tag:theconversation.com,2011:/fr/topics/serco-7256/articlesSerco – The Conversation2017-02-14T13:04:19Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/709492017-02-14T13:04:19Z2017-02-14T13:04:19ZDespite repeated failings, private firms continue to run asylum housing<p>Just over a year after reports that some people seeking asylum were housed in <a href="http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/uk/article4669721.ece">accommodation with red doors</a>, apparently making it easier for them to be identified, MPs on the Home Affairs Select Committee published a critical <a href="http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201617/cmselect/cmhaff/637/637.pdf">report</a> in late January into the state of asylum housing in the UK. </p>
<p>Details within the report provide a shameful account of failings by some of the private firms that run asylum housing. The chair of the committee, the Labour MP Yvette Cooper, <a href="http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/home-affairs-committee/news-parliament-2015/asylum-accommodation-report-published-16-17/">said</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The state of accommodation for some asylum seekers and refugees in this country is a disgrace. And the current contract system just isn’t working. Major reforms are needed. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Back in January 2016, The Times called the red doors for asylum seekers “<a href="http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/uk/article4669721.ece">apartheid on the streets of Britain</a>”. The private security contractor involved, G4S, <a href="http://www.libdemvoice.org/lib-dem-suzanne-fletcher-on-today-programme-talking-about-her-fight-against-red-doors-policy-49064.html">had not addressed</a> concerns raised <a href="https://theconversation.com/degrading-living-conditions-for-asylum-seekers-are-fuelled-by-privatisation-53923">about the doors</a> with its subcontractor Jomast, potentially exposing people to the risk of hate crime. </p>
<p>G4S <a href="http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/uk/article4669721.ece">insisted</a> it had no policy of painting the doors of asylum housing red. In early May 2016, it <a href="http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/home-affairs-committee/the-work-of-the-immigration-directorates-q1-2016/written/34238.html">wrote</a> to the Home Affairs Select Committee, to say that “the majority of doors are no longer red” and that “any further repainting that might be necessary will be funded by G4S”.</p>
<p>Despite these concerns, in December 2016, the UK government decided to extend and expand the contract with G4S, as well as the contracts with the companies Serco and Clearsprings – neither of which was involved in the red doors incident. The extension was made by the immigration minister Robert Goodwill, who lodged a <a href="http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Lords/2016-12-08/HLWS333/">short written statement</a> in parliament announcing the government would take the option of extending the current Commercial and Operating Managers Procuring Asylum Support contracts for asylum support – known as COMPASS – until 2019. These primarily provide accommodation, transport and other related services for people seeking asylum. </p>
<p>The announcement got little coverage, but is a deeply concerning decision. </p>
<h2>A litany of complaints</h2>
<p>The background to COMPASS stems to 2012, when <a href="http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201213/cmselect/cmhaff/145/14504.htm#note10">six contracts</a> were awarded to G4S, Serco and Clearsprings. COMPASS was worth more than £620m – the largest contract ever awarded by the Home Office. The decision to award welfare housing for people seeking asylum to private companies <a href="http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/public-accounts-committee/news/asylum-accommodation-substantive/">removed the expertise</a> of 13 specialist providers, mainly local authorities. </p>
<p>G4S is one the world’s largest security employers, but when it was given the contract, like Serco, it <a href="https://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201617/cmselect/cmhaff/637/63703.htm#_idTextAnchor005">had no experience</a> of providing asylum housing. The company is the subject of a number of serious allegations regarding <a href="https://www.liberty-human-rights.org.uk/news/press-releases-and-statements/liberty-and-40-other-organisations-demand-inquiry-after-infamous">failure to protect</a> those in its care. </p>
<p>Serco has also received complaints. These include <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/jan/14/female-detainees-yarls-wood-report-privacy-immigration-detention-centre-sexual-abuse">allegations of the mistreatment of women</a> in relation to its contract for the Yarl’s Wood immigration detention centre. An <a href="https://www.channel4.com/news/yarls-wood-immigration-removal-detention-centre-investigation">undercover Channel 4 News report</a> in 2015 showed Serco staff at the facility referring to detainees as “animals”, “beasties” and “bitches”. After carrying out an independent review into the allegations, in January 2016 <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/c5be2038-bac2-11e5-b151-8e15c9a029fb">Serco pledged</a> to improve conditions including hiring more staff and removing barbed wire. </p>
