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Date: November 25, 2024 Mon
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Results for private security
43 results foundAuthor: Cook, Philip J. Title: Public Safety Through Private Action: An Economic Assessment of BIDs, Locks, and Citizen Cooperation Summary: Given the central role of private individuals and firms in determining the effectiveness of the criminal justice system, and the quality and availability of criminal opportunities, private actions arguably deserve a central role in the analysis of crime and crime prevention policy. But the leading scholarly commentaries on the crime drop during the 1990s have largely ignored the role of the private sector, as have policymakers. Among the potentially relevant trends: growing reporting rates; the growing sophistication and use of alarms, monitoring equipment and locks; the considerable increase in the employment of private security guards; and the decline in the use of cash. Private actions of this sort have the potential to both reduce crime rates and reduce arrests and imprisonment. Well-designed regulations and programs can encourage effective private action. One creative method to harness private action to cost-effective crime control is the creation of business improvement districts (BIDs). This quasi-experimental analysis of Los Angeles BIDs demonstrates that the social benefits of BID expenditures on security are a large multiple (about 20) of the private expenditures. Creation and operation of effective BIDs requires a legal infrastructure that helps neighborhoods solve the collective action problem. Details: Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research, 2010. 51p. Source: NBER Working Paper Series; Working Paper 15877; Internet Resource Year: 2010 Country: United States URL: Shelf Number: 118718 Keywords: Business Improvement Districts (Los Angeles)Businesses and CrimeCrime PreventionPrivate Security |
Author: Welsh, Brandon C. Title: Effectiveness of Public Area Surveillance for Crime Prevention: Security Guards, Place Managers and Defensible Space Summary: This report presents a systematic review of the effects of surveillance of public spaces by security guards, place mangers and measures to stimulate so called defensible space. Studies were included in these systematic reviews if the surveillance measure in question (i.e., security guards, place managers, and defensible space) was the main focus of the intervention; if there was an outcome measure of crime; if the evaluation design was of high methodological quality, with the minimum design involving before-and-after measures of crime in experimental and comparable control areas; and if the total number of crimes in each area before the intervention was at least 20. The reviews revealed generally encouraging results across the three different types of public area surveillance. There is fairly strong and consistent evidence that the defensible space technique of street closures or barricades is effective in preventing crime in inner-city neighborhoods. Less conclusive statements can be made about the effectiveness of security guards and place managers. This has everything to do with the small number of high quality evaluations that have been carried out on these measures. In the case of security guards, the weight of the evidence suggests that it is a promising technique of formal surveillance when implemented in car parks and targeted at vehicle crimes. The surveillance technique of place managers appears to be of unknown effectiveness in preventing crime in public places. Implications for policy and research are explored. Details: Stockholm: Brottsforebyggande radet (Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention), 2010. 45p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 25, 2010 at: http://www.bra.se/extra/measurepoint/?module_instance=4&name=Effectiviness_of_Public_Area_Surveillance_for_Crime_Prevention.pdf&url=/dynamaster/file_archive/100309/0a3ceabb221375f51f9a82824942a662/Effectiviness%255fof%255fPublic%255fArea%255fSurveillance%255ffor%255fCrime%255fPrevention.pdf Year: 2010 Country: International URL: http://www.bra.se/extra/measurepoint/?module_instance=4&name=Effectiviness_of_Public_Area_Surveillance_for_Crime_Prevention.pdf&url=/dynamaster/file_archive/100309/0a3ceabb221375f51f9a82824942a662/Effectiviness%255fof%255fPub Shelf Number: 119684 Keywords: AggressionCrime PreventionCrime Prevention through Environmental DesignDrug Abuse and AddictionDrug Abuse and CrimeMethamphetamine (Australia)Private SecuritySurveillance |
Author: Cordeweners, Tom Title: Violence in Bogota, Colombia? A Rich Man's Problem? Summary: In this thesis, I will discuss how violence affected the lives of upper-middle class habitants of Bogotá, Colombia. For this, I will use the information that I obtained during four months of fieldwork. In Colombia, guerrilla movements, paramilitary organisations, drug cartels, youth gangs and common criminals all use violence to protect their interests. Economic violence is the sort of violence that most members of the upper-middle class encounter in a direct way. However, different forms of political violence also have certain consequences for Bogotá’s upper-middle class. Most people take personal measures and protect their houses in order to prevent being victim of a violent crime. Although some upper-middle class inhabitants cooperate with neighbours, the police or other state institutions, this is not the way most people deal with fear and insecurity. The security policies of both the national and the local government are generally seen as effective. However, most members of the uppermiddle class are not satisfied with the way the police tries to improve security. As we shall see, this is one of the reasons for the fact that Bogotá’s upper-middle class calls in the help of private security companies to make their environment safer. Details: Utrecht: Utrecht University, 2008. 51p. Source: Internet Resource: Master's Thesis: Accessed September 7, 2010 at: http://igitur-archive.library.uu.nl/student-theses/2008-0912-200805/UUindex.html Year: 2008 Country: Colombia URL: http://igitur-archive.library.uu.nl/student-theses/2008-0912-200805/UUindex.html Shelf Number: 119760 Keywords: Fear of CrimePrivate SecurityViolenceViolent Crime |
Author: BearingPoint Title: Private Screening Operations Performance Evaluation Report Summary: This report presents an evaluation of the performance of private security screening operations at U.S. airports for the Transportation Security Administration. The evaluation sought to determine whether performance of private screening operations was equal to or greater than that provided by the federal government. An impartial process was developed for analyzing performance and reviewed the five commercial airports that retained private screening personnel after federalization of the nation's security screeing workforce in 2002. The evaluation determined that private screened airports performed at the same or a better level than federally screened operations. Details: Washington, DC: Transportation Security Administration, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 2004. 18p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 21, 2010 at: http://www.tsa.gov/assets/pdf/Summary_Report.pdf Year: 2004 Country: United States URL: http://www.tsa.gov/assets/pdf/Summary_Report.pdf Shelf Number: 119854 Keywords: Airports, SecurityHomeland SecurityPassenger ScreeningPrivate Security |
Author: Liss, Carolin Title: Privatising Anti-Piracy Services in Strategically Important Waterways: Risks, Challenges and Benefits Summary: In the past few years, an increasing number of Private Security Companies (PSCs – also sometimes referred to as Private Military Companies, PMCs) have emerged offering and conducting Anti-Piracy Services. These companies offer services in addition to security provided by states and their government agencies. PSCs are today hired to provide anti-piracy services in different parts of the world, but mostly in strategically important waterways where piracy is a serious security concern. This paper examines the employment of PSCs in two such waterways, namely the Malacca Straits and the Gulf of Aden, and discusses the risks, challenges and benefits of privatising maritime security. Details: Hongo, Bunkyo-Ku, Japan: Graduate School of Public Policy, University of Tokyo, 2009. 13p. Source: Internet Resource: GraSPP Working Paper Series: Accessed December 14, 2010 at: http://www.pp.u-tokyo.ac.jp/research/dp/documents/GraSPP-DP-E-09-003OPU-DP-E-09-001.pdf Year: 2009 Country: Asia URL: http://www.pp.u-tokyo.ac.jp/research/dp/documents/GraSPP-DP-E-09-003OPU-DP-E-09-001.pdf Shelf Number: 120504 Keywords: Maritime SecurityPiracy/PiratesPiratesPrivate SecurityPrivatization |
Author: New York City Police Department, Counterterrorism Bureau Title: Active Shooter: Recommendations and Analysis for Risk Mitigation Summary: Active shooter attacks are dynamic incidents that vary greatly from one attack to another. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) defines an active shooter as “an individual actively engaged in killing or attempting to kill people in a confined and populated area.” In its definition, DHS notes that, “in most cases, active shooters use firearms(s) and there is no pattern or method to their selection of victims.” The New York City Police Department (NYPD) has limited this definition to include only those cases that spill beyond an intended victim to others. The type of police response to an active shooter attack depends on the unique circumstances of the incident. In the event of such an attack, private security personnel should follow the instructions of the first-responders from the NYPD. Because active shooter attacks are dynamic events, the NYPD cannot put forward a single set of best-practices for private security response to such incidents. However, the NYPD has compiled a list of recommendations for building security personnel to mitigate the risks from active shooter attacks. The recommendations draw on previous studies of active shooter attacks and are presented in Part II. The NYPD developed these recommendations based on a close analysis of active shooter incidents from 1966 to 2010. This Compendium of cases, presented in the Appendix, includes 281 active shooter incidents. It is organized chronologically by type of facility targeted, including office buildings, open commercial areas, factories and warehouses, schools, and other settings. The NYPD performed a statistical analysis on a subset of these cases to identify common characteristics among active shooter attacks. This analysis is presented in Part III and the underlying methodology is presented in Part IV. The analysis found a large degree of variation among attacks across some broad categories, including: sex of the attacker, age of the attacker, number of attackers, planning tactics, targets, number of casualties, location of the attack, weapons used, and attack resolution. Details: New York: New York City Police Department, 2011. 179p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 2, 2011 at: http://www.nyc.gov/html/nypd/downloads/pdf/counterterrorism/ActiveShooter.pdf Year: 2011 Country: United States URL: http://www.nyc.gov/html/nypd/downloads/pdf/counterterrorism/ActiveShooter.pdf Shelf Number: 120664 Keywords: PolicingPrivate SecuritySecurity GuardsShootingTerrorismViolent CrimeWeapons |
Author: Strom, Kevin Title: The Private Security Industry: A Review of the Definitions, Available Data Sources, and Paths Moving Forward Summary: The private security industry is a crucial component of security and safety in the United States and abroad. Today, private security is responsible not only for protecting many of the nation‘s institutions and critical infrastructure systems, but also for protecting intellectual property and sensitive corporate information. U.S. companies also rely heavily on private security for a wide range of functions, including protecting employees and property, conducting investigations, performing pre-employment screening, providing information technology security, and many other functions. In the past four decades, a series of reports and studies have examined private security agencies and personnel (i.e., Kakalik & Wildhorn, 1971a, 1971b, 1971c, 1971d; Cunningham, Taylor, & Hallcrest Systems, Inc., 1985; Cunningham, Strauchs, Van Meter, & Hallcrest Systems, Inc., 1990). These studies helped redefine the roles of private security and documented the growth and trends in the industry as a whole. However, these studies have become outdated, and there continues to be a significant need for more detailed and timely information, especially when considering the increasing range of roles played by private security. Moreover, the survey methodologies employed by some prior data collection efforts have produced data that are not generalizable to the population or that are potentially subject to nonresponse bias. Therefore, how well one can use these sources to make inference to private security as a whole is unknown. Currently, there is no existing data source that provides detailed information about private security—beyond basic demographics—that is not methodologically flawed due to the design or high nonresponse rates. The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), an independent statistical agency located within the U.S. Department of Justice, launched a design project to assess the feasibility of conducting a National Private Security Survey (NPSS). This report was developed as part of the design work. It provides a review of the literature on private security, including major trends, demographics, collaborations with law enforcement, budgeting and licensing, legal authority and powers within private security, and security operations. The report also presents an analysis of the availability and quality of secondary data on private security including a review of all available private security data from government sources, commercial sources, and research or academic sources. As part of this review, the report examines the methodology used to collect data on the private security industry and provides an assessment of the data quality. The review suggests that suitable data are available on certain aspects of the private security industry. However, some components of the private security industry have not been studied in detail, while others have been studied but the existing data are either inconsistent or outdated. Based on the review, the following conclusions were generated: 1) Employee Demographics. Overall, high-quality demographic data have been collected in existing surveys; however, variations in the survey methodology and definitions of private security across these surveys produced some discrepancies in the estimates. 