Public sector "taking on police roles"

Security guarding companies are increasingly taking on traditional policing roles, research shows.

This trend, however, is not just to be found in the UK. In the USA rumors abound that soon companies like the infamous Blackwater Security will be given policing roles, including street patrols.

“Research into the work of the BSIA’s Police and Public Services Section has revealed that the public sector has embraced the use of private security services with 90 per cent of respondents supplying services to educational establishments and local authorities and 70 per cent providing services to health authorities,” said BSIA Police and Public Services Section chairman, Mick Lee.

However, he said the results show more work can be done with the police.

“Despite many examples of best practice where police forces have successfully entered into partnership with the private sector, only 20 per cent of respondents are actively supplying services to the police.

“A significant aim of the BSIA Police and Public Services section is to further link with police forces in order to promote the many valuable services that security guarding companies can provide.”

Fifty per cent of respondents said they supply services to retail partnerships, while 40 per cent work with town centre management schemes.

Street patrols and public sector CCTV schemes proved the most popular areas for BSIA members, but guarding companies work on a range of projects including warden schemes, drug testing services and evidential property management.

The BSIA's Police and Public Services section aims to provide support services to the police and other public sector organisations, which are not traditional security guarding roles and form part of the wider policing family.

The slogan of the “wider policing family” now seems to encompass everything and everyone from a store security person, door guards at nightclubs and such, to community wardens and park and countryside rangers/wardens.

Security industry willing to engage wholeheartedly in the future of policing

The British Security Industry Association is highlighting the vital role that the private security industry can play in supporting the modern police service and its willingness to engage wholeheartedly in the future of policing.

While is is being emphasised that the frontline operations would still be carried out by sworn police officers and that the work done by wardening schemes, and such, release sworn warranted police officers to do just that duty, namely that of dealing with serious crime, the problem is that, in my view, this kind of policing by the private and public sector, aside from the police forces, not only puts ordinary security officers, wardens and rangers into harm's way by being, maybe, asked to tackle issues for which they are not equipped or not well enough equipped, also means that police officers may be required to be able to come to the assistance of their cousins in the private and public sector “policing” teams because they have gotten into a spot of bother due to lack of equipment, authority, power and/or training.

While security guarding and patrols by private and public sector, such as security officers, wardens and rangers, has its place as a deterrent and as eyes and ears, the enforcement should be left to those that have a warrant to carry out such duties and who know how to deal with situations in an appropriate manner and who also carry the necessary kit to deal with such issues.

© Michael Smith (Veshengro), March 2008