Public Policy vs Private Security Essay

Public Policing Versus Private Security Comparison Paper
Carin Welch
AJS/502
July 11, 2010
Tim Cariker






    The terrorist attacks on September 11th put an emphasis on private security and all of the aspects surrounding the organization.   As a result of the increased focus on security as a whole both private and public, one of the many proactive measures were taken. “On January 24, 2003, Tom Ridge was sworn in as the first Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security” (Fischer, Halibozek & Green 2008).   This was a move toward a collaboration of the public police and private security. Although, both agencies have similarities among them, there are significant differences. This paper will discuss those similarities as well as differences in roles, policies as well as their relationship of each role to the criminal justice system.
    Both public policing and private security involve securing individuals as well as property, and areas.   However, public policing involves various duties and roles such as, “during their shift, they may identify, pursue, and arrest suspected criminals; resolve problems within the community; and enforce traffic laws” (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics 2009).   Public policing also involves the response to emergency calls through the call system and at times, they must be present in court as the result of citations given for violating a specified law by citizens. If an arrest results, the officer is then required to transport a suspect to a facility where a booking process takes and the officer relinquishes the suspect to the facility’s workers.   There can be at times, a great deal of paperwork involved within the roles of public policing because the officer must give an account of the incident. Public policing can be performed on foot, within a patrol car, motorcycle, or even as a mounted police. There are also various agencies within the public policing and they include, sheriffs and deputy sheriffs, state police...