<p>The decision to extend the COMPASS contracts also flew in the face of three damning parliamentary inquiries – two <a href="https://www.childrenssociety.org.uk/sites/default/files/tcs/asylum_support_inquiry_report_final.pdf">in</a> <a href="http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201314/cmselect/cmhaff/71/71.pdf">2013</a> and one in <a href="http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/public-accounts-committee/news/asylum-accommodation-substantive">2014</a> – which have included allegations of malpractice and mismanagement of the asylum accommodation contract. </p>
<p>In 2014, the National Audit Office also <a href="https://www.nao.org.uk/report/compass-contracts-provision-accommodation-asylum-seekers">found</a> G4S and Serco failed to meet key performance targets “notably relating to the standards of property” and their “poor performance[s]”. This failure led to fines which <a href="http://parliamentlive.tv/event/index/fc8e1ca0-0eb1-45f6-8c9d-45c8b25c0cbd?in=09:29:59">stood at</a> £5.6m in 2013-14. </p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201617/cmselect/cmhaff/637/637.pdf">new report</a> from MPs indicates a continuation of the dismal housing conditions. Problems include: a house with a known asbestos risk, vulnerable women placed in mixed-sex accommodation; children living with the presence of vermin (infestations of mice, rats or bed bugs); women in the late stages of pregnancy being placed in rooms up several flights of stairs, and unrelated individuals being made to share a bedroom. “No one should be living in conditions like that,” <a href="http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/home-affairs-committee/news-parliament-2015/asylum-accommodation-report-published-16-17/">said</a> Cooper. </p>
<p>Yet, the COMPASS contracts, which were due to end in August 2017, have been extended for two more years. The government did little to explain its decision, but in his <a href="http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2016-12-08/HCWS335/">written statement</a> Goodwill said he recognised that “there are improvements that can be made”. As a result, the amount of money that the Home Office pays has been increased, and a new higher price band introduced for any increases in the number of asylum seekers requiring accommodation. The additional money will also allow the contracted companies (G4S, Serco and Clearsprings) to increase their property portfolios and widen the areas in which they operate. </p>
<h2>Warnings ignored</h2>
<p>G4S has attracted <a href="https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2016-01-%2011/debates/16011114000003/PrisonsAndSecureTrainingCentresSafety">censure</a> in parliament over a number of years. A number of MPs, including the <a href="https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2013-07-%2011/debates/13071159000006/ElectronicTagging">now mayor of London Sadiq Khan</a>, have specifically called for G4S not to be awarded further government contracts. </p>
<p>In 2012, Keith Vaz, the former chair of the Home Affairs Committee, suggested the government <a href="http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/home-affairs-committee/news/120921-olympics-rpt-published/">should</a> “establish a register of high-risk companies that have failed in the delivery of public services”. Such a register would allow MPs to consider whether G4S, and other private companies, are suitable for bidding for further government contracts – such as those running asylum housing – and prohibit those who are not from bidding or being awarded. </p>
<p>In September 2016, Liberty and 40 other organisations <a href="https://www.liberty-human-rights.org.uk/news/press-releases-and-statements/liberty-and-40-other-organisations-demand-inquiry-after-infamous">demanded an inquiry</a> after G4S was awarded the contract to deliver the Equality Advisory Support Service, which provides expert advice and assistance on issues relating to equality and human rights across England, Scotland and Wales. </p>
<h2>A way forward</h2>
<p>Many of us who have worked with people seeking asylum during the <a href="http://www.symaag.org.uk/2016/09/14/rats-in-the-yard-4-years-of-uk-asylum-housing-by-g4s/">challenges of COMPASS</a> believe the contract and provision of asylum housing would be better transferred to a consortia of local authorities. In its report, the Home Affairs Select Committee <a href="http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201617/cmselect/cmhaff/637/637.pdf">suggests</a> arrangements “could have been replaced with a better approach when the term of the contracts ended”. It argues that local authorities are crucial to COMPASS, recommending immediate action to transfer the necessary resources to enable local authorities to improve standards and monitoring – including giving them powers of inspection, higher standards and new penalties, and report publicly on their findings. </p>
