On the high cost of contracting security

In 2008 an Aboriginal elder was 'cooked to death' while being transported to prison by a security contractor (the picture is of the van in which he died). I'm sure there was an in-depth investigation carried out by the Australian equivalent of the MoJ as to why a citizen was subjected to one of the most horrific deaths imaginable by one of their contractors. It was a high profile case and one assumes lessons were learnt.

However, now we have learnt of the death of Jimmy Mubenga, while being transported from the UK by the same company, under what appears to be a contract with the UK Borders Agency.  The inquest is till underway but there will be lessons worth considering for all those involved in contracting private security.

From a distance public procurers have been able to talk about the horrors of the Dhaka disaster and the perils of low price sourcing. Jimmy Mubenga's death causes us to look more closely at our own sourcing responsibilities.