G4S, the private security firm, has announced that the outsourcing of back-office services could save £1bn a year for financially strained police forces across England and Wales.

The amount disclosed is based on G4S’s own experience with back-office outsourcing, which has saved the company itself approximately £6m a year. According to John Shaw, managing director of G4S public services, the feat can be easily replicated by police forces within the UK.

In response to the announcement, Steve White from the Police Federation of England and Wales declared that changes made to the working structure of any UK police force should “not compromise public safety” and be reinvested back into the forces.

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