<p>Looking to the future after 2019, Cooper <a href="http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/home-affairs-committee/news-parliament-2015/asylum-accommodation-report-published-16-17/">concluded</a>: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>When the current contracts run out, they should be replaced with a completely new system – handing power back to local areas to decide on asylum accommodation rather than this top down approach. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Asylum housing should be delivered by voluntary sector and statutory providers who know and understand the local area, and are committed to ensuring that people are treated with dignity and are accommodated in safe, secure and suitable housing.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/70949/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kate received funding from the Economic and Social Research Council in the form of a 1+3 scholarship (2010 -2014) for her PhD research into the stories of women seeking asylum. In 2014 - 2015, she received funding from the Nationwide Children’s Research Centre to carry out research into asylum support for children and young people. Kate is employed by and a member of WomenCentre Kirklees where she works within the Women in Exile service for women seeking asylum, refugees and new migrants. </span></em></p>The government has extended a contract with private security companies G4S and Serco.Kate Smith, Research fellow, Asylum and Migration Centre for Applied Childhood, University of HuddersfieldLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/219882014-01-14T16:36:00Z2014-01-14T16:36:00ZG4S and Serco deserve censure for treatment of asylum seekers<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/38978/original/fc7599z2-1389641081.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Called to account: G4S and Serco executives appear at the Public Accounts Select Committee last year.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source"> PA Wire</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>On Friday, the National Audit Office released a <a href="http://www.nao.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/10287-001-accommodation-for-asylum-seekers-Book.pdf">report</a> detailing its investigation into the COMPASS housing project, a series of contracts between the Home Office and three service providers – G4S, Serco and Clearel – that offer accommodation to destitute asylum seekers awaiting decision outcomes or removal from the United Kingdom.</p>
<p>The report is an ostensible victory for campaigners who have continuously drawn attention to the failings of the contract holders, primarily Serco and G4S. Indeed, the NAO acknowledges that its decision to investigate the administration of the contracts was due to correspondence received from concerned parties.</p>
<p>The report acknowledges that the transition into the COMPASS programme featured delays as G4S and Serco <a href="http://www.insidehousing.co.uk/care/g4s-misses-asylum-seeker-deadline/6524663.article">missed contractual deadlines</a>. It notes the meagre economic savings of the COMPASS contracts, the firms’ failure to inspect housing prior to acquisition, and their inability to keep to agreed “key performance indicators” (KPIs). Yet it offers no censure. It does not reflect on the implications of public service contracts designed for corporate profit. </p>
<p>Rather, the NAO supports the Home Office’s “commitment to … making the contracts work”. It recommends that the Home Office “work with providers to resolve outstanding issues” and “develop appropriate mechanisms to capture feedback from service users about their experiences”. It is on this point that the NAO fails in its aim of assessing “the experience of service users”.</p>
<p>No interviews were conducted with asylum seekers accommodated under the COMPASS programme as part of the NAO’s investigation. The Home Office has not conducted “surveys or focus groups with service users” for the purposes of contractual review, and the NAO relies heavily on “anecdotal evidence” and responses from G4S and Serco themselves to gauge how well private security firms are addressing residents’ concerns with subcontractors.</p>
<h2>Disrupted lives</h2>
<p>As part of an ongoing research project, I have spoken to asylum seekers and personnel in the refugee and asylum-seeker support community in the north-east of England and in Scotland about life under the COMPASS programme. The impact of missed KPI targets is considerably different when viewed through the lens of human experience. Poor housing conditions, unfulfilled repair requests, unannounced and infrequent inspections and insensitivity to religious and ethnic differences were key features of most interviews.</p>
<p>The report states that 90% of asylum seekers were able to stay in their existing accommodation during the transition period. However, for those interviewed, sudden moves with little warning were a distressing reality of the experience. While contractors were expected to give families notice of 14 days and individuals ten days prior to relocation, people I spoke with related how the actual time frames given were sometimes much shorter. </p>
<p>A family living with Cascade, a subcontractor to G4S, reported being given notice of a single day. The father said to me, “[I] told them they have to give us notification and give us some time, at least to be able to pack up.” A family with young children in a property managed by Orchard & Shipman, a subcontractor to Serco, was given just two hours to relocate. Speaking with me, the mother expressed her frustration and helplessness at having “no choice” in the matter, “I didn’t receive a letter … nobody called me.”</p>
<p>Parents worried their children’s mental and physical health was undermined by school moves and disruptions to community integration. A mother explained that her sons were constantly depressed, with the eldest “always crying”. When faced with another move, she opted to send one child to school on the bus, despite the cost, so he could continue with his studies and maintain established friendships.</p>