2) Budgeting and licensing. Budgeting and licensing information on contract security firms was substantial, compared to information for companies with a proprietary security force. 3) Private security powers. An insufficient amount of comprehensive data has been collected on private security powers; therefore, there is a significant need for information in this area. 4) Security operations. One of two secondary data sources provided information on security operations topics. Although one of the survey designs was methodologically sound, the response rate created a potential for biased estimates. As a result of these findings, we offer the following recommendations for the design and implementation of a national survey of the private security industry: 1) Develop a clear definition of private security. When conducting a national data collection effort such as the NPSS, a succinct definition of private security should be developed with an understanding that the definition used may result in the collection of data that are different from those currently available. 2) Cover a broad range of topics. A targeted, national study of the private security industry should cover a broad range of topics in order to minimize any potential measurement error caused by combining data from multiple sources that use different definitions of private security. Therefore, it is important that a future study not only fill in the recognized information gaps on private security (e.g., private security powers and security operations), but also obtain reliable and updated statistics, such as employee demographics, that are sufficiently covered by other surveys. 3) Utilize a rigorous data collection methodology. Future studies should also seek to address methodological and response rate challenges that affected past data collection efforts. This should include the development of a national sampling frame that provides more representative coverage of the companies to which inference will be drawn. Furthermore, procedures must include non-response follow-up to ensure a reasonable response rate. 4) Conduct the survey periodically. Studies that examine private security consistently over time would provide a significant advantage. This could be achieved either by examining a cohort of companies over time or drawing a new nationally representative sample of companies each time the data collection is fielded. Regardless of the approach, a set of studies conducted over time will better inform how private security changes in the size and characteristics of the industry, as well as the changing role and function of private security in the United States. These trends in the industry have both economic and policy implications. In summary, this report provides recommendations for how future data collection efforts, such as the NPSS, can build on past efforts to increase knowledge of the private security industry and yield higher quality and more consistent data over time. The relevance of private security to our criminal justice system and to our nation‘s safety and security requires that we collect more consistent and timely information on the private security industry. This should include tracking of the functions and roles of private security as well as their intersection with policing, corrections, homeland security, and other relevant areas. By building on and improving upon past data collection efforts, we can ensure that the information that is collected is accurate, generalizable, and useful to the private security field, as well as to federal agencies and policymakers, and others with an interest in private security data. Details: Research Triangle Park, NC: RTI International, 2010. 98p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 7, 2011 at: http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/bjs/grants/232781.pdf Year: 2010 Country: United States URL: http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/bjs/grants/232781.pdf Shelf Number: 120695 Keywords: Private PolicePrivate Security |
Author: Gaviria, Alejandro Title: The Cost of Avoiding Crime: The Case of Bogota Summary: We use hedonic price models to estimate the value households are willing to pay to avoid violent crime in the city of Bogotá. We find that households living in the highest socioeconomic level (stratum 6) pay up to 7.2% of their house values in order to prevent average homicide rates from increasing in one standard deviation. Households in stratum 5 pay up to 2.4% of their house values to prevent homicide rates from increasing. The results indicate the willingness to pay for security by households in Bogotá, and additionally, reveal that a pure public good like security, ends up creating urban private markets that auction security. These markets imply different levels of access to public goods among the population, and actually, the exclusion of the poorest. We find as well evidence of negative capitalization of the rate of attacks against life, and positive capitalization of the presence of police authority. Details: Bogota, Colombia: Borradores de Economia, 2008. 30p. Source: Internet Resource: Working Paper No. 208: Accessed February 9, 2011 at: http://www.banrep.gov.co/docum/ftp/borra508.pdf Year: 2008 Country: Colombia URL: http://www.banrep.gov.co/docum/ftp/borra508.pdf Shelf Number: 120734 Keywords: HomicidePrivate SecuritySocioeconomic StatusViolent Crime (Bogota, Colombia) |
Author: Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy Title: Undertrained, Underpaid, and Unprepared: How L.A.’s Commercial Office Building Owners Are Failing Security Officers and Compromising Public Safety Summary: Since the tragic events of 9/11, and the more recent devastation of Hurricane Katrina, terrorism and emergency preparedness have been major issues for American cities. In Los Angeles, the U.S. Bank Tower downtown remains a top terrorist target, and the ever-present threat of a major earthquake underlines the need for an effective and well-prepared emergency response network. In Los Angeles’ commercial office buildings, hundreds of thousands of people work and visit every day. More than 10,000 private security officers in these buildings are on the front lines in an emergency, frequently making important decisions before police, fire, or any other emergency personnel arrive. Their responsibilities are varied and often critical — including securing entrances, leading tenants to safety during high-rise evacuations, monitoring activity inside and outside of the building, and coordinating with the city’s emergency personnel. Yet despite these essential duties, private security officers are undertrained, underpaid and unprepared —putting the safety and security of tenants and the general public at unnecessary risk. This report, based on an original LAANE survey of security officers in commercial office buildings and other research, reaches the following conclusions: High turnover rates among security officers lead to understaffing and a lack of experienced and trained personnel. Due to fierce competition and cost cutting among security contractors, security officers typically receive low wages and few benefits. As a result, security contractors have difficulty attracting and retaining employees, leading to high rates of employee turnover. • At the U.S. Bank Tower, the annual turnover rate is 60 percent. At least 10 of the recently hired officers in the building had not received any training on terrorism prevention at the time of this study. • In the other high-rise office buildings surveyed, turnover rates range from 90 percent to 243 percent annually. In the same buildings, turnover among janitors — who earn higher wages and receive free family health benefits — is 5 percent or lower. • Twenty-seven buildings—75 percent of the buildings surveyed—have security positions that are unfilled or filled by temporary “rovers” who are often unfamiliar with the buildings they are working in. • Officers report that building entry points are unguarded and security procedures are not performed. Training for officers is minimal, leaving them unprepared for emergencies and threatening public safety Lack of training, combined with high turnover rates, leads to an ill-equipped and largely inexperienced security workforce. This hampers efforts to coordinate with police, fire, and emergency personnel and leaves Los Angeles ill-prepared in the event of a crisis. • Security officers report that security contractors fail to provide the minimum hours of training required by state law. • Officers report that if they do receive training, it consists largely of open book tests and on-the-job training, rather than formal, classroom-based training that measures comprehension of the subject matter. • Under state law, training on emergency procedures—such as evacuation routes, CPR, and first aid—is optional, and training on counter-terrorism is minimal. These requirements are inadequate for office buildings housing hundreds of thousands of tenants and visitors in a major metropolitan area like Los Angeles. BOMA’s training program offers little substance and no accountability. Instead of working cooperatively with the city to make comprehensive improvements to security, the Building Owners and Managers Association of Greater L.A. (BOMA) has introduced its own training program, the Accredited Security Organization (ASO) program. • Officers report they have been given pins to wear that say “BOMA Security Accredited Training” without receiving any additional training. • Training components that are vital for the improvement of building safety such as “arrest, search and seizure,” “bomb/terrorist threats,” “emergency preparedness,” and “evacuation procedures” are merely electives—offering no guarantee that Los Angeles officers will undergo training in these critical areas. • The required training outlined in the ASO program is extremely vague, including “coaching,” “on-the-job-training,” and “informal supervisor-based training.” The report includes a number of recommendations to address the problems. Details: Los Angeles: Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy, 2006. 28p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 1, 2011 at: http://www.laane.org/downloads/UntertrainedStudy.pdf Year: 2006 Country: United States URL: http://www.laane.org/downloads/UntertrainedStudy.pdf Shelf Number: 121211 Keywords: Commercial BuildingsPrivate SecuritySecurity Guards |
Author: Sheppard, Jill E. Title: Undertrained, Underpaid, and Unprepared: Security Officers Report Deficient Safety Standards in Manhattan Office Buildings Summary: Standards for New York City’s private security officers are alarmingly low. Despite the heightened orange security alert that the City has been under since 9/11, neither City leaders nor private building owners have taken the initiative to train security officers to respond to terrorism, interface with police, or work with firefighters during an emergency. Upon interviewing over 100 privately-contracted security officers who work in 39 major Class A commercial buildings, the Public Advocate’s Office finds that minimal training and limited enforcement of training requirements, combined with low pay, has left New York with a private security force that is ill-prepared to protect its public. At a time when the Department of Homeland Security has kept New York City at a code orange terror alert, the City, businesses and building owners should have utmost concern for the public’s security. Many officers report having much less training than the state requires or none at all, and have little to no background in pertinent areas such as antiterrorism protection. 25% of officers surveyed have less than a year of experience at the building where they work. This report will demonstrate why current security officer training standards and enforcement practices need to be improved, compare New York’s security standards to other large domestic and international cities, and explain why the City’s Class A building owners need to play a more prominent role in developing and maintaining a professional security force. Details: New York: Public Advocate for the City of New York, 2005. 17p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 1, 2011 at: http://publicadvocategotbaum.com/policy/pdfs/securityofficersreport.pdf Year: 2005 Country: United States URL: http://publicadvocategotbaum.com/policy/pdfs/securityofficersreport.pdf Shelf Number: 121212 Keywords: Building SecurityPrivate SecuritySecurity Guards (New York City) |
