Guantanamo firm's UK police bid for £1.5bn police privatisation scheme


  • Critics say deal could see private firms playing a role in work traditionally done by officers



By Jack Doyle
PUBLISHED: 18:34 EST, 3 May 2012 | UPDATED: 18:34 EST, 3 May 2012
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A U.S. company which helped to build the Guantanamo Bay detention centre is bidding for a role in a £1.5billion police privatisation scheme.

The West Midlands and Surrey forces are considering bids to run ‘back office’ functions more efficiently in the private sector.

Yesterday it emerged KBR, a former subsidiary of the Halliburton group, is bidding for the work. However, sources said the company was considered an outsider.


KBR, which helped build parts of Guantanamo Bay such as Camp 6 at U.S. Naval Base (above) is bidding for a role in the UK police scheme


Critics say the deal would see private firms playing a role in work traditionally carried out by police officers, such as crime investigation and responding to the public.

Police representatives said the public wanted police officers and not employees of a ‘major international conglomerate’.

Halliburton, an oil company based in Houston, Texas, was run by Dick Cheney before he became US vice president in 2000.

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After the invasion of Iraq in 2003, KBR won a series of contracts from the Pentagon for logistical support and base-building.

The two companies are now separate and a KBR spokesman said it had introduced a ‘completely new management team’.

Andrew Pringle, UK president of KBR, insisted the firm had ‘no interest in “privatising” the roles of frontline police officers’.

But Julie Nesbit, of the Police Federation, said: ‘This is the latest move that seems to be designed to make the police more and more remote from the public we serve.
Shadow policing minister David Hanson said 'The public don’t want to see core policing provided for profit by big companies.'


‘We believe simply that if you call a cop, you should get a cop, not a security guard, not a uniformed civilian nor an employee of a major international conglomerate.
‘We believe it’s what the public expect and believe that there should be a public debate before parts of the police service are sold off to the highest bidder.’

Forces are looking to the private sector to help them save money. Home Office funding for the police will fall 20 per cent by 2015. But ministers insist forces can maintain the frontline by making efficiency savings.

Lincolnshire Police Authority has signed a contract with private security firm G4S to build and help run a police station.

Cleveland Police Authority has a ten-year contract worth £175million with French firm Steria for computing, call handling, finance and other services.

KBR, which describes itself as an engineering and construction company, has already won Ministry of Defence contracts.

A spokesman said: ‘Like many other companies facing the public sector, KBR is interested in the West Midlands and Surrey Police business transformation and service delivery partnership opportunity.’

Shadow policing minister David Hanson said: ‘The public don’t want to see core policing provided for profit by big companies. The Government is pushing the police too far into contracting out and they should rule out private contracts for these roles.’

Guantanamo firm's UK police bid for £1.5bn police privatisation scheme | Mail Online