Police in London have private contracts in their sights following a series of initiatives in the city’s financial district, the Square Mile. Both the City of London force and the much-larger Metropolitan Police are putting themselves forward for enhanced, private policing arrangements – and competition is expected to increase as they go up against private firms for 2012 Olympics tenders.
A huge new shopping centre in the City of London is to open in November, with private security provided by City of London officers. Tenants of the office and retail complex opposite St Paul’s Cathedral, One New Change, will be asked to pay for their own dedicated policing. Businesses will pay for extra protection against fraud, terrorism and even demonstrators.
The initiative, first reported in the Financial Times is described as one of the first instances of the public sector challenging private sector providers – such as Serco and G4S – head-on for new business. A dedicated unit of five police officers will be assigned to the development in addition to the usual policing complement. A similar trial has been carried out in the past year at the office and retail complexes in Broadgate near Liverpool Street station.
City of London Police Commissioner Mike Bowron told the FT that the scheme gives “a corporate twist” to existing ideas about community policing in which residents help set law enforcement priorities for their areas. The district’s uncharacteristic mix means the police must generally focus more on fraud and terrorism than street crime.
“What this project does for the first time is align those policing specialisms with the needs of the business community – that’s why it’s important for both sides”, said Mr Bowron. He added: “I think people have got to realise that policing, even at its most basic level, is an expensive business. The best thing is to say the things that we can do, and won’t fail on, and deliver those – and, where certain communities want more, you will actually see partnerships where business, local authorities and police come together.”