Author: Rwengabo, Sabastiano Title: Neither Formal nor Marketized: Privatized Security in the Slum Areas of Kampala City, Uganda Summary: The simultaneity of commercialized/marketized; and non-formal, non-market, security arrangements in an urban setting brings new insights to our understanding of privatization of security. Security privatisation is a current global phenomenon with various dimensions and dynamics. There are aspects of privatized security whose understanding is vital for our appreciation of today’s security spectrum. The shift from state-centric security provisioning to the involvement of various non-state actors has changed the security landscape. It has necessitated new foci of analysis that transcend the focus on commercialized security. Beyond ‘the market for force’ and ‘selling security’ (Avant, 2001, 2007), new private security arrangements have emerged. These are not limited to organized private security providers like companies or criminals and rebels (Rwengabo, 2009): they extend to non-organized, non-formal private security mechanisms. So, privatization of security as understood in the literature (Jager & Kummel, 2007; Gounev, 2006; Bourne, 2004; Aketch, 2007; Gumedze, 2008) cascades beyond marketization and formalization, to informalization as well. Studies of privatization of security are yet to address the question of informalization of security. This study attempts to address security informalization to break ground for newer approaches to the understanding of non-formal and non-market security arrangements in our midst. It was carried out in the slum areas of Kampala City, Uganda. There is general lack of policy-specific and scholarly, attention, to Uganda’s urban security spectrum. The need for an in-depth investigation contributing to knowledge and developing new insights on privatized security also abounds. The steady increase in private security actors leaves unanswered, the question of whether states as actors charged with providing security has given way to non-state actors in the management of security, and why this development. The phenomenon calls for deeper analyses extending the understanding of security to unravel non-formal, non-market security mechanisms developed in slum areas, and interrogate the role of the state in supporting and/or frustrating these informal arrangements. Moreover the development of non-formal and non-market private security has implications for governing the security sub-sector. This study sought to examine these security arrangements amongst slum dwellers; how these arrangements impact on security provisioning in urban settings; and thereby draw implications of the increasing private security services provision for the management of urban security. I hypothesize that new private security arrangements have emerged, including non-commercialized, non-formal security mechanisms, and that these arrangements are inevitable at present. Within this milieu explaining the increase in private security actors in Kampala; examining non-formal, non-market private security mechanisms developed in Kampala’s slum areas, and how these impact on urban security provisioning; and understanding the role of the state and the Uganda Police Force (UPF) in the management of urban security alongside these private interventions are herein attempted. Non-formal, non-market security measures are only loosely and informally institutionalized: they are based an individual or small-group basis, with limited, if any, transactions involved. Data were acquired through group discussions and in-depth interviews with deliberately selected private security actors, UPF personnel, security and Local Government personnel; and residents of slum areas; observations of physical security-enhancing structures on the one hand and security-threatening behaviors and structures on the other; and critical review of secondary sources and related literature. This case study is a reflection on Kampala to make tentative conclusions about other cities in the region. Content analysis was used: themes and sub-themes were developed along the study objectives, with subsequent data analysis along the themes/sub-themes. The study discovered that informal and non-market security interventions at the individual and group levels account for a significant constituent of urban safety and security in Kampala. True, both state and commercialized security providers exist. But these do not serve the whole city, and especially the urban poor in slum areas. The private security actions and behaviors of slum dwellers do not fit the category of commercialization. It is concluded that various security mechanisms exist in Kampala’s slum areas, with UPF backing people’s own arrangements. The study recommends that government needs to combat the increasing urban crime to improve on urban security, to support and encourage the ‘security begins with you’ ethos; and address urban infrastructure challenges limiting effective security by police. More studies are needed to bolster our understanding of urban security. Details: Santiago de Chile: The Global Consortium on Security Transformation (GCST), 2011. 30p. Source: Internet Resource: New Voices Series, No. 12: Accessed April 4, 2011 at: http://www.securitytransformation.org/images/publicaciones/201_New_Voices_Series_12_-_Neither_Formal_nor_Marketized.pdf Year: 2011 Country: Uganda URL: http://www.securitytransformation.org/images/publicaciones/201_New_Voices_Series_12_-_Neither_Formal_nor_Marketized.pdf Shelf Number: 121241 Keywords: Neighborhoods and CrimePrivate SecuritySecuritySlumsUrban Areas |
Author: Vellani, Karim H. Title: Crime Analysis for Problem Solving Security Professionals in 25 Small Steps Summary: This manual shows security professionals how to select and implement appropriate countermeasures to reduce the opportunities for the everyday crimes that are the most common threats to assets and targets that security professionals must protect. Drawing on problem-oriented policing and situational crime prevention the manual is essential reading for security professionals, facility managers, risk managers, property managers, and as well for both public and private police who are concerned with everyday crime problems in business settings. Details: Houston, TX: Karim H. Vellani, 2010. 56p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 15, 2011 at: http://www.popcenter.org/library/reading/pdfs/crimeanalysis25steps.pdf Year: 2010 Country: United States URL: http://www.popcenter.org/library/reading/pdfs/crimeanalysis25steps.pdf Shelf Number: 121361 Keywords: Crime AnalysisCrime PreventionPrivate SecurityProblem-Oriented PolicingSituational Crime Prevention |
Author: Abrahamsen, Rita Title: The Ethical Challenges of Security Privatization Summary: While in the study of international relations the majority of attention toward the privatization of security has been devoted to the privatized military, commercial security companies have quietly become significant actors across the globe. In almost every country in the world, private security plays a significant and growing role in security provision. The private security industry is estimated to have a world-wide market value of over $165 billion, and growth rates of over 8%. In many countries, private security employees now outnumber their public counterparts, often by considerable amounts. This growth has been accompanied by the evolution of commercial security companies with extensive resources and geographic reach. Intriguingly, the largest of these firms are based in Europe. The world’s largest private security company, Group4Securicor (G4S), is one of the UK’s 100 largest corporations by capitalization, and the largest employer listed on the London Stock Exchange. With operations in 115 countries, it employs over half a million people. Following a similar pattern of expansion, the Swedish-based Securitas has also become a significant provider of security services across Europe and beyond. The world’s second-largest PSC, Securitas has implemented more than 60 acquisitions over the past two decades, employs more than 240,000 people in thirty-seven countries, and now has 12% of the global outsourced security market. The company’s total sales in 2007 amounted to approximately $6.9 billion, with an organic sales growth of 5%. The third largest PSC in the world, the Spanish company Prosegur, also mirrors the trend. Founded in 1976, the firm employs more than 75,000 people, and has extensive operations in Europe and Central and South America. The increasing role of private security challenges some of modern society’s most fundamental political assumptions. The idea that security is a quintessentially public good is at the heart of modern conceptions of sovereignty, so much so that an increasing monopoly of public force was long seen as a mark of movement toward modernity. The stunning growth of private security over the past three decades thus challenges deeply held political beliefs, including the assumption that modernity and development are marked (or even defined) by the increasing monopolization of security in the hands of the state, and that this process provides the stable benchmark for ethical evaluation. This Working Paper seeks to explore some of the ethical and political implications of the ‘rebirth’ of private security, focusing particularly on its transnational dimensions. We do so in a different manner from many treatments of security privatization in International Relations. First, we do not concentrate on the private military. Developments in this arena have received a great deal of attention, ranging from debates about whether it is a legitimate form of activity, or a simply a form of modern mercenarism, to questions about its relationship to military ethics and the just war tradition. While these are important debates, we focus here on the less analyzed but more pervasive forms of security transformation at work in the realm of commercial security. It is in this domain that private security is having some of its most extensive effects – effects that require empirical scrutiny and that raise ethical issues often quite different from those posed by military privatization. Second, our analytic standpoint differs from many existing treatments in that in the bulk of this paper we propose to treat the ethical less as a category of purely moral assessment or abstract philosophic reflection, and more as a domain of social power. The ethical implications of security privatization cannot be considered in isolation from the social conditions that have given rise to its rebirth. These social structures condition the terms of ethical debate. By locating ethical questions in context of social shifts and transformations in state structures, we will be in a better position to provide ethical appraisal and political judgement. Details: Oslo: International Peace Research Institute, 2009. 33p. Source: Internet Resource: INEX Project, INEX D.3.2.; Accessed May 10, 2011 at: Year: 2009 Country: International URL: Shelf Number: 121703 Keywords: EthicsPrivate SecurityPrivatization |
Author: van Buuren, Jelle Title: A Report on the Ethical Issues Raised by the Increasing Role of Private Security Professionals in Security Analysis and Provision Summary: Private security is on the rise. Although difficulties emerge in exactly estimating the precise amount of private security in the total range of security, the available figures all point into the same direction. Private security has moved lately to a more central stage in science, after years of academic neglect. Traditionally, private security was symbolized by the Private Eye as reflected in American movies: a cynical, though male, breaking laws and norms while holding a bottle of whisky in one hand and a blonde femme fatale in the other hand. However, this Hollywood image of private investigators seems to be outdated. Private security nowadays covers a conglomerate of companies active in all possible fields of security. In this literature review, we will look into the dimension, size and functions of private security as reflected in the academic forum. Further, we will look into scientific discussions concerning explanations for the rise in private security, the functions of private security, the relationship with the state, the relationship between public and private security and the possible societal and political ramifications of private security. After examining the scientific knowledge on the organizational and personal values dominant in the private security sector, we will look at the possible ethical dilemmas embedded in the rise in private security. We will end with some conclusions regarding the current scientific knowledge on private security and possible avenues for further exploration of the ethical challenges to private security. Throughout this literature review we will understand private security companies as ‘commercial enterprises using public or private funds to engage in tasks where the principal component is a security of regulatory function'. Details: Oslo: International Peace Research Institute, 2009. 72p. Source: Internet Resource: INEX Project; Report D.3.3.: Accessed May 10, 2011 at: www.inexproject.eu Year: 2009 Country: International URL: Shelf Number: 121704 Keywords: EthicsPrivate SecurityPrivatization |
Author: Baker, Bruce Title: Supporting Local Forms of Policing and Justice: Lessons from Africa and The Pacific Summary: The trend towards the pluralisation of policing concedes that state police no longer (nor should have) the monopoly in law enforcement, and that local institutions legitimately have a frontline role in the provision of security and policing services for citizens. In developed countries like Australia debate about plural policing is linked to outsourcing of policing responsibilities to the private security and corporate sectors. In Africa and the Pacific, as Baker points out, plural policing is not always a strategic policy decision to outsource policing and security, but rather is simply a reflection of local community initiative, borne of the limited capabilities of a poor and weak state. Localism, as the paper points out, brings many advantages including its complementarity with customary forms of justice and peace-building. It also has vulnerabilities (in common with public policing) to abuses of power and human rights violations. The paper applies a ‘lessons to be learnt’ format, through liberal use of boxed case-studies, with explicit articulation of the implications for international policing missions, as well as the priorities for AUSAID support for justice and law enforcement in the Pacific region. Details: Nathan, Qld: ARC Centre of Excellence in Policing and Security, 2010. 10p. Source: Internet Resource: Briefing Paper: Accessed July 20, 2011 at: http://www.ceps.edu.au/files/file/Bruce%20Baker%20FINAL1_.pdf Year: 2010 Country: International URL: http://www.ceps.edu.au/files/file/Bruce%20Baker%20FINAL1_.pdf Shelf Number: 122120 Keywords: Local PolicingPlural PolicingPolice ReformPolicingPrivate SecurityPrivatization |
Author: Bozbeyoglu, Alanur Cavlin Title: The Private Sector, National Security and Personal Data: An Exploratory Assessment of Private Sector Involvement in Airport and Border Security in Canada Summary: Security has become a rationale for new laws and initiatives that call in question the future of key Canadian social values and legal rights, including the right to privacy. Security tasks are increasingly carried out by the private sector. This exploratory study by the Surveillance Studies Centre (SSC) at Queen's University assesses the involvement of the private sector in border and airport security in Canada. Details: Kingston, ON: Surveillance Studies Centre, Queen's University, 2011. 63p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 6, 2011 at: http://www.sscqueens.org/sites/default/files/OPC_Final_31_March.pdf Year: 2011 Country: Canada URL: http://www.sscqueens.org/sites/default/files/OPC_Final_31_March.pdf Shelf Number: 122668 Keywords: Airport SecurityBorder Security (Canada)Private Security |
