THE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF PUBLIC AND PRIVATE POLICINGIS THE RELATIONSHIP COMPETITIVE OR COMPLEMENTARY? WHICH SIGNALS A REBIRTH OF PRIVATE POLICING

EMMANUEL SHILLINGFORD



THE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS OF BOTH PRIVATE AND PUBLIC POLICING. IS THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SECTORS BEST UNDERSTOOD AS A COMPETITIVE OR COMPLEMENTRY ONE?






Introduction.

From early times as soon as man claimed property, others sought to steal it; hence came the need to protect it. To achieve this a number of mechanisms and physical devices were created, and ultimately people employed to police the property.. Johnston notes that the word police is derived from the Greek polis which means ‘the rights of a citizen’. However it can also be defined as an organized force in a state that maintains law and order. Increasingly, business and property owners are turning to the private security sector to protect their interests. The primary reason for this trend appears to be that the level of criminal activity in the UK is overwhelming the capacity of the pubic police forces to cope with the problem. Private securit...