Staffordshire officers freed up for frontline policing

G4S has run the service since 2005 - under a deal which saw officers responsible for transportation.

But the new contract, worth up to £8.5 million has now gone to the Resource Group. Bosses say this will free up police officers to spend more hours on the frontline by getting detention staff to accompany inmates at busy periods such as Friday and Saturday evenings.

It comes as the force attempts to get officers spending an extra 5,000 hours a week on the frontline by bringing in technology including tablets that will replace notebooks.

The firm will work at three sites in the county, including Watling Street in South Staffordshire.

Police and crime commissioner Matthew Ellis said: "As well as supporting day-to-day custody operations similar to those already in place, the new contract will release police officers from more tasks that used to take them away from policing communities for thousands of hours every year.

"Moving offenders to and from prison and collecting people who have been arrested by local police officers at busy times, such as Friday and Saturday evenings, can be done under the new arrangements by detention staff.

"It means police officers can stay on patrol and in local communities for longer.

"Visible policing, more often in more areas is a priority and the new contract, as well as the wider investment in new mobile technology, will increase front-line policing time by thousands of hours every week across Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent. The new contract also means a safer custody environment with greater monitoring of potentially vulnerable prisoners."

The contract will initially be awarded for three years, at a cost of £5 million, with the option of it being extended to five years for £8.5 million.

Superintendent Simon Tweats, from Staffordshire Police, said: "The new contract will provide extra support for officers, enabling them to focus even harder on investigating crime and spending more time reassuring victims.

"It will mean a much stronger emphasis on swiftly bringing offenders to justice, reducing the amount of time suspects spend on bail. It will also build on and strengthen the safe detention of suspects, taking every opportunity to make necessary checks on their welfare and to work even harder with partner agencies in addressing any unmet health needs."

Resource Group, launched 37 years ago, employs 14,500 staff and is the leading provider of strategic outsourced services in the UK.

It is anticipated that most of current custody detention officers will transfer their employment to the new provider.