Policing: Harnessing the Benefits of Public-Private Partnerships

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1 School of Law FACULTY OF EDUCATION, SOCIAL SCIENCE AND LAW Policing: Harnessing the Benefits of Public-Private Partnerships Symposium: The Governance of Urban Space and Anti-Social Behaviour 13 th July, 2011 Stuart Lister Centre for Criminal Justice Studies

2 Aims Outline different contexts where, over the last decade or so, we have witnessed significant growth in the presence of private security providers Suggest this expansion raises questions for public authorities over how best to harness the activities of this sector for the collective interest Draw on own research (funded by ESRC, JRF and Nuffield Foundation) to describe public / private relations and draw out questions for partnership

3 Introduction: A mixed economy of policing Policing is not simply the preserve of the police. Modern policing is carried out by a range of agencies (Sir Ronnie Flanagan, 2008) Estimated 160,000O private security personnel security firms operating in England and Wales A mushrooming phenomena (van Stedden, 2007) Growth traced to 1950s> but also to last 20 years New expansion opportunities arising from cuts?

4 Functional contexts for the growth of private security Night-time economy (i.e. pub/club door teams) Shopping centres (i.e. retail security guards) Industrial parks (i.e. static manned guarding) Residential areas (i.e. visible, mobile patrols) Leisure events / festivals (i.e. events stewarding)

5 How might public authorities respond to private security? Ignore it and let the market dictate? Resist via actively competing in the marketplace? Regulate which individuals / firms can work in the sector (via licensing / accreditation or other forms of leverage)? Form partnerships to cooperative with / coordinate the activities of forms of private security?

6 What the research found (1): Benefits of partnership cooperation Enhance communication (e.g. two-way intelligence briefings, reporting of crime / ASB incidents) Encourage private sector to engage with the public prosecution process (i.e. whither private justice ) Promote safer practices / procedures among private sector actors (i.e. for themselves and clients ) Raise standards / foster professionalisation (e.g. police input into training regimes) Enable degree of market control (i.e. remove unscrupulous operators firms / individuals)

7 What the research found (2): Variable and fragile partnership relations A very varied picture of relations: from effective coproduction of safety to indifference and market rivalry (Crawford et al. 2005) Too often, relations are poorly organised and uncoordinated, suffer duplication of effort and are marked by competition and mistrust Private sector mostly conspicuous by its absence from the table of community safety partnerships Loose partnerships based on ad hoc personalised individual relations, less organisational policy

8 What the research found (3): Survey of manned guarding firms [n=47] In many areas, the divisional area to which we provide security services can be fully supported at times by police. However, we have on occasions when supplying manpower to local authorities to provide neighbourhood security, been met with hostility by police chiefs, giving the impression they do not want private security companies entering this area. (MD, mid-size, private security firm)

9 What the research found (4): Survey of manned guarding firms [n=47] We need a bit more co-operation through meetings. Police should visit the local security company officers time to time to find out what difficulties we face in the locality. At least one a week, police officer should contact and our officers working at night. They get courage and happiness coordinating with the police. (Manager, mid-size, security company)

10 What the research found (5): Survey of manned guarding firms [n=47] 55% said their mobile patrols had been well or very received by the local police 61% said the level of cooperation with police was good, 39% said it was not very good or poor 59% said the extent of cooperation varied significantly between different police forces 56% said they never held formal meetings with local police concerning their mobile patrol schemes 54% said they did not have formal protocols in place for exchange of information with local police

11 What the research found (6): Cultural barriers in the night-time economy The only thing that the police will do for me is jail me so at the end of the day you don t ring the police. Just say we ring the police if there s been an incident at the door, and the police have been and come to your nightclub - you only get three chances and then they ll claim against your licence, so you don t want the police. (Night-club doorman, Seaside Town)

12 Concluding remarks Partnerships offer a means of harnessing a (narrow) private resource to the wider, public interest (i.e. the co-production of community safety) A series of structural and cultural barriers must be overcome but there are collective benefits to be gained for police and local partners Is private security a willing partner? (or, why it takes - at least - two to tango to the tune of partnership!) Yes - professionalism and partnership can be mutually self-reinforcing through market tendencies