Securing Your World*

*As long as there's a profit in it

So it would appear that G4S, the company that was awarded nearly £300 million for securing our Olympic games has failed to deliver the goods, announcing this to the world via whistle blowers with less than a fortnight to go before the opening ceremony.

This has literally meant calling in the troops to fill the 3500 very large gaps left by the inadequate recruitment by G4S.

Let's face it. They've only had since March 2011 to sort this out when they were awarded the contract. During this time, the police and military could have recruited, trained and deployed thousands of personnel.

This has left the police and military seething at this potential meltdown and many military personnel have had their well earned leave cancelled to repair the cock up left by this profit making company.

Whistle blowers have stated, they have had recruits falling asleep, listening to ipods, playing with their phones during essential training and then during practice sessions have missed guns, knives and bombs in the x-ray machine and on stooges.

There is an old saying:

"If you pay peanuts, you get monkeys"

It's been reported that G4S were going to pay these security officers a considerable low wage. Well, that's what happens. If you pay near to minimum wage, you will get what you pay for.

Security on a budget. Why? So G4S can turn over a big profit and please their shareholders.

It's bitten them heavilly on the back side because now they face a massive fine due to cause in their contract with LOCOG, their shares are tumbling (down 9% by the time this went to press) and the possible loss of the CEO Nick Buckles and if he goes there will possibly be a big payout.

Even he stated that he doesn't know if the employees for the games can speak any English.

I don't know what frightens me more, the fact he doesn't know, or the fact they can't speak English.

However, he's apologised so I guess that makes it alright. That's his amount of accountability for-filled.

A few months ago, many very experienced security officers were made redundant by G4S. You have to ask "why?" when they need to recruit for probably one of the biggest events in their company history.

Simple really. They were on a bigger wage and uneconomical for G4S' grand plan of "Profit profit profit"

Many of these security personnel called to get a job during the games and were told "No"

Those that were interested in delivering a professional package were many who had been unemployed for some time. Hoping to better themselves, many found that they were never contacted again, couldn't log onto systems, missing uniform or even sent to the wrong locations or denied a job for no reason at all with "vetting" being the reason.

With less that a fortnight to go, many have still not been vetted or received any uniform or instructions.

Yet, Lord Coe, insists, "security has not been compromised"

What worries me though, is, because of the slack vetting, how many of these guards are illegal immigrants?

How many are terrorist infiltrators?

Only time will tell.

Thankfully the shortfall falls on experienced personnel now as soldiers are manning security check points instead.

It's the total professionalism of the military who are facing massive reduncancies to just knuckle down and get on with it.

They are angry about it and rightfully so as this should be their time with their families or in many cases finding another job.

It's not the first time that G4S have been in the spot light for all the wrong reasons:

G4S subsidiary Wackenhut, in September of 2005, faced allegations of security lapses at seven military bases where it was contracted to provide services. The company claimed the accusations were false and promoted by a union seeking to enroll its employees.

In March of 2006, whistle-blowers employed at Wackenhut released information to the press revealing that the company cheated on an anti-terrorism drill at a US nuclear site. It also performed poorly on another drill at a separate location. The allegations claimed that Wackenhut systematically violated weapons inventory and handling policies and that managers showed new hires spots at the facilities where they could take naps and cut corners during patrols.

In the autumn of 2009, G4S personnel in Australia went on strike, arguing that the company had subjected them to low pay and poor working conditions. The strike imperiled the operations of the court system in the state of Victoria. The guards provided entry-point screening for weapons and bombs in both the County Court and Magistrates Court, as well as additional security in the court rooms themselves.

In October 2011, inmates in Birmingham Prison, which is managed by G4S, were locked in their cells for almost a day after a set of keys fitting every cell door went missing. In another incident in August 2011, G4S staff attached an electronic monitoring tag to the false leg of a one-legged criminal, meaning he was able to go out and leave it at home. G4S sacked the two members of staff responsible.

G4S having already secured many civilian roles in the police, are the company tipped to take on may more.

However, I'm a believer in the "thin end of the wedge" theory and that this is just the beginning.

How long will it be before PCSO's or detectives get replaced by this profit making company who are completely unaccountable to the public, where the police are?

How many more disasters caused by cheap labour employed people will it take before this goverment realise that you cannot police on the cheap?

Whilst I appreciate that the police are not infallible. I would be a fool to say we were. At least we are accountable for everything we do.

We don't run a profit making business and it never should be.

Those in the higher echelons of Parliament need to realise this and accept that maybe this is a taste of things to come if they think contracting out is the way forward.

With rumours of the Home Secretary knowing of this recruitment disaster 10 months ago. Maybe in the next cabinet reshuffle, someone else maybe facing redunancy to the back benches.




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