Author: Service Employees International Union Title: Homeland Insecurity: How the Wackenhut Corporation Is Compromising America's Nuclear Security Summary: Despite the high level of public concern over homeland security, the single largest supplier of security officers to sensitive U.S. nuclear facilities is a private firm that has overseen frightening security lapses, presided over training cutbacks, and tolerated lax security measures at multiple nuclear sites throughout the United States. The firm? The Wackenhut Corporation, a subsidiary of the Denmark-based, multi-national private security conglomerate Group 4 Falck A/S. Wackenhut, the single largest supplier of private contract security officers to U.S. nuclear power plants and nuclear weapons facilities, provides security and other services at thirty nuclear power plants and seven U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) sites, including the U.S. Government’s principal nuclear weapons labs. While many of the individual nuclear security lapses and problems that have occurred under Wackenhut’s watch have been reported in the media or made available in public documents, there has not been, to date, a public focus on the fact that what many of these problem sites have in common is that Wackenhut provides their security. Furthermore, the U.S. Government or nuclear security watchdogs have not conducted or made public a comprehensive investigation to date into Wackenhut’s security practices at all its nuclear sites in the U.S. This report, “Homeland Insecurity: How The Wackenhut Corporation Is Compromising America’s Nuclear Security,” is the result of the first-ever comprehensive study of public documents, reports, news stories, and court filings related to nuclear security by America’s largest union of private security officers, SEIU (Service Employees International Union). The documents find the Wackenhut Corporation at the center of the swirling controversy over our nation’s nuclear security readiness and raise questions about the private firm’s fitness to provide adequate security at our nation’s most sensitive sites. Details: Washington, DC: SEIU International, 2004. 24p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 27, 2011 at: http://seiu23.advocateoffice.com/vertical/Sites/%7B2FDAD06E-E7D3-4DE0-AEF2-0C787424C292%7D/uploads/%7B49FFC6A0-FECC-4DD5-A67B-20DEE438E2F3%7D.PDF Year: 2004 Country: United States URL: http://seiu23.advocateoffice.com/vertical/Sites/%7B2FDAD06E-E7D3-4DE0-AEF2-0C787424C292%7D/uploads/%7B49FFC6A0-FECC-4DD5-A67B-20DEE438E2F3%7D.PDF Shelf Number: 122913 Keywords: Homeland Security (U.S.)Nuclear TerrorismPrivate SecurityTerrorism |
Author: Liss, Carolin Title: Privatising the Fight Against Somali Pirates Summary: The recent audacious pirate attacks in the Gulf of Aden and off the horn of Africa have fuelled the debate about the privatisation of maritime security. Ship owners and maritime security experts, as well as representatives of industry organisations, have stated that private security companies may be able to ensure safe passage for vessels through these pirate infested waters, a task at which government agencies have failed, despite international efforts. In fact, with more than 35 hijacked vessels this year, the first hijacking of a super tanker, attacks on UN aid ships and the unprecedented payment of millions of US dollars ransom for kidnapped crew and hijacked vessels, the arguments for hiring PSCs are strong. However, the employment of PSCs in Iraq and other places around the world has clearly shown that there are problems associated with the services provided by PSCs and the regulation of such companies in conflict zones. This paper explores the risks and benefits of employing PSCs to secure shipping in the Gulf of Aden and the horn of Africa. Details: Perth, Western Australia: Asia Research Centre, Murdoch University, 2008. 19p. Source: Internet Resource: Working Paper No. 152: Accessed October 21, 2011 at: http://wwwarc.murdoch.edu.au/publications/wp/wp152.pdf Year: 2008 Country: Somalia URL: http://wwwarc.murdoch.edu.au/publications/wp/wp152.pdf Shelf Number: 123078 Keywords: Maritime CrimeMaritime SecurityPirates/Piracy (Somalia)Private SecurityPrivatization |
Author: La Vigne, Nancy G. Title: Planning For Change: Security Managers' Perspectives on Preparing for Future Demographic and Crime Trends Summary: Over the past few decades, the security industry has made great advances in constructing industry standards, developing new technologies to address existing concerns, and adapting to new social realities. Despite these developments, few systematic reviews exist that document future demographic and crime trends. Even more scarce are studies that explore how such trends might guide the industry toward measures that anticipate and offset the security threats that they impose, while capitalizing on those trends that might enhance and improve the industry’s efficiency and effectiveness. To address this issue, the ASIS International Foundation contracted the Urban Institute, a non-profit, non-partisan social policy and economic research organization, to conduct a study on how industries can better prepare for emerging security issues based upon these trends. The purpose of this study is to identify how emerging trends might influence the security of various industries and what industries can do, from a planning perspective, by way of preparation and prevention. This is best accomplished by obtaining the perspectives of security experts regarding trends of crime, demography, and technology. Specifically, this research set out to: •Learn how business, demographic, crime, and technology trends vary based on security industry sector (such as insurance, service, transportation, or retail services) and security threat; •Determine what these trends suggest about future security challenges, investments, and resource needs; and •Identify promising strategies and tactics the security industry may adopt or enhance in preparation for anticipated industry developments. By collecting this information, our goal is to produce a publication that is usable to a broad audience of security managers across several industries. While this publication is tailored for security managers, we anticipate that this publication will be useful to a wide array of personnel across all business sectors as well as public sector employees, such as local law enforcement. Guided primarily by the perspective of security experts, this report provides information about security issues and resources necessary to address future demographic and crime trends as well as recommendations of measures for the security industry to adopt in anticipation of these trends. This report is informed primarily by the views of security experts and documents how various industry leaders anticipate how these trends will influence security over the next five to ten years. The report is divided into three sections by key topic areas: demographic challenges, crime trends, and technology. Each section contains an overview of the issue, examples of how that issue will influence security goals by industry, and recommendations to prepare for anticipated challenges created by each trend. The final section addresses issues that surfaced during discussions which are indirectly, yet importantly, related to the ability of security professionals, business executives, and all workers to prepare for a safer environment for employees, clients, and customers. Details: Washington, DC: Urban Institute, Justice Policy Center, 2008. 50p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 28, 2011 at: http://www.urban.org/UploadedPDF/411758_crime_trends.pdf Year: 2008 Country: United States URL: http://www.urban.org/UploadedPDF/411758_crime_trends.pdf Shelf Number: 111764 Keywords: Private SecuritySecurity |
Author: Law Enforcement-Private Security Consortium Title: Operation Partnership: Trends and Practices in Law Enforcement and Private Security Collaborations Summary: This report was produced to help law enforcement and private security organizations develop and operate effective partnerships. It provides guidelines and analysis—supported by examples from partnerships throughout the nation—of trends, innovative practices, obstacles, lessons learned, and results. The law enforcement-private security (LE-PS) partnerships featured here were formed or expanded to address a range of critical needs: to avert or respond to a terrorist attack, support urban downtown revitalization, marshal resources to combat financial crimes, compensate for law enforcement budget cuts, improve safety at special events, improve security for the nation’s infrastructure, and bring community policing approaches and new resources to bear on crimes against residents and businesses. Many of the partnerships have been able to measure success not only by meetings and exchanges of information but also by crimes prevented and solved. Key Issues and Questions Many in law enforcement and private security are already convinced, at least in a general sense, that greater collaboration is needed. To initiate a partnership or take one to a higher level, though, they need more information about what is involved and what results they can expect from their investments of time and effort. For example: How are effective LE-PS partnerships formed, organized, and sustained? How can leadership and responsibilities best be shared in LE-PS partnerships? How can partners and potential partners address the trust and legal issues that challenge the exchange of vital information? What factors make the greatest contributions to partnership success? What are the most important lessons to be taken from partnerships that are meeting and exceeding their goals and from those that are not? What remains to be done to continually improve communication, professionalism, and results? This report is geared toward law enforcement managers and security directors who want to develop new partnerships or enhance existing ones. It is organized to let readers quickly turn to the issues, examples, and resources most relevant to them. At the same time, it strives for a comprehensive treatment of the topic. It includes diverse partnership models, with enough detail to understand their objectives and operating environments, and often the challenges. The underlying message is that the challenges are worth tackling. Many LE-PS partnerships have achieved impressive results. The report is also intended for government and private-sector policymakers at the local, state, and national levels, and for leaders and members of associations that support law enforcement and security professionals. Their commitment to LE-PS collaboration has a direct bearing on what the partnerships can accomplish. Details: Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, 2009. 138p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 2, 2011 at: http://www.cops.usdoj.gov/ric/ResourceDetail.aspx?RID=534 Year: 2009 Country: United States URL: http://www.cops.usdoj.gov/ric/ResourceDetail.aspx?RID=534 Shelf Number: 123218 Keywords: CollaborationLaw Enforcement PartnershipsPrivate Security |
Author: Giampaolo, Amanda Title: Changes in Maritime Practice as a Result of Piracy in the Gulf of Aden Summary: Piracy off the coast of Somalia, particularly in the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea, is a growing problem for shipping companies whose vessels frequently travel through this area to transport goods. The International Chamber of Commerce's [ICC] Commercial Crime Service [CCS] has declared this area “piracy prone”. According to The Journal of Navigation 2010 report entitled, “Piracy at Sea: Somalia an Area of Great Concern”, piracy emerged off the coast of Somalia following the collapse of the Said Barre government in 1991. However, piracy in the Gulf of Aden did not generate much alarm until 2005 when the number of incidences in a year exceeded 35 for the first time, says report author Santiago Iglesias Baniela. This was followed by a brief decline in recorded piracy in 2006, which Baniela links to the short lived governance by the Islamic Courts Union [ICU] in Somalia. The report further notes that the piracy problem grew exponentially in 2008, leading to great international concern and the formation of three international task forces: [i] the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's [NATO] counterpiracy initiatives: Operation Allied Provider [October – December 2008], Operation Allied Protector [March 2009 – August 2009], and Operation Ocean Shield [August 2009 to present]; [ii] the European Union Naval Force Somalia [EU NAVFOR] Operation Atalanta [launched in response to UN Resolutions in 2008-2009]; and [iii] the Combined Maritime Force's [CMF] Combined Taskforce 151 [CTF 151], which was created in January 2009. Despite these initial efforts, piracy continues to be a major threat to the shipping industry, explains Martin Murphy author of “Somalia: the New Barbary”. This paper provides an overview of changes in maritime practice as a result of piracy in the Gulf of Aden. Rerouting of vessels, group transits and the use of private security are discussed in more detail. Details: NATO Civil-Military Fusion Centre, 2011. 8p. Source: Internet Resource: https://www.cimicweb.org/Documents/CFC%20Anti-Piracy%20Thematic%20Papers/CFC_Anti-Piracy_Report_Maritime_Changes_Sep_2011.pdf Year: 2011 Country: Somalia URL: https://www.cimicweb.org/Documents/CFC%20Anti-Piracy%20Thematic%20Papers/CFC_Anti-Piracy_Report_Maritime_Changes_Sep_2011.pdf Shelf Number: 123302 Keywords: Maritime CrimeMaritime SecurityPirates/Piracy (Somalia)Private Security |
Author: Rinehard, Britta Title: Armed Guards on Merchant Vessels Summary: The threat of piracy off the coast of Somalia, as well as in the Gulf of Aden (GoA), Horn of Africa (HoA) and the Indian Ocean has sparked a new discussion on the use of privately contracted armed security personnel (PCASP) on board merchant vessels to prevent pirates from successfully boarding and hijacking a vessel. Vessels with low freeboard and/ or low speed are more vulnerable to pirate attacks. Therefore hiring armed guards on these vulnerable vessels are more likely. However, employing private armed guards to protect commercial vessels traveling through pirate-prone waters is controversial for a number of reasons, such as legal issues, safety concerns for seafarers and varying national regulations. This paper will provide a brief overview of the on-going debate over the use of PCASPs as well as recent movements related to this matter. Details: Norfolk, VA: Civil-Military Fusion Centre (www.cimicweb.org), 2011. 10p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed on January 26, 2012 at https://www.cimicweb.org/Documents/CFC%20Anti-Piracy%20Thematic%20Papers/CFC_Anti-Piracy_Report_Armed%20Guards%20October%202011_Final_rmb.pdf Year: 2011 Country: International URL: https://www.cimicweb.org/Documents/CFC%20Anti-Piracy%20Thematic%20Papers/CFC_Anti-Piracy_Report_Armed%20Guards%20October%202011_Final_rmb.pdf Shelf Number: 123774 Keywords: Maritime CrimeMaritime SecurityPiracy/PiratesPrivate SecuritySecurity GuardsTransnational Crime |
