Private Policing: A View From the Mall

Abstract

In many Western democratic societies the primacy of the police has begun to diminish with a proliferation of alternative service providers, particularly within the private security sector. This raises questions about how such bodies can best be mobilized and integrated within policing. This paper reports findings from three ethnographic case studies of private security teams operating within areas of semi‐public space, to advance understanding of their nature and operations. It shows how the character of security work is determined by vastly differing structural arrangements to those of the police, but by a similar heterogeneity of function. While private security is seen to have a valid place within the ‘extended police family’, it is depicted as a low status sector whose authority in undertaking policing derives from the autonomy of other more powerful players. Future ethnographies, it is therefore argued, need to focus on the corporate users that govern its activities.

Occupational culture of private security officers in the Netherlands – comparison with police officers' culture

“…This study shows that most private security officers are service oriented, a finding that corresponds with those of Wakefield (2008). The large majority (89.1%) of the private security officers state that it is (very) important to them that citizens are satisfied with their work.…”

“…The studies by Button (2007) and Wakefield (2003Wakefield ( , 2008 show that private security officers in England often have a rather negative view of their own job. Often, they do not view it as a real occupation, and they have many complaints about their working conditions.…”

“…Button also found that the orientation of private security officers differs greatly between the workplaces in which they operate. Wakefield (2003Wakefield ( , 2008 is also critical of Rigakos' assumption of a police-like culture among private security officers. She found some similarities in cultural orientation between police and security officers, but generally they are only superficial.…”

The Short- and Long-Run Effects of Private Law Enforcement: Evidence from University Police

“…Many of the spaces commonly viewed as public, such as shopping malls, residential areas, parks, and educational campuses, are in fact controlled by private entities (Stenning 2000, Wakefield 2008, Joh 2005, Shearing and Stenning 1981, Jones and Newburn 1999. Referred to as "mass private property," these spaces, which are privately-owned but routinely used and frequented by the public, now make up a substantial portion of the public space in urban areas (Stenning 2000).…”

“…In many settings, lines have blurred between the private police and public police (Wakefield 2008, D'Alessio, Eitle, and Stolzenberg 2005, Joh 2005, Kakalik and Wildhorn 1971 University of Chicago Department of Safety and Security 2013, Nalla and Heraux 2003, Shearing and Stenning 1981, 1983, Spitzer and Scull 1977, Stenning 2000, Wakefield 2002, and many of the remaining distinctions may be more theoretical than practical. Private and public officers both seek to reduce crime and increase safety, although the "client base for private police…”