NCJ Number
146923
Date Published
1993
Length
22 pages
Annotation
This analysis of the development of private security agencies in Italy tests the hypothesis that the establishment of an institutionalized market system for security services implies a new institutional division of labor between the state and the society in the operative management of public order.
Abstract
The paper shows how and why, after the changes that occurred in Italy during the 1970's, the crime-prevention role of private security agencies no longer is to provide an "auxiliary" social defense for citizens or for the state, but rather involves a strategic political exchange. First, trends that substantiate the formal right of private self- defense are outlined to provide a historical account of the case in point. The boom in the market for private security services between 1970 and 1980 will then be discussed. Also analyzed are the attributes of both a private and public nature formally ascribed to or substantially acquired by private security agencies and by private armed guards. An analysis of the trend toward the privatization of social defense concludes that to the extent that private organizations and individuals are funding private security service for themselves, the state has reduced its spending for government security services. This means that those individuals, communities, and businesses that cannot afford private security services are less secure due to the cutback in government security services. 1 table and 57 footnotes