Author: Brown, James Title: Pirates and Privateers: Managing the Indian Ocean's Private Security Book Summary: The fight against Somali-based pirates is becoming a private battle as global defence cuts reduce naval counter-piracy deployments. Because governments have struggled to contain the spread of piracy in the Indian Ocean, shipping companies have turned to private military security companies to guarantee the safety of their crews and cargo. Private armed teams have proliferated on commercial shipping and several private armed vessels are operating in the region. Meanwhile, some governments are hiring out their own national militaries as security guards onboard ships. However, this private counter-piracy boom is creating fresh problems. Already shootings at sea have led to international disputes and accidental confrontations. And murky legal and consular difficulties loom. There is a legitimate role for private companies in fighting piracy. But the challenge for governments will be to recapture the policy agenda and define the limits of what that role is before it leads to new kinds of trouble on the high seas. Downloadable map showing private counter-piracy forces - attribute to Lowy Institute. Key Findings - The maritime security business in the Indian Ocean is booming as ships turn to private military security companies to help in the fight against piracy. Over 140 companies now provide armed protection for ships in the Indian Ocean. At least 2700 individual contractors are employed as armed guards on ships and 18 floating armouries are operating in waters near the Gulf of Aden. - 40 private armed patrol boats are now, or will soon be, operating in the Indian Ocean. The most sophisticated of these private navies is outfitting three large boats in Singapore - each with a crew of 20, capable of carrying 40 private marines, and equipped with a helicopter and drones. The use of these boats, and the aggressive tactics they employ, should be discouraged by governments and the International Maritime Organization. - Because of shipping company demands for armed teams and shrinking defence budgets, governments are now privately hiring out their soldiers to provide security onboard commercial ships as "vessel protection detachments". The use of these teams potentially has serious legal and political consequences for states should they be involved in disputes. Details: Sydney, NSW: Lowy Institute for International Policy, 2012. 23p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 5, 2012 at: http://lowyinstitute.cachefly.net/files/brown_pirates_and_privateers_web.pdf Year: 2012 Country: Somalia URL: http://lowyinstitute.cachefly.net/files/brown_pirates_and_privateers_web.pdf Shelf Number: 126563 Keywords: Maritime CrimeMaritime SecurityPiracy/Pirates (Somalia)Private Security |
Author: Liu, Francis Ju-Ting Title: The Condition of Security of Gated Communities under Private Governance: findings from residents’ experiences and opinions Summary: The number of gated communities is rapidly increasing worldwide. Although security has always been one of the most appealing features of gated communities, studies show that there is no significant difference in crime rates between gated communities and surrounding non-gated neighbourhoods. How safe are gated communities? How effective are the enhanced security measures of gated communities in preventing crime? Are residents responsible for the condition of security in gated communities? All these questions need to be addressed to improve the safety and security of residents of gated communities. The study aims to examine the condition of security of gated communities by drawing on the experiences and opinions of residents. It used a quantitative approach, with a descriptive methodology. Surveys were distributed to residents of seven sample gated communities in Auckland. Survey results were analysed by descriptive statistics and cross-tabulations. In conclusion, the study found that the condition of security of Auckland gated communities is generally good as experienced and perceived by surveyed residents. ‘Security’ was regarded as one of the most significant factors for moving into a gated community. The majority of residents felt safe and secure both inside the property and within the community, and believed that their community was experiencing less crime than surrounding neighbourhoods. The study also found that the building manager, rather than the Owners’ Committee or the Body Corporate secretary, was identified as the most significant agent in the management of security related issues. The building manager was heavily relied by both residents and members of the Owners’ Committee. The study has presented basic findings about gated communities in the light of security and private governance. However, more research is needed to obtain sufficient data to discover the elements of successful crime prevention for gated communities. Details: Wellington, NZ: School of Social and Cultural Studies Victoria University of Wellington, 2010. 165p. Source: Internet Resource: Thesis: Accessed November 9, 2012 at: http://researcharchive.vuw.ac.nz/bitstream/handle/10063/1490/thesis.pdf?sequence=2 Year: 2010 Country: New Zealand URL: http://researcharchive.vuw.ac.nz/bitstream/handle/10063/1490/thesis.pdf?sequence=2 Shelf Number: 126898 Keywords: Crime PreventionGated Communities (New Zealand)Private Security |
Author: Cohen, Jay Title: Making Public-Private Security Cooperation More Efficient, Effective and Sustainable. Recommendations of the Task Force Summary: A global economy has empowered criminals and terrorists on a global scale. Embedded across far-flung production, trade and investment networks, illicit trafficking in high-tech data and equipment, narcotics, arms and counterfeit goods has laid bare the weaknesses of topdown government controls. The challenges of preventing illicit transshipment and other misappropriations of sensitive technologies have never been more urgent. In this report, Stimson's Partners in Prevention Task Force presents its final recommendations to US government and industry stakeholders for combating these threats through public-private partnerships that more effectively harness the power of decentralized, market-based incentives. Individually actionable but collectively diverse, these seven targeted proposals follow an 18-month Stimson collaboration with hundreds of industry partners spanning high-tech manufacturers and service providers, transport and logistics firms, and insurance providers. With the rise of a global marketplace, finding more innovative ways to leverage the resources, agility and expertise of the private sector is essential - and not just for "security," narrowly understood. It will also go far in shaping the future of US global influence and leadership. The Task Force proposals connect that strategic imperative with pragmatic steps forward. Details: Washington, DC: The Stimson Center, 2014. 49p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 14, 2014 at: http://www.stimson.org/images/uploads/pip_public-private_security_task_force_recs.pdf Year: 2014 Country: United States URL: http://www.stimson.org/images/uploads/pip_public-private_security_task_force_recs.pdf Shelf Number: 132673 Keywords: Crime PreventionPrivate SecurityPublic-Private PartnershipsSecurityTerrorismTrafficking |
Author: MacDonald, John M. Title: The Effect of Privately Provided Police Services on Crime Summary: Research demonstrates that police reduce crime. The implication of this research for investment in a particular form of extra police services, those provided by private institutions, has not been rigorously examined. We capitalize on the discontinuity in police force size at the geographic boundary of a private university police department to estimate the effect of the extra police services on crime. Extra police provided by the university generate approximately 45-60 percent fewer crimes in the surrounding neighborhood. These effects appear to be similar to other estimates in the literature. Details: Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Law School; Erasmus School of Law; PERC - Property and Environment Research Center, 2012. 26p. Source: Internet Resource: University of Pennsylvania, Institute for Law & Economics Research Paper No. 12-36 : Accessed May 13, 2015 at: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2171038 Year: 2012 Country: United States URL: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2171038 Shelf Number: 135871 Keywords: Campus PoliceCampus SecurityPolice EffectivenessPrivate PolicePrivate Security |
Author: Prenzler, Tim Title: Outsourcing of Policing Tasks: Scope and Prospects Summary: This report examines developments internationally in private security, including the role of security in crime reduction. The review also examines forms of privatised and outsourced policing, and crime prevention partnerships between government and private security. Available evidence indicates that the current downward trend in crime internationally is largely attributable to the wide-scale uptake of security services across a range of institutional, commercial and domestic settings. Rising crime rates globally, and in Australia, appear to have been turned around, and long-term downward trends have set in across numerous offence categories. Growth in the security industry has included a variety of forms of outsourced and partnership policing. There is little evidence, internationally, of any deliberate and thorough-ongoing policies of privatisation of police departments. "Privatisation" has, instead, occurred primarily through market-driven growth in security. Growth has occurred in consumption by government, as well as private sector in-house and contract security. Despite the turnaround in crime rates, crime victimisation remains at high levels in many countries, including Australia. To address this problem, the traditional separation of police and private security needs to be systematically overcome through more organised and active partnerships. There are numerous case studies available of police working closely and successfully with private security, primarily through forms of crime prevention partnerships. These often involve local government and local business associations. Governments also need to make more of opportunities to reduce crime and reduce costs by installing advanced security systems and outsourcing security where a business case can be mounted. Governments also need to facilitate the general uptake of security in commercial, institutional and residential settings. This report concludes that there are enormous opportunities for governments, police and private security to achieve a synergetic effect in crime prevention. Although police and private security operate on different principles of private and public interests, contract arrangements and partnerships can be managed in ways that meet public interest criteria and satisfy democratic principles of accountability. Details: Crows Nest, NSW: Australian security Industry Association, 2013. 67p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 23, 2015 at: https://www.asial.com.au/documents/item/13 Year: 2013 Country: International URL: https://www.asial.com.au/documents/item/13 Shelf Number: 135774 Keywords: Crime PreventionPrivate PolicingPrivate SecurityPrivatization |
Author: Klopfer, Franziska Title: A Force for Good? Mapping the private security landscape in Southeast Europe Summary: The private security industry polarises opinion. For some, it is simply unacceptable to hand responsibility for public security to commercial entities driven - according to this argument - purely by the pursuit of profit. For others, private security companies (PSCs) offer a much needed complement or even an alternative to beleaguered state security services. Perspectives may vary for reasons as diverse as wider national attitudes to privatisation of state services in general or, for example, personal experience of PSCs. But views are always likely to reflect either strong opposition or support. In short, it seems that there is no general agreement about the role that PSCs should and can play as part of the security sector in a democratic state. This topic has been the focus of considerable attention in research and policy circles at national and international levels. Spurred by high profile incidents in contexts such as Iraq and Afghanistan, much attention has been given to the role of PSCs and private military/security companies (PMSCs) in conflict and post-conflict environments. This has led to international non-governmental actors, governments and PSCs themselves coming together to develop international regulatory mechanisms that aim to ensure transparency and accountability while fostering good practices and improved standards within the industry. While developments on the international level provide important starting points for private security regulation, they do not provide a detailed analysis of how private security can contribute to ensuring security as a public good. Indeed, the answers to this question will differ significantly from context to context. A true understanding of private security and its regulation can only start from two fundamental considerations: (1) which role does the state want to attribute to private security providers within the security sector; and (2) which framework is most effective to enable private security to deliver those services and fulfil to clearly defined standards. The first question requires a political decision. The second situates private security within the wider framework of domestic security sector governance concerns. Crucially, both questions need to be answered based on a clear understanding of national security needs and the actual roles played by PSCs operating in a given context. Details: Belgrade; Geneva: Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces, 2015. 129p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 19, 2015 at: http://www.researchgate.net/publication/282657912_A_Force_for_Good_Mapping_the_private_security_landscape_in_Southeast_Europe Year: 2015 Country: Europe URL: http://www.researchgate.net/publication/282657912_A_Force_for_Good_Mapping_the_private_security_landscape_in_Southeast_Europe Shelf Number: 137018 Keywords: Private PolicingPrivate SecurityPrivatizationPublic Security |
