Met Police out to show (fighting) crime pays
London's force, the largest in the country, issues tender designed to 'commercialise brand'
Crime, proverbially, does not pay. The Metropolitan Police is aiming to prove that fighting it can – and in the process secure its finances in an age of austerity.
According to The Times, London's police force, the largest in the country with 31,000 officers, has issued a "public sector procurement notice" detailing its plans to set up a commercial arm.
Known as Met Enterprise, the new division would partner with a private sector firm to provide "training to other constabularies and foreign police forces".
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The Met says the plans are an attempt to "commercialise our brand" to ensure "future financial stability". It adds in the notice that the value of the venture is between £1bn and £1.5bn.
The Times says senior Met officers are "working on an outline business case to commercialise its police training faculty, which is to be presented to Sadiq Khan and the mayor of London's office for policing and crime".
The notice states that the proposed "strategic partnership" would be "centred around the provision of a transformed training facility… as well as potentially providing value-added training services to other forces and entities".
Interested parties are invited to provide feedback on the "development of third-party revenue streams and commercial opportunities", as well as "the most advantageous route to market, remuneration and the methodology of how benefits could be delivered".
A spokesman added: "Met training has a global reputation with police forces from all over the world attending our training courses."
If the force is to make a success of the new venture, it will want to avoid headlines such as the one in the Sunday People this week that highlights an increase in injuries sustained by officers during training exercises.
The paper says 354 officers suffered injuries in the 12 months to the end of May, a 150 per cent increase on the previous year. Of these 15 were classed as "major".
A police source said: "The whole point of [training] is to ensure that officers are up to speed on the latest techniques in defending themselves and arrest procedures.
"Inevitably, sometimes things don't go as planned and officers get a whack, but that's what happens out on the streets, so at least the training is preparing officers for the real world."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Today's political cartoons - November 2, 2024
Cartoons Saturday's cartoons - anti-fascism, early voter turnout, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Geoff Capes obituary: shot-putter who became the World’s Strongest Man
In the Spotlight The 'mighty figure' was a two-time Commonwealth Champion and world-record holder
By The Week UK Published
-
Israel attacks Iran: a 'limited' retaliation
Talking Point Iran's humiliated leaders must decide how to respond to Netanyahu's measured strike
By The Week UK Published
-
Labour shortages: the ‘most urgent problem’ facing the UK economy right now
Speed Read Britain is currently in the grip of an ‘employment crisis’
By The Week Staff Published
-
Civil unrest fears: five historic uprisings triggered by cost of living
In Depth Police reportedly preparing for imminent clashes and disorder across the UK
By The Week Staff Published
-
Will the energy war hurt Europe more than Russia?
Speed Read European Commission proposes a total ban on Russian oil
By The Week Staff Published
-
Will Elon Musk manage to take over Twitter?
Speed Read The world’s richest man has launched a hostile takeover bid worth $43bn
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
Shoppers urged not to buy into dodgy Black Friday deals
Speed Read Consumer watchdog says better prices can be had on most of the so-called bargain offers
By The Week Staff Published
-
Ryanair: readying for departure from London
Speed Read Plans to delist Ryanair from the London Stock Exchange could spell ‘another blow’ to the ‘dwindling’ London market
By The Week Staff Published
-
Out of fashion: Asos ‘curse’ has struck again
Speed Read Share price tumbles following the departure of CEO Nick Beighton
By The Week Staff Published
-
Universal Music’s blockbuster listing: don’t stop me now…
Speed Read Investors are betting heavily that the ‘boom in music streaming’, which has transformed Universal’s fortunes, ‘still has a long way to go’
By The Week Staff Published