Police force trio to take stock on G4S

The tri-constabulary police forces of Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire have bought themselves time over their plans to use a possible contract with Lincolnshire/G4S to provide outsourced organisational support services to help deliver operational savings. The three forces' working group met this week to consider a report from their chief constables. The report raises concerns about the ability of the proposed Lincolnshire/G4S contract to meet the specific needs of the forces' strategic alliance for the delivery of organisational support services. The meeting was called, as the forces put it, "against the backdrop of recent events relating to the Olympics, with concerns being raised regarding G4S's ability to deliver." The forces have now taken the heat out of the furore over G4S's involvement in the Olympics by commissioning further work to explore the ability of the contract and contractor to meet the local operational demands of the three forces. The outcome of this work will be reported to the forces' joint working group in mid-August. The joint working group comprises four members from each of the three police authorities and its role is to consider any strategic changes to the work of the alliance, before referring issues to the relevant police authority when necessary. In a statement, the three forces said that if the Lincolnshire/G4S contract did not prove to be suitable, informed by an outline business case, a recommendation would be brought to the three police authorities "to progress the bespoke procurement of a commercial provider to deliver organisational support services. This would be allow incoming police and crime commissioners to consider this approach post November." The three forces have been considering the outsourcing move to try to make savings of £73m, after concluding that the savings cannot be made by sharing services alone. This article is published by Guardian Professional . Join the Guardian Government Computing Network free to receive regular emails on the issues at the top of the professional agenda.