Police, magistrates and prisons, courtesy of G4S

Police, magistrates and prisons, courtesy of G4S. Is this what we want?

You suffer a violent burglary. The scenes of crime officer who comes round is employed by G4S. Fibre samples are found, swabs taken and despatched to G4S Forensics. The suspect resists arrest, is held overnight in police cells run by G4S, then appears before magistrates trained by the company. At Crown Court he is found guilty and driven to a G4S prison in a G4S van. After serving his sentence he spends his a period of probation tagged by the company on a G4S work programme.

This is not some dystopian future, but the present. All this is happening in Britain today. All I have done is bring these G4S activities together in one story. And that story is already turning much, much darker. Last week the Guardian broke news that West Midlands and Surrey police have invited bids from G4S and others to take over delivery of a wide range of services previously carried out by the police, has rightly provoked widespread shock and concern.

According to The Guardian:

“The breathtaking list of policing activities up for grabs includes investigating crimes, detaining suspects, developing cases, responding to and investigating incidents, supporting victims and witnesses, managing high-risk individuals, patrolling neighbourhoods, managing intelligence, managing engagement with the public, as well as more traditional back-office functions, such as managing forensics, providing legal services, managing the vehicle fleet, finance and human resources.A West Midlands police authority spokesman said: ‘Combining with the business sector is aimed at totally transforming the way the force currently does business – improving the service provided to the public.’”
Revealed: government plans for police privatisation - The Guardia, 2 March 2012

The contract is the largest on police privatisation so far, with a potential value of £1.5bn over seven years, rising to a possible £3.5bn depending on how many other English forces get involved.

Our criminal justice system now provides a highly profitable supply chain to corporate interests. And one of government’s favourite companies, G4S, is moving ever closer towards cartel control of every step of the process. Here are some details from the big picture.

On 29th December 2011, Lincolnshire Police handed control of all police “services” to G4S for 10 years awarding them a £200m contract (immediately indicating a further 15 year extension is already on the cards).

This contract gives G4S control of their police cells and police control rooms (with only 2 police officers supervising) but also the crime management bureau, ticket office, collisions units, criminal justice units, firearms licencing, hiring and firing of police officers, and police computers as well as fleets of police cars, police procurement and police finances.
G4S Lands Major Police Outsourcing Contract - Police Oracle, 29 December 2011

In Scotland the SNP government have just introduced a bill to create a single Scottish police force to save money.
Single Scottish police force and single fire service could save country £1.7bn, says Kenny MacAskill - Daily Record, 17 January 2012

Is it the intention of the SNP government and Scottish police leaders to make the financial savings by privatising the entire Single Scottish police force?

John Shaw, the managing director of G4S has already held secret talks with leaders of two Scottish police forces.
Scottish police forces in talks to sell off cells - Daily Record, 15 Feb 2012

While in February 2011 the SNP Justice Secretary, Kenny MacAskill shared a platform with John Shaw at the Policing Scotland summit.
Scottish police in talks to sell off the cells - Scotsman, 14 February 2011

Since then G4S has been awarded a 7 year, contract to transport every prisoner in Scotland for the next seven years.
Reliance set to lose Scottish prisoner contract to G4S - BBC, 14 March 2011

As more and more police “services” are being fast-tracked for outsourcing the combination of contracts awarded piecemeal, with no Monopolies Commission oversight, is resulting in G4S grabbing contracts and policing power across the country.

Combine all these contracts with the Ministry of Justice awarding G4S a £300 million contract, starting on the 1st February 2012, to provide “services” to over 340 court, tribunal and administrating buildings across the Midlands, Wales and the North of England.
G4S Wins Major Ministry of Justice Contract - G$S, 28 September 2011

G4S already have a 25 year contract, awarded in 2004 transferring the court facilities and employees from the court service to G4S for the entire Manchester Magistrates Court building which houses 18 courtrooms, a coroners court and 48 custody cells is managed by G4S, where they provide security and I.T. and mailroom functions alongside many other “services”!
Manchester Magistrates Court - G4S

G4S are even involved in training magistrates for their “customer journey” for the Bedfordshire, Essex and Hertfordshire courts Board (with 1,600 judicial office holders, judges and magistrates) covering the lives of 3.5million people!
G4S Assessment Services - Her Majesty’s Courts Service Case Study (pdf document)

G4S are not only involved in policing, prisoner transport courts and magistrates training but have now extended their tentacles to take control of more and more forensics when they were awarded a contract for 5 police forces in England in South East of England for Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk, Cambridgeshire and Bedfordshire constabularies.
G4S Forensic and Medical Services wins prestigious police services contract - Info 4 Security, 11 August 2010

Combine this with the contracts they already have for the South West of England with Devon and Cornwall, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire Constabularies and their control of forensics in the South of England is growing fast.
G4S in... The South West

So G4S now have the power, through contracts, to police us, to examine forensic evidence, detain us and take us to courts they manage with some magistrates sitting in judgement who have received training from G4S.

