Private Security: Private Vs. Public Policing

In the field of policing there are a couple different paths for an individual to choose from and they include private security and public policing. State government, city government, and towns normally provide the community with a public police force to enforce the laws and protect the citizens. Police officers are very important within a community but sometimes a private security can come in and help out and this frees up time for the public policing. Private security personnel generally work for a private company that handles their own dispatching, training and recruiting. Private security functions include loss-prevention duties or protective services that would not be

Private police forces are law enforcement bodies that are owned and controlled by non-governmental entities. Private policing developed in Great Britain in the 1500 when private watchmen and thief-takes would function as a police force. They were funded by private individual and by privately funded rewards for catching criminals. The criminals would then be compelled to return stolen property or pay restitution. Early forms of private of policing would give way to Johnathan Wild, who is considered to be one of the first known private police agents from the 1800’s. He contributed to maintaining social order. Wild was a police agent during a time in England when property crime was becoming rampant. He would retrieve stolen goods and helped police

Evaluating the pros and cons of government operated security versus returning to privately owned security

"Private security and public law enforcement share many of the same goals: preventing crime and disorder, identifying criminals, and ensuring the security of people and property," ("Private Security and Public Law Enforcement," n.d.). There are many more private security officers than public police officers, making tandem projects and collaboration essential ("Private Security and Public Law Enforcement," n.d.). There may be some overlap between public law enforcement and private security, but generally the latter can be more highly specialized and are therefore useful in situations such as campus security.

Public policing and private security have several distinct differences in their essential policies. The essential policies for public policing are hierarchically organized; there are many official and formal levels of public agencies positions. Civil service examinations are the means of choosing only the most qualified personnel based on merit, the government gives the policies to public policing to execute. Again, the treatments of citizens using government services are to be fair and just and Public affairs focus is given to the management of public agencies and organizations. In addition, public service-oriented profit is not a motive they serve the public and publicly funded tax revenues fund these public administrations.

With municipal and state budgets being slashed across the nation, in response to the prolonged economic recession which devastated America's bottom line, many professional police forces have been compelled to reallocate resources or reduce their numbers. To fill the void in law enforcement left by these cuts to police budgets, many private companies have become increasingly reliant on the services provided by the private security industry. Although private security officers safeguard our apartment buildings after sundown, patrol mall parking lots to prevent theft, and enhance public safety at sporting events, most members of society fail to ascribe the same sense of heroic duty to private security officers as they do the police. Indeed, criminal justice researchers have consistently demonstrated that "without the services of private industry, a gaping, colossal, protection vacuum would exist in the distribution of justice, [and] the protection of assets and facilities" (Nemeth, 2011), but nonetheless private security officers are not afforded the same respect or legal protections as traditional law enforcement officials. One of the most alarming trends to develop in the last decade, as private security contracting grew from a niche occupation to a full-fledged industry, is the rising rate of incidence involving private security officers discharging their service weapons in the line of duty, and being charged with manslaughter or even first degree murder simply for doing

Private security includes corporate, public and private security firms, armored car services, and more. The most important job in this field would be a security guard. A security guard is a job that is important because it offers another layer of protection other than governmental police officers. As crime increases, so does the demand for private security, which is one of the fastest growing fields in criminal justice (Guard Academy Ontario, 2014).

Public policing is responsible for the actions of assisting the public and society to ensure the safety of individuals. Most public organizations assist private organizations because of the lack of equipment and sometimes staff availability required for some areas of security. Most private security organizations acquire most public officials with training because of the higher paid officials who leave the public agencies to grow and expand. Most public organizations protect the public just like private organizations but still have jurisdictions and private property not in contract to assist in certain situations. Most private organizations will contact public organizations for assistance if an emergency arises and assistance is necessary to control and isolate the situation.

As a business owner, protecting your property and customers is paramount. Unfortunately, maintaining a constant vigil is often out of the question. Hiring an overnight security patrol service can help minimize crime and violence while ensuring the safety of your premises throughout the evening hours. Below, the Kingman, AZ commercial security experts at Desert Mountain Security list five key reasons to hire an overnight security patrol service.

Private police in the United States are law enforcement bodies that are owned and/or controlled by non-governmental entities such as security agencies. There is many agencies that exist in my area. Some consist of security guards, highway police, state police, theft prevention offers, private security officers, and company police. I think if someone uses a private police for criminal investigation, then all parties that is involved should know that they are being investigated. If the other party is unaware of what’s going on, then I don’t think someone should be able to investigate that person because it takes away their privacy. On the hand, if the crime is a murder, then I feel like a private police should be allowed to conduct a search,

Security in America has evolved from the time of the first settlers to today’s well-trained forces. Factors leading to the significant growth of private security from pre-Civil War to post World War II consisted of a lack of public police and large monetary loss by private industry. Today, security is global and faces challenges and changes, with increases in terrorism and technology crimes. It must maintain a high level of professionalism and maintain technological innovation remain a respected industry.

Public officers now work part time with private security officials in some nations to protect valuable assets. This has made the qualifications of private security officers to be competitive for them to have the qualifications that will enable them to carry out investigations that will require a lot of knowledge. The basic drug test and criminal is not enough when you are looking for someone who will be able to do research and try to come up with findings on why certain crimes took place and finding the perpetrators. Knowledge on criminal investigations will be of importance and the reason why companies hiring private investigators to help the local people who would like to use their services in trying to solve the mysteries in their lives look for people with excellent education qualifications (Li, 2008).

The security guard services industry consisted of two segments: proprietary guards and contract guards. The historical growth was driven by companies realizing, that contracting guards allowed them gain operating flexibility instead of managing their own security personnel. In 1987 security guard services was a $10 billion industry growing at 6% a year. Due to the industry being very mature, fragmented, and price competitive there was an ongoing consolidation trend.

The American Society for Industrial Security (ASIS) is today’s main association of private security. The year of 1955 is considered the beginning of the modern age of security. Private security was needed everywhere, in hospitals, hotels, retail etc… as stated in (chapter 2, P.38) that ‘’ Retail establishments, hotels, restaurants, theaters, warehouses, trucking companies, industrial companies, hospitals, and other institutional and service functions were all growing and facing a serious need to protect their property and personnel’’. After the events of 9/11, private security agencies were required to play more roles in crime prevention. Private security agencies were required to review and standardize their method of training and to review the pay of employees. Lot of recommendations have been made to improve the education and training, above all the extension of training time.

The tension between national security and individual privacy has long existed even before the development of digitized information. Recently, two main forces have advanced the debate over this balance to the forefront of the public eye: 1) the proliferation of data by private sector companies and 2) the heightened need for homeland security and public defense. With the rapid evolution of technology, companies have aggregated pools of consumer data to improve upon internal decision making. In some cases, however, this data can be leveraged to ensure national security and public safety. This juxtaposition of enterprise and security results in a blurring of the line dividing public and private sector responsibilities. The question becomes an issue of moral obligation versus legal responsibility. What are we as consumers and citizens willing to sacrifice in exchange for safety? And does the private sector inevitably succumb to obligations originating from the public sector?