Author: Iorillo, David Matthew Title: Integrating Public-Partnerships into Public Safety: The San Diego Organized Retail Crime Alliance, A Case Study Summary: The public safety industry is spread across a broad network of law enforcement, prosecution and incarceration agencies and programs that work to reduce crime at each level. In today's economic and political environment, law enforcement agencies across the country are facing stricter budget and staffing models that have a profound effect on their ability to police neighborhoods and reduce crime. Private sector industries such as retail loss prevention, facility and private security corporations and financial organizations conduct investigations and implement crime reduction programs that mirror the efforts of law enforcement. Through the creation and utilization of partnerships between law enforcement and strategic private sector industries, crime can be reduced and the overall costs of combating crime can be shared among multiple resources. The reductions in budget and staffing make it an absolute necessity for law enforcement to look outside of traditional partnerships and bridge the gap better law enforcement and the private sector. Details: Charles Town, WV: American Public University, 2014. 67p. Source: Internet Resource: Thesis: Accessed July 1, 2016 at: http://digitalcommons.apus.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1005&context=theses Year: 2014 Country: United States URL: http://digitalcommons.apus.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1005&context=theses Shelf Number: 139543 Keywords: Crime PreventionOrganized Retail CrimePrivate SecurityRetail CrimeRetail SecurityShoplifting |
Author: Lubbe, Lindy-Lee Title: A Competency Model for Security Officers: A Qualitative Design Summary: Crime is rife in South Africa. Explanations abound for the high crime statistics, including the weakening of the family unit, the political history of South Africa, urbanisation and the fast growing urban neighbourhood, a weak criminal justice system and the abundant availability of firearms. In the quest to prevent crime, the private security industry has become a key performer in helping to deter and prevent crime and criminal activities. Yet there are no set criteria for selecting security officers against the backdrop of the high crime rates and a growing private security sector. Therefore the purpose was to develop a competency model for the selection of security officers for the safekeeping and protection of persons and property in the Thaba Tshwane area. I chose to do qualitative research using an interpretive approach in an attempt to understand the views of the participants concerning the work context and requirements of security officers. A grounded theory approach to the strategy of inquiry was employed as it was best suited to keeping the information that was gathered grounded in the participants' own opinions. The focus of this research was on designing a competency model for security officers for selection purposes. Data were gathered through disciplinary records and open-ended structured interviews where the repertory grid and the behavioural event interview were applied.Eight subject matter experts, who included security officers, managers and a client working in the security industry, were used. The result of the study was a competency model of nine competencies and their definitions, which were grounded in the data and critical in functioning as an efficient security officer. Details: Pretoria: University of South Africa, 2010. 156p. Source: Internet Resource: Thesis: Accessed July 25, 2016 at: http://uir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/4608 Year: 2010 Country: South Africa URL: http://uir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/4608 Shelf Number: 139831 Keywords: Private PolicePrivate SecuritySecurity Officers |
Author: Rosemont, Hugo Title: Public-Private Security Cooperation: From Cyber to Financial Crime Summary: Over the past two years, there has been considerable focus in the UK on developing a strategic and tactical partnership between the public and private sectors in order to achieve a step-change in the country's response to financial crime. Speaking at RUSI in June 2014, Theresa May, the then home secretary, emphasised the importance of the partnership between private sector companies and law enforcement to tackling financial crime, preventing money laundering and recovering the proceeds of crime. The result: the formation of the Financial Sector Forum and the creation of the Joint Money Laundering Intelligence Taskforce (JMLIT), a public-private partnership dedicated to collaboration in order to enhance the national response to financial crime. While this nascent effort appears to be gaining traction, and the JMLIT is being moved to a permanent footing, it is certainly not the first such initiative to be established. This paper from RUSI's Centre for Financial Crime and Security Studies considers lessons that can be learnt from the establishment of previous public-private partnerships, in particular the Cyber-security Information Sharing Partnership (CiSP). The author stresses the importance of establishing measurable objectives that are co-designed and agreed upon from the outset. Too often such partnerships, established in good faith and with undoubted commitment, fade as the initial enthusiasm wanes, staff are reassigned, and those contributing time and resources question the value of their commitment. As the UK's JMLIT emerges from its pilot phase, the longevity of this initiative will be challenged as its initial momentum fades. It is therefore critical that the JMLIT draws on the experience of other, similarly important public-private sector security partnerships in order to anticipate and address the challenges it might face as it matures. Details: London: Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies, 2016. 33p. Source: Internet Resource: RUSI Occasional paper: Accessed September 2, 2016 at: https://rusi.org/sites/default/files/op_201608_rosemont_public-private_security_cooperation1.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United Kingdom URL: https://rusi.org/sites/default/files/op_201608_rosemont_public-private_security_cooperation1.pdf Shelf Number: 140119 Keywords: CybercrimeFinancial CrimeMoney LaunderingPartnershipsPrivate SecuritySecurity |
Author: Ngugi, Rose W. Title: Security Risk and Private Sector Growth in Kenya: A Survey Report Summary: Crime is one of the major factors that define the investment climate or the enabling environment for private businesses to thrive. A favorable investment climate is crucial for private sector growth, as it reduces the cost of doing business. A good investment climate attracts private investment by assuring "business security". Security of both property and individuals influences the investment climate. Crime and insecurity in Nairobi and in Kenya as a whole has been on the increase over the years. Indeed, the recent upsurge in crime has been reported in the Economic Survey 2004. Furthermore, concerns about crime and insecurity have been widely broadcasted in the media and have been a subject for discussion in various fora, including parliament. In the 1990s, Nairobi was rated by the United Nations (UN) as one of the most dangerous capital cities and was downgraded from class B to C in the UN security classification. The perceived insecurity in Kenya has also created a negative image of the country within the international community. The Government of Kenya has recognized the problem of crime and insecurity as a major hindrance to rapid economic recovery; as a result, the need for enhancing law and order was identified as one of the priority areas in the Economic Recovery Strategy for Wealth and Employment Creation. Security risk affects performance of firms through various channels. Firms for example loose sales or face low turnover due to reduced demand/market scope, which is partly attributed to limited hours of doing business. Firms also loose sales due to inability to distribute products. However, a few firms, especially those providing security-related services benefit from a high level of insecurity, especially when the government machinery fails to provide adequate security. The competitiveness of firms is also lost due to either high prices of products in an effort to cover the costs of providing individual security or the disincentive to invest in technology that would see the products attain a competitive quality. Security risk also affects investment decisions. Firms may for example be reluctant to undertake heavy and new investments especially if the investment decision is irreversible. Firms may also opt to postpone making investment decisions due to the feeling of insecurity. Insecurity also increases the cost of capital because it raises the risk-premium tagged on financial capital. New entrants into the market may also be discouraged. Therefore, insecurity slows down business growth and deters employment creation and poverty reduction. The aim of this study is to establish the scope, threats and dynamics of crime and insecurity in Kenya. Specifically, the objectives of the study are to examine issues related to insecurity and crime in Nairobi, including the scope, trends and dynamics of insecurity and crime in Kenya; and to review the implications of crime and insecurity on the business environment especially in terms of private sector business operations and investment. The study was conducted in Nairobi City in Kenya. The study mainly utilized a survey design covering households, businesses, individuals and security workers. Additional information was collected from private security firms, community-based organizations and key informants from the public and private sectors. In selection of study respondents, mapping of Nairobi City was carried out to establish spatial and socio-economic characteristics. The city was stratified into 22 clusters to ensure appropriate representation. Respondents were then selected based on predetermined quotas along the different aspects of the study. Details: Nairobi: Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis (KIPPRA), 2004. 135p. Source: Internet Resource: Special Report No. 6: Accessed February 15, 2017 at: http://kippra.or.ke/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_view&gid=219&Itemid= Year: 2004 Country: Kenya URL: http://kippra.or.ke/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_view&gid=219&Itemid= Shelf Number: 145330 Keywords: CrimeEconomics of CrimePrivate SecuritySecuritySocioeconomic Conditions and Crime |
Author: Kiedrowski, John Title: The Civilianization of Police in Canada Summary: This report examines the purported benefits and challenges of employing civilians instead of sworn police officers to do different types of police work in Canadian police services. The key research question is what, if any, are the economic benefits (in terms of actual net savings achieved) and non-economic benefits of civilianization of employees working in administration, special uniformed services, investigative services, and specialized technical areas. The report's main focus is a practical one: to provide information useful to police executives, police boards and municipal governments in developing policy with regard to how civilian employees can be most cost-effectively and efficiently deployed to achieve major policing objectives. The research was carried out through a comprehensive literature review of civilianization in Canada, the United States (U.S.), and Great Britain. Twenty one police services responded to the survey while ten participated in follow-up interviews. Civilians were most likely to be employed in administration and specialized support and least likely in uniformed services and investigative services. While the lower salaries and benefits paid to civilians compared to sworn officers do offer some cost savings, the lower pay and lower status of civilians in police organizations is associated with problems in morale and employee turnover. A key finding of both the literature review and empirical research is that the overall costs of policing may not be reduced as the number of sworn officers does not necessarily decline with increased hiring of civilian employees. Indeed, the overall number of police personnel (both sworn and civilian) continues to rise and with it increased costs. A barrier to civilianization is the continued reluctance, for a variety of reasons, on the part of police executives and police associations as well as police boards and other governance bodies to reduce the numbers of uniformed sworn police officers, even with increased civilian staff hiring. The literature also suggests that when employee cuts have been made the preference is to cut civilian employees and not sworn officers. Details: Ottawa: Public Safety Canada, 2017. 82p. Source: Internet Resource: Research Report: 2015-R042: https://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/rsrcs/pblctns/2015-r042/2015-r042-en.pdf Year: 2017 Country: Canada URL: https://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/rsrcs/pblctns/2015-r042/2015-r042-en.pdf Shelf Number: 144775 Keywords: Civilian EmployeesCivilian Police OfficersCosts of PolicingPolice ReformPolicingPrivate Security |
Author: Bedard, Mathieu Title: Private Reinforcements for Public Police Forces? Summary: Policing costs have been rising for 25 years in Canada, while the number of criminal incidents per officer has fallen. These growing costs can be explained in part by an increase in the number of police officers, which has certainly contributed to a reduction in the crime rate, but also by the fact that those officers perform a growing number of tasks. In order to contain these rising costs while ensuring the same quality and scope of public safety services, the work of police officers should be refocused on their essential duties, and other categories of personnel should be employed wherever possible. Some efforts have already been made in this direction, among other things by entrusting police cadets with certain foot patrol or bicycle duties, and by getting them to help during outdoor events. The next step in controlling costs is to call on private security companies, which can under certain circumstances supply qualified personnel who are less expensive than police officers. Details: Montreal: Montreal Economic Institute , 2015. 4p. Source: Internet Resource: Economic Notes: Accessed September 27, 2017 at: http://www.iedm.org/files/note0115_en.pdf Year: 2015 Country: Canada URL: http://www.iedm.org/files/note0115_en.pdf Shelf Number: 147478 Keywords: Costs of Criminal JusticePrivate PolicePrivate SecurityPrivatizationSecurity Officers |