<p>While G4S claims to provide welcome packs “available in several languages” to its newly dispersed residents, asylum seekers’ experiences with these packs vary considerably. Some found them to be adequate, but some received packs with blanks where area-specific information should have been present; others did not receive packs and were therefore unaware of essential services, such as local GPs and post offices. Many respondents explained that they relied on local volunteer organisations to help orientate themselves in their new communities. For those without the knowledge, language skills or confidence to approach such agencies, feelings of precariousness were no doubt compounded.</p>
<p>Contrary to Serco’s claim in the report that it provides vacuum cleaners for its residents, respondents regularly complained that they were expected to use a dustpan and brush to clean carpets. A mother explained to me that she feared for her baby’s health as the child played on the floor. After pausing, she continued: “We know we are in the process of immigration, but we are human … we are not animals. It’s so hard.”</p>
<p>Subcontractors’ aims to move asylum seekers to more remote and affordable housing have affected their access to essential services – and their ability to attend requisite signings with the Home Office. Interviewees explained the Home Office will only fund bus journeys to its offices that are further than three miles “as the crow flies”. The effects of these moves are likely to intensify, as the NAO report reveals that service providers seek to “expand into new areas outside the agreed dispersal postcodes”.</p>
<p>During a Home Affairs Select Committee <a href="http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/home-affairs-committee/news/130621-asylum-ev/">meeting on asylum</a> in June last year, Labour MP David Winnick <a href="http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/home-affairs-committee/news/130621-asylum-ev/">questioned Stephen Small of G4S and Jeremy Stafford</a>, who was CEO Serco in Europe and the UK until last November, stating: “You’re not philanthropists. You’re in the business, are you not, to make profit one way or the other, yes?” Small and Stafford each replied: “yes”. It is a fact not lost on those in their care. As an interviewee explained to me, “G4S is only interested in the millions they are paid”. </p>
<p>Perhaps future reports will fully assess the suitability of privatising social housing in any form, given Jeremy Stafford’s claim that asylum housing represents a “platform” for an “accommodation business” that is “scalable” to “other geographies”.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/21988/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Steven Hirschler does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>On Friday, the National Audit Office released a report detailing its investigation into the COMPASS housing project, a series of contracts between the Home Office and three service providers – G4S, Serco…Steven Hirschler, PhD Candidate, Politics, University of YorkLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/203222013-11-14T18:05:59Z2013-11-14T18:05:59ZStumbling Serco beware: there are alternatives to outsourcing<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/35304/original/n7xvwtxy-1384435792.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">No more plain sailing.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Màrtainn</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Earlier this month, the Serious Fraud Office started a <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/law/2013/nov/04/serious-fraud-office-inquiry-g4s-serco-overcharging">formal criminal investigation</a> into Serco and G4S, who are accused of overcharging for electronic tagging contracts. Today, Serco issued a <a href="http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/45c37598-4cfd-11e3-bf32-00144feabdc0.html#axzz2kKaYkFBD">profit warning</a>: recent scandals appear to be hitting its bottom line.</p>
<p>Despite this, both companies are still being considered for an £800m contract for the privatisation of probation services and other government contracts. It seems that even accusations of fraud do not eliminate Serco as a potential government supplier. However, this is no reason to be complacent; people across the world are beginning to realise that outsourcing may not be all that its cracked up to be.</p>
<p>Serco is a large, multinational contracting firm. Although it has also won contracts with the private sector, Serco has benefited from the past 25 years of contracting out public services in the UK and across the world. It delivers public transit systems, prisons, IT systems, health services and more besides. Its contracts range from the Iraqi air traffic control system to prisons in Australia, the Dubai metro, or benefits systems in the US. In the UK, 12 out of 17 government departments work with Serco.</p>
<p>At the same time, the company has been involved in a growing list of scandals. The company is alleged to have covered-up the sexual abuse of <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2013/sep/14/detainees-yarls-wood-sexual-abuse">immigrants in Yarl’s Wood removal centre</a>. A boy <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/society/2012/may/25/questions-outsource-nhs-care">died from a burst appendix</a> after Serco “out of hours” services in Cornwall advised putting him to bed. And there have been numerous accusations of <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/uk-fraud-watchdog-investigate-serco-g4s-contracts-120756355--sector.html">fraudulent record keeping</a>. </p>
