@ Agricolus
They are not considering privatizing the Police Officers or the work they do (investigating serious and organised crime, firearms operations, anti-terrorism, etc.). They are considering privatizing the Civilian Staff and the work they do (custody, victim support, prison liaison, street patrols, etc.).
Since they've just made a large number of Civilian Staff redundant I imagine that there is now a large pool of experienced individuals which private companies could recruit, should they receive contracts to provide the relevant services. Of course the private companies don't have to offer them the equivalent of their old salaries, pensions, etc. And while some may have taken early retirement and have their pension most were made redundant and only have a redundancy package.
As to how it affects me. I've survived one round of redundancies. But if using private companies becomes widespread they may lay off my entire department. Then I have a choice of new job with a private company, doing my old job on a reduced salary, and losing accrued benefits such as maternity leave, or finding work elsewhere... in a very depressed job market, when my area of expertise isn't exactly relevant outside of law enforcement.
They are not considering privatizing the Police Officers or the work they do (investigating serious and organised crime, firearms operations, anti-terrorism, etc.). They are considering privatizing the Civilian Staff and the work they do (custody, victim support, prison liaison, street patrols, etc.).
Since they've just made a large number of Civilian Staff redundant I imagine that there is now a large pool of experienced individuals which private companies could recruit, should they receive contracts to provide the relevant services. Of course the private companies don't have to offer them the equivalent of their old salaries, pensions, etc. And while some may have taken early retirement and have their pension most were made redundant and only have a redundancy package.
As to how it affects me. I've survived one round of redundancies. But if using private companies becomes widespread they may lay off my entire department. Then I have a choice of new job with a private company, doing my old job on a reduced salary, and losing accrued benefits such as maternity leave, or finding work elsewhere... in a very depressed job market, when my area of expertise isn't exactly relevant outside of law enforcement.