Author: Confederation of European Security Industries (CoESS) Title: The socio-economic added value of private security services in Europe Summary: It gives me great pleasure once again to pronounce the Fourth CoESS White Paper, 'The socio-economic added value of private security services in Europe', another success in the tradition of the launch of our White Papers at the occasion of the 'summits on private security services in Europe', organised by CoESS. After Paris, 15 December 2008, Stockholm, 8 December 2009, and Brussels, 10 December 2010, it is now Madrid's turn on 14-15 March 2013. This Fourth CoESS White Paper builds on the earlier impetus of those that have preceded it: 'La participation de la securite privee a la securite generale en Europe - Private security and its role in European security', - Private and public security in the Nordic countries' and - Private security in Belgium, a source of inspiration for Europe?'. The content of this Fourth CoESS White Paper does not break with the themes of its predecessors. This time we focus more, mostly from an economic perspective, on the added value of private security services in Europe. The core of this White Paper refers to the need for new ideas that are legitimately supported by existing scientific literature. The first part of the theoretical framework addresses the underlying discourse such as the risk society, integral security concern and nodal orientation, the concept of added value, supply-side and demand-side economics and the added value of private security services that embeds the latter's position in current security strategies adopted in and outside of Europe. The second part provides an update of the socio-economic added value of private security services. This is compiled using the morphology of private security services in clearly defined market segments as well as those still to be developed. The 'cost of crime' and the 'value selling' approach are explained in the context of the cost of crime and private security services. Furthermore, private security services invest in its employees as well as in technological developments, which means that the 'combined contract' strategy is becoming a reality. It is and continues to be obvious that this sector prioritises the vital importance of the human element. In this respect, we consider age, gender and salary policy as well as employment and economic growth. The value of education, training and/or lifelong learning is also discussed. We also address the added value of private security services and the public goods theory. Details: Wemmel, Belgium: CoESS, 2013. 27p. Source: Internet Resource: Fourth White Paper: Accessed September 27, 2017 at: www.coess.org Year: 2013 Country: Europe URL: www.coess.org Shelf Number: 147481 Keywords: Economic AnalysisPrivate SecuritySecurity GuardsSecurity Services |
Author: Confederation of European Security Industries (CoESS) Title: Critical Infrastructure Security and Protection: The Public-Private Opportunity Summary: Critical infrastructure in Europe is owned, operated, regulated and protected by a complex mixture of public and private organisations. While most of the critical infrastructure remains national or local, there is a European Directive on Critical Infrastructure, which provides for identification of EU sites of critical importance. The Confederation of European Security Services (CoESS), as the representative organisation for European private security services, observes that its members are playing an increasing role in protecting critical infrastructure and expects that this trend will be reinforced, as the benefits are clearly demonstrated to all the parties - the responsible authorities, the infrastructure owners and operators, the end-users of critical infrastructure, the private security companies and the general public at large. This is supported by good examples in Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and the UK, where public-private cooperation is functioning to the benefit of all stakeholders involved and highlighted in this paper. The document also contains suggestions on how these examples could be used as best practice and followed and implemented elsewhere. Based on best practices and efficient public-private cooperation, CoESS wishes to see the security and protection of critical infrastructure maximised through an explicit recognition by policymakers of the complexity of the issue, involving as it does public, private and in some cases hybrid actors. CoESS advocates for explicit allocation of roles and responsibilities for protection along with common standards of risk assessment to be adopted, so that best practice is used to apply appropriate levels of security. Security must be built into the design and operation of critical infrastructure in order to reduce security costs as well as improve security effectiveness, and not be added on as afterthought. Furthermore, this document also provides guidelines and a checklist for all parties involved on how to best secure and protect critical infrastructure. The main elements of the checklist include: inspection/ approval; standards; corporate governance; financial provisions; insurance; staff employment and training; critical infrastructure; contract infrastructure. Responsible decisionmakers should pay particular attention to quality of private security services for the protection of critical infrastructure. CoESS therefore recommends that national legislations regarding private security include a special licence when critical infrastructure protection is concerned. Hence, it is crucial that the private security sector is consulted at the very early stages of conceptualisation of approaches and possible strategies. Details: Wemmel, Belgium: CoESS, 2016. 27p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 30, 2017 at: http://www.coess.org/newsroom.php?page=white-papers Year: 2016 Country: Europe URL: http://www.coess.org/newsroom.php?page=white-papers Shelf Number: 147633 Keywords: Infrastructure ProtectionPrivate SecuritySecurity IndustrySecurity Personnel |
Author: Montgomery, Ruth Title: The Use of Private Security Services for Policing Summary: Over a decade ago, the Law Reform Commission of Canada (2002) opened a dialogue on the trend in the growth of private policing in Canada. A continued rise in police expenditures, combined with economic downturns, have contributed to pressure being placed on police services around the world to become more effective and efficient. This has resulted in a growing interest in discussing the value of privatizing or civilianizing functions of public police services (Public Safety Canada, 2012). This study examines the intersections between private security and public policing, with an emphasis on those functions that private security are now performing that have traditionally been performed by the public police, as well as cooperative efforts between public police and private security. METHOD The research included a literature review of the roles and responsibilities of private security and public police in the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Australia, New Zealand and Canada, a review of relevant Canadian legislation, and interviews with key individuals in Canadian government, private security, policing, and police governance organizations. FINDINGS There is the potential for private security to play an important role in community safety and addressing issues of crime and social disorder. Research evidence as to the effectiveness of police-private security initiatives in preventing crime and reducing disorder is mixed. A key factor in the success of these initiatives is management; that is, ensuring there is open communication among the parties, the integrity of the initiative, effective supervision of police and private security officers, and protocols for evaluation. In all of the jurisdictions reviewed, a major challenge is that the core functions of the police have not been defined. This makes it difficult to identify the parameters of the role and responsibilities of the public police, and to determine the niche for private security, working in partnership either with the police, or in an outsourcing or privatization arrangement. There are a number of key factors that are important to the success of police-private security partnerships: 1) a common interest in reducing a specific crime or crime set; 2) effective leadership, with personnel with authority from each partner organization driving participation; 3) mutual respect; 4) information sharing based on high levels of trust in confidentiality; 5) formal meetings of consultation and communication; and, 6) a willingness to experiment and consider all ideas. These processes seem to be in their infancy in Canada. The tiered policing system in Alberta is perhaps the best current example of a system-wide framework for police-private security collaboration. Ideally, police-private security partnerships would be a component of strategic plans that identify areas where collaboration between public police and other groups in the community can be undertaken, monitored, and evaluated. Cost should be one of only several metrics that are used to evaluate the effectiveness of these collaborative partnerships and of outsourcing. Given the unique role of the police in society, other metrics including the legitimacy of the police, the community's view of the various initiatives, and the sustainability of collaborative partnerships must be examined. It is evident that the size and scope of activities of new private security services is expanding. Despite this, there are few, if any, protocols in place to ensure communication and information sharing between these units, many of which are staffed by ex-police and security officers, and the public police. Similarly, there is no information on the size of these units, their budgets, and their activities. At present, these firms seem to inhabit a parallel universe to both public police and traditional private security firms. It is often assumed that privatizing and outsourcing traditional police tasks will result in reductions in the numbers of sworn police officers. Public police-private security collaboration may, on the other hand, result in innovative initiatives that previously did not exist. Little attention has been given to the legal framework within which private security firms operate. There has been little attention given to developing compliance standards and structures for a regulatory regimen. There is also considerable variability across jurisdictions in provisions for enforcement where regulations do exist. Most often, sanctions involve revoking operating licenses. In the absence of a national, provincial or territorial strategic plan for private security, there has also been a failure to develop mechanisms to ensure effective oversight of private security. This has a number of consequences, including an inability to ensure that private security companies are not vulnerable to organized crime, unethical and/or illegal behaviour. The movement to expand the role of private security is occurring in the absence of empirical research studies that would reveal the nature and extent of cost savings, the effectiveness, and the sustainability of policeprivate sector partnerships, outsourcing, and privatization. Cost savings are most often assumed rather than demonstrated. Within the larger context of the economics of policing, there is no published data on the relative cost-effectiveness of private versus public police. The absence of evaluation research on private policing in Canada precludes an informed discussion on proposals for expanding the activities of private policing companies. As well, it is difficult to assess the proposals that are made by private security companies to assume responsibilities currently managed by public police, or to evaluate the effectiveness of the strategies that are being proposed by private security firms. There is a need to know more about what private security personnel are doing, the rationale for their activities, and whether these rationales are supported by empirical data. There is no information on the ethics of private security, the values of private security officers, and the private security subculture - all key facets in the study of public police. Details: Ottawa: Public Safety Canada, 2015. 100p. Source: Internet Resource: Research Report: 2015-R041: Accessed October 17, 2017 at: https://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/rsrcs/pblctns/2015-R041/2015-R041-en.pdf Year: 2015 Country: Canada URL: https://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/rsrcs/pblctns/2015-R041/2015-R041-en.pdf Shelf Number: 147706 Keywords: Costs of Criminal JusticePartnershipsPolicingPrivate PolicingPrivate SecurityPrivatizationSecurity Officers |
Author: Te, Funk Title: Human Versus Technology: Comparing the Effect of Private Security Patrol and Crime Prevention Information System Over the Crime Level and Safety Perception Summary: Crime reduction became one of the major issues of the modern society. In order to achieve public reassurance, police forces all over the world are undertaking actions to involve citizens in crime prevention through community policing. In parallel, technological platforms were deployed in order to share crime-related information with the public and to support the development of problem-solving strategies. However, the impact of these initiatives in terms of crime reduction and perception has not been sufficiently investigated yet. Furthermore, up to now, no previous studies compared the effectiveness between the traditional approach of preventive patrolling and technology-based crime prevention solutions. Therefore, we present a study design which aims at assessing the effectiveness of the two aforementioned crime prevention measures. The goal is to evaluate and compare their effects over the local criminal activity and citizen's safety perception measured by Fear of Crime (FOC) and Perceived Risk of Victimization (PRV) constructs. Preliminary results show a rather low level of FOC across the whole sample, paired by a high level of PRV. Furthermore, potential explanatory background factors for the previous constructs have been identified and will be explored in future work. Details: Association for Information Systems, 2016. 12p. Source: Internet Resource: Research-in-Progress Papers. 48: Accessed October 17, 2017 at: https://aisel.aisnet.org/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1072&context=ecis2016_rip Year: 2016 Country: Switzerland URL: https://aisel.aisnet.org/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1072&context=ecis2016_rip Shelf Number: 147711 Keywords: Crime PreventionFear of CrimePolice TechnologyPreventive PatrolPrivate SecuritySecurity Guards |
