CRITICAL ISSUES IN SECURITY PREVENTION

Critical Issues in Security Prevention

Critical Issues in Security Prevention

Introduction

We tend to think of policing as a public sector institution, but there are, in fact, more private security personnel than sworn police officers. This entry describes this other, more pervasive side of policing. It describes the forces that produced the growth in this industry and the effects on public safety. It concludes with a look to the future of privatization, with an identification of critical issues related to current trends and an examination of directions that have been identified as offering promise for improving service in both the public and private domains of policing.

Historical Background

Privatization typically means the absence of government in the provision of protective services. Private citizens and institutions often buy services to protect life and property and to reduce fear, and they determine how these services will be allocated. This includes a myriad of self-help approaches to protecting private property and personal safety, including the following (Walsh and Donovan 1989):

Hiring of security guards and private investigators

Installation of surveillance, lighting, locks, secure doors and windows, and alarm systems

Use of citizen foot patrols and block watches, and escort services for senior citizens and university women

Citizens-band radio automobile patrols and radio-alert networks for taxis, busses, and commercial vehicles

Carrying of concealed weapons by private citizens

Privatization occurs within the government, too, as when federal, state, or local governments contract with private sources for specific services. The federal government is, in fact, the largest employer of private security guards. Examples of the activities for which private agents are hired by governments can include the following (Stewart, 1985):

Security of government buildings

Court security

Prisoner custody

Computer and communications system maintenance

Training

Laboratory services

Radio dispatching

Video surveillance

Traffic and parking control

Private security, as opposed to public law enforcement, focuses more on crime prevention than response, typically including the work of security guards; corporate security and loss prevention personnel; alarm and surveillance specialists; private investigators; armored vehicle personnel; manufacturers of security equipment; locksmiths; security consultants and engineers; and people involved in a variety of related roles, from private forensic laboratory scientists to guard dog trainers and drug-testing specialists (Sparrow et al, 1990).

Theoretical Foundations

Prevention strategies attempt to stop juvenile crime from occurring, while intervention strategies look at ways to educate, reform, or treat those who have already committed offenses and have come to the attention of the criminal justice system. While some intervention strategies are more informal, such as diversion and teen courts, they still focus on the small percentage of youth who face the risk of being labeled juvenile delinquents (Skolnick & Fyfe, 1993).

Prevention efforts, on the other hand, can be aimed at all youth in broadly focused programs offered in schools or communities. Delinquency prevention programs are identified by their philosophies or target populations. Positive preventive efforts are those aimed at encouraging socially appropriate behaviors and rule-abiding interactions rather than those that seek to deter behavior with the threat of sanctions or punishments. Social control theorists look at ways of reinforcing ties to conventional norms in society, either ...