G4S back in the headlines

Going home in orderly fashion

Security is a tough old business. Getting it right is a hard thing especially for G4S the security firm regularly at the centre of controversy. They are back in the headlines, this time for having operatives using racist talk as they deport refused asylum seekers back to Africa. G4S, which is a shortened version of Group 4 Securicor, act as the muscle for the UK Border Agency. It appears that no government agency actually deals directly with the transport of prisoners, asylum seekers or the like. Whether it be the Prisons Service or the Border Agency, G4S does the physical work. And they have contracts worth £4.6bn with four government departments, including the Home Office and Ministry of Justice. As my father would tell me when little, this is "BIG MONEY"!

So shouldn't some of this taxpayers' largesse be spent on proper training so we don't get these constant tales of inadequacy on the part of G4S workers? Last year the company received more than 700 complaints regarding the way they treated detainees at reception centres. It seems that each time the country hears of G4S they are trying to play down their inefficiencies. But surely with so much money being passed over to them, they could start to invest in a better image?

Posted in: asylum seekers,G4 Security