How did private policing evolve, how does it differ from public policing, and what are some issues and concerns it presents to the public?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Private policing began in 1851, with the creation of Allan Pinkerton’s Pinkerton National Detective Agency, the first private security contract operation in the United States. Today, the private policing field in the U.S. is larger in both personnel and resources than all federal, state, and local public police forces combined. While some of the duties and tasks of the security officer are similar to those of the public police officer, their overall powers are extremely different. Security officers are not bound by the Miranda decision regarding suspects’ rights. In addition, as they are not police officers, the generally have only the same authority to effect an arrest as do common citizens.

There are a number of concerns about the field of private policing. Private security recruits often have only minimal education and training, and because of the low pay of rate, the jobs attract individuals who cannot find other jobs or seek temporary work. As a result, much lower-level private security work is done by the young and the retired. Recruitment and training of lower-level private security personnel is a serious concern today.

Another concern is whether private police should be armed. While minimum numbers of hours of firearms instruction and legal training are recommended for all security personnel, many receive little or no prior training, or have undergone no checks on their criminal history records but are carrying a weapon.