NCJ Number
220117
Journal
Criminology & Criminal Justice Volume: 7 Issue: 3 Dated: August 2007 Pages: 287-305
Date Published
August 2007
Length
19 pages
Annotation
This article examines some of the roadblocks to the expansion of the Private Finance Initiative (PFI) in the police service in England and Wales.
Abstract
The article finds that there are three barriers to the development of PFIs in England and Wales in the police services: (1) the small size of the police authorities in regards to the threshold level of feasible PFI bids, (2) the complexity that PFIs add to the bidding process, and (3) the fact that the police have limited understanding/knowledge of the PFI. The emergence of the PFI has been one of the Labor Government’s most controversial policies. Within the police services, the limited number of PFI projects has surrounded new buildings with facilities management provisions. Over the past 30 years, almost all industrialized countries have seen their public services pressured to embrace market principles and new public management. The article is based upon a larger 2-year research project on the PFI in the police service funded by Venson plc. The study included 33 semi-structured interviews conducted with stakeholders in the police service and in the other organizations with an interest in the PFI. The study also looked at primary and secondary documentary and other sources including contracts, trade union documents, Treasury, Public Accounts Committee and NAO reports, newspaper articles, and academic papers. All of the documentary items along with the 33 transcribed interviews were coded and analyzed. Limitations of the study are discussed. Tables, figure, notes, and references