Author: Gill, Martin Title: Towards 'A Strategy for Change' for the Security Sector Summary: This report aims to provide a foundation for thinking about and ultimately developing a 'Strategy for Change' for the security sector. It seeks to provide a rationale for why private security is important and suggests ideas (for wider debate) about how its potential might be realised. The document is based on three overarching aims: The Government must be encouraged to develop a strategy for harnessing the enormous contribution of the private security sector to preventing crime. The private security sector must commit to developing an ability to talk with a more united and coordinated voice. The private security sector must commit to highlighting the enormous benefits it generates including for the public good, and commit to ways of enhancing these. Much of what it currently does is unheralded and under acknowledged. Details: Tunbridge Wells, UK: Perpetuity Research & Consultancy International (PRCI) Ltd., 2017. 42p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 3, 2017 at: https://perpetuityresearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/2017-09-Towards-a-Strategy-for-Change.pdf Year: 2017 Country: United Kingdom URL: https://perpetuityresearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/2017-09-Towards-a-Strategy-for-Change.pdf Shelf Number: 147989 Keywords: Crime PreventionPrivate SecuritySecurity OfficersSecurity Personnel |
Author: Howell, Charlotte Title: Police Views on Private Security Summary: - This report discusses findings from responses provided by 1361 serving police officers in an on-line survey on attitudes towards the private security sector (private security suppliers and corporate security departments) - The study was undertaken to inform strategies for better engaging private security, and as part of the development of a sister document, Towards 'A Strategy for Change' for the Security Sector" The current position - Close to 6 in 10 believed private security plays a minor role in protecting the public - Close to 7 in 10 believed security officers do not act as the eyes and ears of the police, although more than 4 in 10 thought they should - The police generally favoured private security supporting private events, although for some this was because they saw the role as administrative (e.g. checking tickets on entry) rather than policing - Corporate security departments were seen as important in helping the police in their work by 62%, security officers much less so, 36% - Well over 8 in 10 stated that business needed to be primarily responsible for protecting itself against fraud and cyber crime. Indeed, only a half of the sample believed that the police has a responsibility to investigate all frauds and all cyber crimes Future possibilities - Close to 8 in 10 were against security officers working on behalf of the police as first responders to incidents - More than half disagreed with the suggestion that collaborative working between the police and private security is essential given the current limitations of police funding - Respondents were critical of businesses, with approaching 9 in 10 indicating that they need to be more committed to sharing information with the police - A much smaller majority - but over a half - admitted that the police also need to improve here, in terms of being more committed to sharing information with businesses - Police officers responding were not typically supportive of private security seconding officers, nor in conferring additional powers on private officers. Even the idea of businesses injecting money into the force to enable a response to certain crime types was not overwhelmingly viewed as positive General perceptions - A majority of respondents believed that both the police and the public had a generally negative view of private security - Very few believed that police officers viewed private security as essential partners (4%). About 3 in 10 felt private security was tolerated albeit more than half felt they were sometimes of assistance. - Well over a half felt that private security officers are not sufficiently well trained to be useful - Over three quarters felt that private security does not enhance the UK policing brand - More than 6 in 10 felt that private security did not enhance the reputation of the police - That said close to 3 in 10 agreed with the suggestion that some specialist private security services operate with more expertise than the comparative services offered by the police - More agreed than disagreed that there are individuals in the private sector that they respect for their excellent work (43% compared to 17%) The level of trust - Well over a half felt that the private security sector cannot be trusted - Over two thirds of respondents did not consider private security trustworthy to charge a fair price - Nearly four fifths of respondents did not agree that private security could be trusted to be impartial - Approaching 8 in 10 police officers admitted to being suspicious of the profit motive of private security - Similarly over three quarters of officers noted that the lack of accountability of the private security sector undermines police confidence Key opportunities - Nearly three fifths of respondents felt that there is a lack of leadership in the police service about how best to work with private security - Generally speaking the police do not profess to be extensively knowledgeable about private security or highly experienced in working with them - There is some evidence that much of what the police know about private security comes directly from interaction with private security rather than for example internal training - Over a half felt that if the police were responsible for accrediting private security, it would increase police trust in the work of the private security sector. A majority also agreed that police trust in private security would increase if the police were involved in training them - The role of private security (and especially suppliers) in helping to prevent crime is not enough to persuade police officers of its worth. They need to be more informed about the work that it does, not least in supporting the public good, and making a distinction between using private security to replace police on the front line (this is as close as you can get to an unqualified bad thing in police eyes) with supporting public protection in its myriad of current roles. There needs to be meaningful engagement and better leadership on both sides. Details: Tunbridge Wells, UK: Perpetuity Research & Consultancy International (PRCI) Ltd., 2017. 66p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 3, 2017 at: https://perpetuityresearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/2017-09-Police-Views-on-Private-Security.pdf Year: 2017 Country: United Kingdom URL: https://perpetuityresearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/2017-09-Police-Views-on-Private-Security.pdf Shelf Number: 147990 Keywords: Crime PreventionPrivate SecuritySecurity OfficersSecurity Personnel |
Author: Kinosian, Sarah Title: Security for Sale: Challenges and Good Practices in Regulating Private Military and Security Companies in Latin America Summary: Just before midnight on March 2, 2016, assassins broke into Berta Caceres' home and murdered her in her bedroom. Caceres was an indigenous leader in a peaceful campaign against the Agua Zarca dam on a river considered sacred by the indigenous Lenca community of Honduras. In the months leading up to her death, Caceres, along with the resistance movement she led, endured threats, smear campaigns, physical assaults, sexual assaults and forced eviction. The recently-arrested executive president of the company building the dam, Desarrollos Energeticos SA, (DESA), was a former military intelligence officer. On DESA's board sits a former justice minister and several members of one of the richest and most powerful families in Honduras. An international group of lawyers studying the case established "shareholders, executives, managers, and employees of Desarrollos Energeticos Sociedad Anonima (DESA); private security companies working for DESA; and public officials and State security agencies implemented different strategies to violate the right to prior, free and informed consultation of the Lenca indigenous people. The strategy was to control, neutralize and eliminate any opposition." So far nine people have been arrested, four of whom have ties to the Honduran military. Among many other issues, including high-level corruption, the Caceres assassination is emblematic of many problems associated with the private sector security industry in Latin America. The lines between current and retired military personnel and the private company were blurred. There was an interwoven network of current military, former military, private security, business elites and government officials. The dispute involved an energy project opposed by a local community, a context in which many of the worst Private Military and Security Company (PMSC) abuses occur across the region. The sustained use of surveillance, threats, and force against the Lenca community-culminating with Caceres' assassination- was excessive and politicized, clearly violating the rules of engagement for public and private security forces. Some of the individuals responsible for the murder were only arrested after significant international outcry, but most of the masterminds behind the killing remain free. Details: Washington, DC: The Dialogue, 2018. 20p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 16, 2018 at: https://www.thedialogue.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Security-for-Sale-FINAL-ENGLISH.pdf Year: 2018 Country: Latin America URL: https://www.thedialogue.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Security-for-Sale-FINAL-ENGLISH.pdf Shelf Number: 149813 Keywords: Citizen SecurityMilitary PersonnelPrivate SecurityPrivatizationSecurity Companies |
Author: Murtonen, Mervi Title: More value from security: Redefining value creation and service provision in security services Summary: This report is a collection of research papers written in a three-year research project addressing customer value in security services. It consists of 12 individual papers and a summative introduction. In theoretical terms, the aim of the report is to present, analyse, and discuss value creation in business-to-business security services. From a managerial angle, the report aims at understanding of how security-service providers could better meet customers' needs and requirements. The research project behind these papers was designed to explore how customer value is present in current security-service provision. The purposefully selected sample was composed of 10 companies, all of which participated in the research project. Eight of the companies represented security-service providers, while the other two were customer companies, one a large private company and the other a public organisation. In addition to these two customer organisations taking part in the project, 60 other customer companies and dozens of individual end users were interviewed, for a fuller and more coherent picture of customer-perceived value in security services. The primary data collection method was in-depth interviews. Among the other methods used were online surveys, observation of service encounters, and various workshops with the participating companies. All the papers share the same purpose - to present, analyse, and discuss value creation in business-to-business security services - but they differ in the data on which the analysis is based or in the viewpoint, research method, central theme, or research question. As a result, this report proposes a specific frame of reference for understanding the prerequisites for value creation in one particular area of business-to-business services. The summative analysis and interpretation of the papers' key findings were organised in line with that framework, following the structure of a content-process-context model. The conclusions of this report are presented after the main findings of the papers and address the following themes: 1) service-orientation of security companies, 2) value perceptions of customers and security-service providers, and 3) meeting of customers' various security needs. As an outcome of this report, a revised framework is presented, and its implications both for security services and for other business-to-business services are discussed. Details: Espoo, Finland: VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, 2012. 180p. Source: Internet Resource: accessed June 2, 2018 at:; https://www.vtt.fi/inf/pdf/science/2012/S25.pdf Year: 2012 Country: Finland URL: https://www.vtt.fi/inf/pdf/science/2012/S25.pdf Shelf Number: 150439 Keywords: Crime Against BusinessCrime PreventionPrivate SecuritySecurity Industry |
Author: Molomo, Mpho Title: Promoting Partnerships for Crime Prevention Between the State and Private Security Providers in Botswana Summary: State agencies alone are unable to combat rising levels of crime. Unlike state security, private security providers are driven by profit, and render service to those who can pay for it. The intent of this report is to identify entry points for establishing and strengthening crime prevention strategies, policies and initiatives; it suggests reforms necessary to enhance public-private partnerships, and endeavours to provide an analysis on the legitimacy, accountability and oversight of the various security actors involved in crime prevention. The report underscores that there is no specific law or Act governing the operations of private security providers. Details: IDRC Digital Library, 2014. 39p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 4, 2019 at: https://idl-bnc-idrc.dspacedirect.org/bitstream/handle/10625/55580/IDL-55580.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y Year: 2014 Country: Botswana URL: https://idl-bnc-idrc.dspacedirect.org/bitstream/handle/10625/55580/IDL-55580.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y Shelf Number: 154802 Keywords: Crime Prevention Partnerships Private SecurityPublic-Private Partnerships |