But our G4S journey along the new criminal justice supply chain does not end there!

If you are found guilty of a crime and a tagging order is imposed, G4S once again take control with their dominance in control of Tagging and Control Orders (a “market” with new contracts currently up for grabs, worth over £1 billion as control orders have exploded from the initial 3,500 in the first year to 70,000 per year and growing).
Ministers plan big rise in use of electronic tags on offenders, The Guardian, 30 September 2011

Despite G4S already controlling four prisons in England, the government handed G4S even greater power with the awarding of two 15 year contracts for £750 million to run HMP Birmingham (the first publicly run prison to be transferred to the private sector as well as the new prison, Featherstone 2, which is currently under construction).
G4S awarded contracts to operate HMP Birmingham and Featherstone 2 - 31 March 2011

Just the other day the governor of three South Yorkshire prisons ordered all probation staff off the premises after discovering that the local probation trust had formed an alliance with G4S, to take over the running of his jails. The Guardian reported:“Bob Mullen, who is in charge of Lindholme, Moorlands and Hatfield prisons, told South Yorkshire probation trust last Friday that he was excluding all probation staff to protect the commercial confidentiality of the rival public sector bid to run the cluster of jails near Doncaster.”
Prison governor locks out probation staff in G4S joint bid to privatise jails - The Guardian, 1 March 2012

The link between G4S and the privatisation of prisons and probation does not end with the probation trusts, they go much higher.

The Ministry of Justice announced in July 2011 probation services would be put out to tender.

David Griffiths was the Deputy Director in the Justice Policy Group at the Ministry of Justice with specific responsibility for “commissioning and competition of offender services.”

On 8th December 2011 G4S announced they had appointed David Griffiths as their new Director of Probation and Community Services.

“David joins G4S with more than 25 years’ experience within the criminal justice system and in probation services, most recently as Deputy Director (justice policy) at the Ministry of Justice.”
G4S appoints new Director of Probation and Community Services - G4S, 8 December 2011

G4S have also been awarded three contracts for the government’s new welfare to work programme,Welfare to Work, with Nick Clegg ensuring “they” will be meeting prisoners at the gates of the prisons on their release.
We'll put the rioters to work, insists Clegg - London Evening Standard, 16 August 2011.

Still, at least the lawyers are independent of global companies like G4S – or are they?

The “reform” of British Legal Services (otherwise known as the Tesco Law) has opened up British Legal Services ownership to those not just out with our legal system but companies and global equity groups out with our country.
World's First Listed Law Firm Takes Over U.K. Personal Injury Firm - Law.com, 31 January 2012

In theory, meaning global investors in G4S can also buy over British Law firms, thus controlling the criminal justice supply chain and the legal services we are meant to use to defend us in this system.

Already at least one firm of Barristers quotes proudly on their website

“.. has been instructed in a variety of criminal cases, both for the prosecution and defence, regularly appearing in the Magistrates and Crown Court. As well as being regularly instructed by defence solicitors, …has undertaken cases for the probation service, G4S and the CPS in the Crown Court. … has appeared in several sentence hearings. xxx is regularly instructed to appear in Magistrates trials both for the CPS, G4S and Defendants and is looking to develop her Crown Court practice.”
Kayleigh Long, Dere Street Barriters

G4S cultivates close and mutually beneficial relations with government. As well as David Griffiths, they put John Reid, former home secretary and minister for health, defence and transport, on the payroll at £50,000 in 2008 when he was a backbench MP. Reid is now a G4S director.

“Is the Minister aware that the best protection against misuse or fraud on cyber issues is biometric protection?” asked Lord Reid during a January debate on electoral registration in the House of Lords, forgetting to mention that his employers G4S are big players in the biometrics market.
Reid speaking, House of Lords 12 January 2012

G4S Corp communications on biometrics:
Smart Cards and Biometrics

And what about the independence of our judiciary – would we know if they had shares in the G4S criminal justice supply chain?

Giving any one company so much power across our entire criminal justice system – to the extent it has been converted into a criminal justice supply chain which may be controlled by a cartel is criminal in itself.

But G4S contracts do not end there.

G4S are gaining still gaining contracts for asylum seeking housing and borders despite a Guardian report in January 2012 indicating “A Commons home affairs select committee inquiry into the treatment of people being deported also found evidence of a racist culture among private security escort staff and a "too cosy relationship" between UKBA and its private contractors.The MPs' inquiry followed the death of Jimmy Mubenga while he was being deported from Heathrow to Angola in 2010. Three G4S security guards escorting him were arrested and are still under police investigation.

