution.
The olympic cockup will temper the G4S reputation, but they will still get a lot of work, and it will still be more than they can manage. The alternative players are Serco, Amey and Capita, and their consortium partners.
At a guess, some forces will go for distinct services, others for monolithic contracts, and they will all use the free consultancy for the services they have no intention to outsource.
The process is not corrupt, but it isn't intelligent either.
The idea of outsourcing is that by giving your internal operations to an external company those operations will run just as well or better, they will cost less, *and* the external company will be able to make a handsome profit on the deal.
Now that might be a possibility if the external company is extremely experienced, specialised and well run. Or if there's some kind of tax 'efficiency' which can be claimed.
But in the general case it is a pile of bovine excrement.
I remember hearing about that one.
IIRC, the stitstorm around that bought the company involved some really bad press.
They relented, and offered him his job back.
Wisely. (IIRC) he told them to fuck themselves (however in a more civilized manner).
I do have to give some of his co-workers a pat on the back for quitting in solidarity.
In case you haven't heard:
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5itTTqL5HqAKUBN46DwgLvy-W4ztA?docId=9d3542c2b68642f8bbf6cd05991377cb
Another mistake is to have a patchwork of allegedly interoperable suppliers. In fact, the whole "let the private sector do public sector work" idea is a huge mistake. There are many things that need centralised control and planning: policing and defence are but two of them.
Right, that's because - like I think Douglas Adams observed, perhaps in a Dirk Gently book - the English take a US idea like McDonalds and remove all the stuff that makes it different, like speed and price and then deliver what's left.
Mind, the US is better at hiding corruption in plain sight, hence the more polished appearance.
> G4S have not replied to our request for comment.
How would you know unless they told you?
Errrmmm...
Ah!
I see. Sorry for doubting you.
> The UK seems to have almost a 3rd world level of corruption when it comes to
> the government and private contractors. Its bad in the US also but generally
> the cock-ups don't rise to the level as seen in the UK.
Not counting the fact that ALL US cops have guns to shoot their victims for being suspect, their rentacops do the same too -and get the local sheriff to exonerate them.
" security guard shooting "
" That includes staff working behind counters, in custody centres and suspect identification, in HR, IT and in the criminal justice unit."
Yes, a great idea, outsourcing all these services to the lowest bidder, who in turn will hire poorly paid, undertrained, unmotivated personnel to fill the positions.
Behind counters: Data theft in behalf of criminals or private enterprises, blackmail, ...
Custody centres: Drug and weapon smuggling into prisons
Suspect identification: Blackmail again, leaking data to the press, ...
IT: Think of all the horror histories you have read about IT outsourcing lately, but in the context of these 'dickensian' workplaces.
Criminal justice unit: Data theft, blackmail, data leaks, ...
What could possibly go wrong?
"Yes, a great idea, outsourcing all these services to the lowest bidder, who in turn will hire poorly paid, undertrained, unmotivated personnel to fill the positions."
Normally they fire everyone, then offer them a new job with less pay and no perks with the new company. The best staff move on to better employers. You are left with under performing, low paid, bitter senior staff and your poorly paid, undertrained, unmotivated new personnel at the bottom.
Little surprise if they decide to make their own perks.
the number of police (allegedly) on the take from journalists, private investigators and like; the number of climate protestors sent down because of improper actions of undercover police officers; the bizarre way in which a policeman was able to resign to avoid serious disciplinary proceedings and join the Met a few days later; police being found selling confiscated guns; the rather high number of deaths in police custody - to name but a few disturbing events - I'm not sure that G4S would necessarily be any worse.
....briefly"
There, fixed it for you.
Because as soon as the ink is dry, the work will be shifted offshore. And this country will be £25,000 a head worse off for each offshored job, but Hey! we can pretend that we've saved money, and ignore the lack of quality.