Private Security and Public Policing

In this first major empirical study of its kind, Jones and Newburn examine the growth of private policing as well as its relationship with, and implications for, the public police service. Beginning with a critique of the sociology of policing, the authors next provide a detailed analysis of the ideas of "private" and "public" as used here, and highlight the boundaries between different forms of policing. Competing theoretical explanations for the growth of private policing are then considered using a wide array of data extracted from the first-ever survey of the private security sector in Britain. Importantly, this book also studies the local level. By way of a case study, the authors examine the full range of Britain's police-work bodies, including the public police force, investigatory and regulatory agencies attached to the national and local government, and private security organizations. Jones and Newburn effectively rethink the meaning of "policing" in our time.

In this first major empirical study of its kind, the authors examine the growth of 'private' policing and its relationship with, and implications for, the public police service. Beginning with a critique of the sociology of policing, the authors then provide a detailed analysis of the concepts of public and private, and examine the boundaries between different forms of policing. Using data from the first ever survey of the private security sector in Britain, the authors provide estimates of the numbers of employees and firms in the industry; the range of services and products offered; and the attitudes of those at senior levels in private security organizations. Competiting theoretical explanations for the growth of private policing are then considered. The book then examines policing at the local level. Using a case study of the London Borough of Wandsworth, the authors examine the range of individuals and organizations involved in policing on the ground. They describe and analyse the activities of the full range of 'policing' bodies, including the public police force, investigatory and regulatory agencies attached to national and local government, and private security organizations. Using this analysis, the authors offer a thorough reconceptualization of what is meant by 'policing' in the late modern era, and consider the implications of this for the public police service and for the future of policing generally.

1 - The Sociology of Policing
2 - The Public-Private Dichotomy
3 - Private Security in Britain
4 - The Growth of Private Security
5 - Policing Bodies in Wandsworth
6 - Policing Wandsworth in Practice
7 - The Boundaries of Public and Private Policing
8 - Making Sense of the Policing Division of Labor

Trevor Jones is a lecturer in Criminology at the University of Edinburgh. Prior to this he worked at the Policy Studies Institute in London for eight years. Dr Tim Newburn is head of Crime, Justice and Youth Studies at the Policy Studies Institute and Visiting Professor, Goldsmiths College, London. He previously worked at the Home Office Research and Planning Unit and at the National Institute for Social Work.