<h2>Corner cutting</h2>
<p>Serco bids for contracts which the public sector wants to deliver more cheaply and so it is not really any surprise to see that there are some problems with its services. Often, cutting corners requires a drop in quality, and Serco’s entire business model is based providing cost savings. </p>
<p>Of course, the company is not hindered by the need to actually know anything about the service being delivered. Last year for instance, with only a very poor track record of GP “out-of-hours” services, it started to deliver community health programmes in Suffolk. The move into healthcare has not been a success; Serco now faces a fine for <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-24899235">failing to meet targets</a>.</p>
<p>These services are often labour intensive, and cheaper contracts mean lower pay for workers. If Serco takes over a government service, new staff will often <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/business/2013/jul/29/serco-biggest-company-never-heard-of">find themselves on inferior contracts</a>, reducing labour costs.</p>
<p>At the same time, Serco has become adept at talking the language of public service reform. It set up the Serco Foundation and publishes the <a href="http://www.ethosjournal.com/">Ethos Journal</a>, which promotes ways of creating a “public service ethos”. This may be in stark contrast to the reality of its service delivery but, in government circles, this talk is the norm. The company exists very much as an insider in policy debates, sponsoring events and facilitating discussions about the future of public services.</p>
<p>It plays a similar role in other countries, too. Recently, after spending millions of dollars on lobbying the US government and making donations to the Obama presidential campaign, Serco won a contract for $1.25 billion processing applications for the new Obamacare reforms. The new system has had a disastrous start, and Serco’s role has <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/techonomy/2013/11/10/the-unhealthy-truth-about-obamacares-contractors/">drawn criticism</a>. </p>
<h2>Is there an alternative?</h2>
<p>As the growing catalogue of complaints and accusations show, not all contractors are satisfied with Serco’s services. Researchers in Greenwich’s public services unit have noted a growing number of public bodies in Europe and North America <a href="http://www.psiru.org/publications?page=1">taking services back “in-house”</a>. </p>
<p>Local authorities in France and Germany have started to return out-of-contract water and energy services to local control, a process known as “<a href="http://www.psiru.org/sites/default/files/2012-11-Remun.docx">re-municipalisation</a>”. This also gives the people who actually use these services more involvement in how they are operated.</p>
<p>In Germany, 44 new local public utilities have been set up since 2007 and more than 100 concessions for energy distribution networks and service delivery have returned to public hands. This process has been accompanied by extensive local support.</p>
<p>In 2010, Paris city council replaced private water companies with a municipal water service. The city saved about €35m (£29m) in the first year and was able to reduce water tariffs by 8%. Inspired by the example of Paris, a further 40 French municipalities have also decided to re-municipalise water services in the last couple of years, including major cities such as Bordeaux and Brest.</p>
<p>In the UK, cleaning services in hospitals were brought back in-house in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland because of infection risks from poor quality services delivered by private contractors. This is just one example from many: the Association of Public Service Excellence (APSE) found that <a href="https://www.unison.org.uk/upload/sharepoint/On%20line%20Catalogue/20122.pdf">80 out of 140 councils have brought back services</a> including refuse collection, recycling, street cleansing, housing management, catering, grounds maintenance, IT and accountancy.</p>
<p>In Norway, Sweden and Finland dissatisfaction with private social care providers has led to municipal authorities delivering their own services once again. </p>
<p>So while Serco and other outsourcing giants may appear to have fairly robust business models, straddling the public and private sectors and exploiting the increased interaction between the two, there is still reason for them to be cautious. </p>
<p>A growing public dissatisfaction with the performance of companies like Serco, coupled with the expiry of contracts, may make the public sector start to re-consider more and more “in-house” options. Without public sector contracts, shareholders might start to question the future of the company. </p>
<p>Serco would do well to avoid complacency. Just remember Enron and Lehmann Brothers: no company is too big to fail.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/20322/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jane Lethbridge does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Earlier this month, the Serious Fraud Office started a formal criminal investigation into Serco and G4S, who are accused of overcharging for electronic tagging contracts. Today, Serco issued a profit warning…Jane Lethbridge, Director, Public Services International Research Unit (PSIRU), University of GreenwichLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/183792013-09-19T14:10:22Z2013-09-19T14:10:22ZDrunk tanks another private police disaster in the making<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/31648/original/xfryvbdg-1379599121.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Tanking's too good for 'em.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">beob8er</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Since the Thatcher years, successive governments from both political parties have been committed to reforming and reducing the public sector. Alongside, there have been numerous reforms to introduce “private sector” management systems and a market into the provision of public services. </p>
