Privatising the police

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/ma...ty-firms-crime

That can't possibly end badly.

I have to admit to a vested interest here, namely that my salary is paid every month by a certain Police Force. There are some aspects of the police services of the UK that could be privatised, for example HR, vehicle workshops, maintenance and the like. There's even an argument in favour of privatised custody suites as there have been some privatised prisons, although they haven't necessarily covered themselves in glory.

At the moment we have uniformed officers and PCSOs. Most forces also have civilian investigators, although they are usually retired Cops. I suppose there's also a case to be made for having contracted kennel and stable staff.

But I can only see a world of disasters if uniformed officers are replaced with citizens, partly because the job can attract the wrong kinds of people and partly because I don't see how the "contractors" can command sufficient respect on the streets.

As an example, I remember being told by a Cop who'd started out as a Special before he became "cards in" so to speak who told me that they got a hell of a lot less grief on a Friday night when the words Special Constabulary were removed from their epaulettes.