The “Efficiency and Productivity Strategy for the Police Service 2008-11” makes clear that savings can be made by the police service through increased collaborative procurement, including the use of national and regional contracts for, or open to the police service. The recent Green Paper “From The Neighbourhood to the National: Policing our Communities Together” makes clear that increasingly the Government expect police authorities and chief constables to consider whether procurement decisions should be made locally (collaborating with local partners), regionally or nationally, depending on the nature of the market.
We welcome the work that police forces are doing to implement the procurement strategy for the years to 2011 agreed earlier this year by the Association of Chief Police Officers. That strategy recognises that delivering more efficient procurement depends upon forces, along with local and national partners, aligning plans and reducing duplication.