<p>The latest of these ideas is the “<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/society/shortcuts/2013/sep/18/drunk-tanks-getting-legless-more-expensive">drunk tank</a>”, a privately owned facility where drunken troublemakers could be placed overnight to sober up before being billed for their troubles.</p>
<p>The philosophy here is associated with Milton Friedman and the Chicago school of economists. The kernel of the argument is that consumer pressure is the only way to ensure organisations function effectively. In the UK, the focus has been on health, education and, increasingly, social care. </p>
<p>But the role of the private sector in the criminal justice system is often overlooked. G4S’s <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/supportservices/10070425/Timeline-how-G4Ss-bungled-Olympics-security-contract-unfolded.html">failures</a> in the run-up to the London 2012 Olympics are the most high-profile example of the fact that if the private sector fails then the public purse picks up the bill.</p>
<p>Privately run prisons have also been the subject of <a href="http://www.prisonreformtrust.org.uk/PressPolicy/News/vw/1/ItemID/179">much debate</a>. There is a philosophical view that it is the role of the state to manage justice and it is not an area for profit. In terms of the management of prisons, there have been very mixed results. As Juliet Lyon, Director of the Prison Reform Trust <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/juliet-lyon/prison-privatisation-reform-wont-rehabilitate_b_2731190.html">suggested in February</a> in response to the publication of a centre-right think tank report: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Some private prisons have proved innovative and effective, but others have been criticised by the Chief Inspector for their high staff turnover, tendency to cut corners and weaknesses in security.</p>
<p>From Ministry of Justice data, it is almost impossible to compare the performance and reoffending rates of one establishment with another, partly because prisons hold different categories of offenders and also because prisoners often serve their sentences in a number of different jails. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Private security contractors have also been criticised. The death of Jimmy Mubenga who was restrained by G4S staff led to a <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2013/aug/04/jimmy-mubenga-coroner-report-deportations">damning indictment</a> of the company at the inquest last month. </p>
<h2>False economy</h2>
<p>The concerns with all these approaches is that the terms of the contract mean that the private provider must undercut the public one. This pattern of outsourcing and reducing employee wages and other benefits has been a feature of the public sector over the past 30 years across liberal democracies. </p>
<p>In these areas, the only way to do this is by reducing staff wages. Poor pay inevitably leads to the recruitment of staff with fewer qualifications and experience. The overall service is bound to suffer. In health, social care and penal environments the impact will be on individual lives.</p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/31641/original/gmbmy4t4-1379586139.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/31641/original/gmbmy4t4-1379586139.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/31641/original/gmbmy4t4-1379586139.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/31641/original/gmbmy4t4-1379586139.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/31641/original/gmbmy4t4-1379586139.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/31641/original/gmbmy4t4-1379586139.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/31641/original/gmbmy4t4-1379586139.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/31641/original/gmbmy4t4-1379586139.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">G4S: a series of blunders.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">David Davies/PA Wire</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>There are an increasing number of civilians working for the police, but also we have an increasing role for private security firms such as G4S. The introduction of the role of the Police Community Support Officer was justified by David Blunkett, home secretary at the time, as a way of freeing up the time of more highly trained (and expensive) staff to deal with more serious matters. These developments have taken place alongside others such as Tom Winsor’s <a href="https://www.gov.uk/police-pay-winsor-review">review</a> of police pay and conditions.</p>
<p>More recent fly-on-the-wall documentaries such as Cops have attempted to give a more realistic picture of the nature of modern policing. However our image of the Thin Blue Line is still dominated by TV and film images. The reality is that serious and violent crime is <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/violent-crime-falls-rapidly-as-uk-becomes-more-peaceful-place-8585707.html">comparatively rare</a>. The majority of police work is not focused on the sorts of cases and crimes that dominate the media. </p>
