The actual jobs that they will do are not fixed yet - there's a tender out, covering all kinds of stuff, and there could be more jobs added.
Very, very bad idea in my opinion. I prefer the police service to be staffed by long serving professionals, where the buck stops with these people, rather than fly by night operators, who'll have contract staff etc, and there's not the same likelihood of trust and service. Our police are generally remarkable, they are dedicated, take enormous risks and yet are the pawns of politicians, as can be seen by their tactics at student demos etc: which were repulsive, kettling in innocent people, as well as enormous aggression and hiding their identities.
There is an enormous job to do, to re-build public trust and confidence in them - it's a backwards step, that will further disintegrate our relationship with them.
Criminal data should remain confidential, as it potentially gives the holder of it enormous power, whether potentially used coercively, or in other corrupt ways.
If there is much wrong with our service, outside of financial budgets, then these things should be improved upon. Sorry, but investigating investigating crimes, detaining suspects, developing cases, responding to and investigating incidents, supporting victims and witnesses, managing high-risk individuals, patrolling neighbourhoods, managing intelligence as well as managing engagement with the public and more traditional back-office functions should largely be staffed by paid employees. |
