The Borderline between Private and Public Security (original) (raw)
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The growth of private security: trends in the European Union
2007
Abstract This paper provides an update of the trend towards greater private provision of policing and security services in the European Union (EU). Although data must be treated with caution, recent figures indicate growth from around 600,000 security employees in 1999 to well over a million today.
A Force for Good: Mapping the private security landscape in Southeast Europe
The first publication of the project explores and assesses the origins and current state of the private security sector in each of the target countries, with specific reference to principles of good governance and the protection of human rights. In particular, the authors examine when and how the first private security companies developed and whether and how PSCs, their clients, and other factors such as relevant legislation determined the services private security offer today, and which companies were established/have survived in the market. The studies look into the economic importance of private security especially as a source of employment. They also explore if PSCs are able to provide quality security services by looking at the background and qualifications of managers and employees. A number of important questions are addressed: who are the people who work for PSCs, what is their level of expertise and professionalism and what are their working conditions? How important are (political) relationships for the success of a PSC and do domestic political considerations have an impact on which PSC receives contracts and how well they work? How is quality defined and enforced by both PSCs and their clients, especially public sector clients? Finally, do PSCs and state security providers coordinate, cooperate or compete with each other?
European Internal Security as a Public Good
European Security, 2013
This introduction argues for a new research agenda on European internal security cooperation from the perspective of public goods. We set out our case in three parts. First, we identify new empirical puzzles and demonstrate significant explanatory gaps in the existing internal security literature which public goods theory could help address. Second, we outline the building blocks of a public goods approach and provide an overview of its application, both existing and potentially, in various areas of regional security and European integration. Third, we present three complementary ways of using public goods theory to analyse internal security in the European Union, with the aim of spurring new research questions while accepting some limitations of this theoretical approach.
Purpose: The purpose of the article is to present a short overview of the development of the private security industry in the last twenty years, with an emphasis on the relationship between public and private security in Slovenia. Design/Methodology/Approach: The article starts with some theoretical concepts that can explain the legitimacy of private security in contemporary society. Further on, a critical analysis of private security sector in three periods of its development is presented. Finally, results of a survey conducted among police officers, police chiefs, private security officers, security managers and members of the Slovenian parliament are presented. The opinions of police officers and security officers were gathered by questionnaires, while interviews were used for police chiefs, security managers and politicians. Findings: In the last fifteen years, the Slovenian private security sector developed significantly through at least three periods. The first can be called ‘privatisation of security’ (1994-2003), and it represents the fastest growing period of private security. The second period can be called ‘consolidation of private security’ (2003-2007), which was marked by the intervention of the state in the ‘private security business’, due to the excessive rapid development of the sector. The third one can be called the ’policisation of the private security sector’ (2007 - present), since the ministry of the interior and the police obtained extra powers in the field of private security. This process is not over yet and is likely to go through further changes. Throughout these periods of development within the private security sector, private security personnel and police officers (and their respective organisations) were forced to establish relationships. The results of the survey do not confirm the stereotype of conflicting and competitive relations between police officers and security officers. Both groups describe their relations as cooperative, and security officers sometimes see these relations in terms of partnership. There are areas where police officers perform their duties together with security officers, of which the most typical are the protection of public gatherings, transportation and security of money, arrest and hand over of criminals by security officers to the police, intervention in case of alarm, exchange of information on criminality, even control over private security by the police. Police chiefs and security managers also believe that some synergetic impact of such cooperation on the internal security of the state does exist, despite all the difficulties with measuring of such effects. Nevertheless, if the relationship between private security companies and the police at the end of the 20th Century could be described as one of coexistence, it is obviously time for both organisations to become partners in the 21st century. Research limitations/implications: This article presents the relationship between the private and public security sectors in Slovenia, hence findings and conclusions cannot be simply generalised for other post-socialist countries, despite the fact that many countries from the former Yugoslavia use Slovenia as a case country according to which they adjust their models, and private security is not exempted from this. Practical implications: The results present quite an optimistic overview of the Slovenian private security sector and its relationship with the public security sector. As such, the article can be used as a foundation for further research in this area as well as for supporting decision-making processes in the field of security. Originality/Value: The article is structured in a way that allows for a better understanding of the present situation since the development of the private security sector and responses of the state are also included. The findings of the research give quite a complex picture of relations between the private and public security sectors, because opinions of police officers and security officers are supplemented with interviews with managers and politicians. Therefore, the findings can be used to influence daily roles within the police and private security sectors, but also to aid the development of a new strategic document on the further expansion of the private security industry in Slovenia which state policy-makers will prepare in 2009. UDK: 351.746.2(497.4)
Private Security in Practice: Case studies from Southeast Europe
The Volume Private Security in Practice: Case studies from Southeast Europe presents eight case studies that explore the impact that private security has on security, human rights and the democratic order in four Southeast European countries: Albania, Bulgaria, Kosovo and Serbia. Since regulation should not only limit the negative impact but also foster the positive contribution that private security can make, the authors specifically looked at how challenges posed by PSCs could be avoided and how opportunities can be seized. Broadly, the case studies cover four governance challenges: the development of the private security market, particularly in relation to the state’s retreat from its monopoly on security provision (Part 1); the role of private security in the protection of critical infrastructure (Part 2); the state as a client of private security companies and the impact of public procurement processes on the private security market (Part 3); and the success and failure of different policies aimed at improving the professionalism of private security personnel (Part 4). Previous research by the authors demonstrated that these policy issues are important for each of the four target countries. However, it is worth noting that other pressing policy questions regarding private security exist in these countries, and the authors’ choice does not indicate that the topics discussed are necessarily more pertinent or urgent than others.
The relationship between police and private security: Models and future directions
2000
This is a theory and policy paper designed to facilitate debate about the emerging and evolving relationship between the public and private policing sectors. The so‐called pluralization of policing is gathering momentum. New models are required that take into account the blurring of what have been conventionally considered parallel systems, with private security as very much the ''lesser''or junior entity.
The Private Security Industry in International Perspective
European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research, 1999
The purpose of this article is to describe, from an international perspective, the state of the art of the private security industry. Typical in any discussion of the industry is the lack, or non-existence, of reliable facts and figures. At the same time, there is a strong demand for this kind of information. This discourse aims to fill this gap by comparing the size of the sector, the turnover, and regulation between European and non-European countries. This article will deal with five major points. First a short description of the private security industry in the Netherlands is given. Secondly, international comparisons are presented to assess the size of the industry with reference to the 15 EU-countries, and 12 non-EU countries. With regard to the latter category, some information on recent developments will be presented. Thirdly, a comparison of the order of magnitude and ranking of manpower between the security industry and the police within and outside the EU is described. Also, some remarks and data on the quality of the industry and police effectiveness will be dealt with. Fourthly, a brief overview is presented on the regulation of the private security industry in the EU. Fifthly, this article rounds off with general conclusions and some perspectives on the future.
The evolution of security industry regulation in the European Union
International Journal of Comparative and Applied Criminal Justice, 2016
The European private security sector has grown from a handful of small companies at the end of the Second World War into a multibillion Euro industry with thousands of firms and millions of security staff. In Europe, the demands for security is not just expressed notionally but also officially in The European Agenda on Security stating the European Union (EU) aims to ensure that people live in an area of freedom, security, and justice. This article will begin by exploring the role of private security in society. It will then move on to consider the main phases in the development of private security regulation in Europe. Following on from this, some of the main areas of policy development will be considered, such as European bodies, initiatives, and standards. Finally, the article will explore some of the potential options for the future in better regulating the European private security sector. From a historical perspective, the evolution of private security regulation can be divide...