<p>Policing involves dealing with an enormous range of issues, the majority of work is far removed from this glamourised world. For example the <a href="http://www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk/pdfs/briefing36_police_and_mental_health.pdf">Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health</a> estimates that 15% of police work relates to mental health issues. This point was emphasised in a recent Panorama programme <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03b59yw">which highlighted</a> the fact that people experiencing acute mental distress were spending long periods in police custody.</p>
<h2>Last orders</h2>
<p>Alcohol abuse is clearly a factor in a number of social problems – particularly violent crime and assaults. New Labour’s hope that the reform of the licensing laws would lead to <a href="http://www.ias.org.uk/uploads/pdf/Factsheets/Availability%20and%20licensing%20FS%20HM%20May%202013.pdf">the creation</a> of a continental-style café culture at the heart of our major cities has proved – perhaps not too surprisingly – to be wildly optimistic. </p>
<p>The policing of public drunkenness crystallises a number of issues, not only concerning the role of the police, but also wider questions about health or social care provision. As part of a <a href="http://www.northants.police.uk/default.aspx?id=13040&datewant=yes">campaign to highlight</a> the problems of alcohol abuse, Adrian Lee, the chief constable of Northampton and the spokesman for the Association of Chief Constables (ACPO) has suggested that private companies should be commissioned to run “drunk tanks”. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/31643/original/39gpyc8s-1379586204.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/31643/original/39gpyc8s-1379586204.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/31643/original/39gpyc8s-1379586204.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/31643/original/39gpyc8s-1379586204.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/31643/original/39gpyc8s-1379586204.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/31643/original/39gpyc8s-1379586204.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/31643/original/39gpyc8s-1379586204.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/31643/original/39gpyc8s-1379586204.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Serco: profiting from prisons.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Ian Nicholson/PA Wire</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The idea is that if someone is arrested for being drunk then they would be placed in one of these “tanks” rather than spending the night in custody. In the morning, they would be presented with a bill for their stay and a fixed penalty notice by the police. He says:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I don’t see why the police service or the health service should pick up the duty of care for someone who has chosen to go out and get so drunk that they cannot look after themselves. So why don’t we take them to a drunk cell owned by a commercial company and get the commercial company to look after them during the night until they are sober? </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Lee rightly <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/sober-up-in-drunk-tanks-and-pay-up-to-400-to-leave-police-chiefs-call-for-privatelyrun-cells-to-curb-alcoholfuelled-disorder-8823467.html">points out</a> that the police do not have any specialist medical training to deal with these issues. Police custody suites are not equipped to provide appropriate medical care. However, the <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2010/jul/12/gatwick-deportation-centre-conditions">record of private providers</a> in areas such as immigration cannot inspire confidence. </p>
<p>There are a number of fundamental questions that need to be asked: where will these tanks be placed? What will they look like? How will they be staffed? If the NHS is struggling to recruit qualified staff to A+E departments, then it is hard to see that a Friday night shift on the drunk tank will be an enticing prospect. </p>
<p>The concern is that the pattern outlined above will be followed. If this proposal is introduced it is not difficult to antipcipate a rush from a host of companies willing to bid for the no doubt lucrative contracts. However, as Anthony King and Ivor Crewe reveal in their excellent <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/sep/04/blunders-government-king-crewe-review">The Blunders of Our Government</a>, governments have paid out huge sums of money on a series of private contractors with little, if any, improvement in service provision. </p>
<p>In this case, there is a danger that such a proposal will not just cost money; it might cost lives.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/18379/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ian Cummins does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Since the Thatcher years, successive governments from both political parties have been committed to reforming and reducing the public sector. Alongside, there have been numerous reforms to introduce “private…Ian Cummins, Senior Lecturer in Social Work, University of SalfordLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.