Keith Vaz, the chairman of the Commons home affairs committee, said serious questions remained over the use of contractors in removals and deportations since Reliance took over from G4S following the death of Mubenga.!”
Dangerous deportation techniques may still be in use, MPs warn, Guardian, 26 January 2012

The G4S 2012 Olympics contracts got a massive boost when David Cameron doubled the security budget from £271 million to £553 million by adjusting the number of security guards required) as well as doubling the security budget of the opening and closing ceremonies from £40 million to over £80 million.
London 2012 Olympic ceremonies budget doubled - BBC, 5 December 2011

And the government’s love affair with G4S even extends beyond policing and security to the classification of the disabled as a result of coalition reforms our welfare system.

G4S, in conjunction with the Department Of Work and Pensions, advertised on the British Deaf Association website for volunteers to come forward for their “Personal Independence Payment Testing” stating “It will involve a single, one hour, face-to-face appointment with a healthcare professional from G4S Medical Services, working on behalf of DWP”.
Personal Independence Payment Testing – Volunteers Needed

One Guardian blogger wrote of the G4S/DWP trial assessment scheme

“Will I still get Personal Independence Payments if G4S can't talk to me?"

Liz Ball is a deafblind wheelchair user but when G4S invited her to take part in a trial interview they failed to arrange an interpreter
Will I still get Personal Independence Payments if G4S can't talk to me? - Guardian, 25 November 2011

But let’s not forget the G4S jewel in the crown – GCHQ - believe it or not they even have contracts there.

“Ex-Prime Minister, Tony Blair states: "Secret intelligence gives theGovernment a vital edge in tackling some of the most difficultproblems we face....intelligence forewarns us of threats to ournational security; helps the Government promote internationalstability; provides support and protection to our forces; contributesto our economic health and strengthens our efforts againstterrorism and serious crime."With this in mind, it is essential for a government organisationsuch as GCHQ to be kept highly secure at all times. Anintegrated security solution from G4S Technology offers thereliability, security and professionalism necessitated by aproject such as this, and other integrated security projectsthroughout the UK.”
GCHQ - Securing the UK Government Communication Headquarters

Combine G4S presence in the criminal justice system and GCHQ with the smart metres the government wants to fit in to every single home in Britain. G4S is getting contracts fit them, with contracts from Centrica and O2 mobile and others to gather data in their “G4S Data Bank”).
G4S wins major smart meter data management contract

And don’t discount Theresa May’s decision to split border control in two. Is this to pave the way for contracts to be awarded to “G4S Homeland Security” where their website states

“At G4S we understand the bigger picture” ?
Homeland security, G4S

When criminal justice services were in public control they were all kept completely independent to ensure vital freedoms and justice for the people of Britain.

It is amazing how quickly separate reforms have combined to transfer too much power into the hands of one private company.

And with government ministers leaving parliament to go straight on to the boards of the companies after they have “reformed” our laws and our criminal justice system, this surely demonstrates why all public services (and especially our criminal justice system) should be reverted back to complete public control.

We cannot put a price on justice and freedom (even if politicians can put a price on contracts and future board membership ensuring crime does pay for themselves and G4S).

G4S state on their website “At G4S we understand the bigger picture”

There is surely a case for all police privatisation and criminal justice reforms to be put on hold and a Cartel Commission (a Monopolies Commission for all public sector contracts) to be established to ensure politicians can see the big picture as clearly as G4S.

What no coalition minister has made clear, as they use their power to fast track the mass privatisation of Britain’s public sector, is what happens when a foreign company or faceless foreign hedge fund or faceless foreign private equity group takes over G4S. Does this mean faceless, foreign, corporate entities will immediately take control of British Policing, British Courts, security of GCHQ, British Criminal Justice Files, British Prisons, British probation services, Government Smart Metre Data Centres and all the other G4S controlled services in Britain.

It would appear the answer is YES - as was demonstrated by Capita, when they bought over ALS.In July 2011 a privatised contract to supply linguistic services to all English and Welsh courts was awarded to ALS (giving ALS monopoly control)

In December 2011 Capita bought over ALS, after the contract was awarded but before ALS had even began delivering the service, as the contract did not come in to force until February 2012.

Already the service is in chaos because of Capita’s shoddy services and courts have been told they can hire their own interpreters as a result
Courts given green light to hire own interpreters as ALS struggles to cope, Guardian, 16 Feb 2012

If policing is privatised and G4S get the contracts, any old American private security company can buy the right to police our streets and control our prisons and all the other “services” G4S control with the contracts above.

Should control of our policing and our criminal justice system and every single “service” privatised by these coalition MPs be treated the same way as Boots the Chemist, traded on the stock market for the highest bidderYour policing will be bought over – be warned

Also See

Police, magistrates and prisons by G4S. Is this what the British people want? by Mel Kelly, Open Democracy 6 March 2012