NCJ Number
204046
Journal
FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin Volume: 73 Issue: 1 Dated: January 2004 Pages: 7-11
Date Published
January 2004
Length
5 pages
Annotation
This article describes how police agencies can be successful by forming supportive partnerships with private security providers.
Abstract
Police departments today are under increasing pressure to perform, keep crime rates low, and do it all with fewer resources. The article discusses how this can be accomplished by the use of partnerships with private security providers. Privatization of law enforcement activities is not new; and only in the last 100 to 200 years has government monopolized policing. The late 1990’s saw a continued fall in serious crime in the United States. To achieve the lower rate, law enforcement increased the expected punishment. To continue to lower crime rates, departments will have to continue to increase policing, leading to increased costs. Fortunately, privatization of certain police department functions has proven a powerful solution to the problem. In the future, departments will be contracting out the functions of public police that do not involve crimes or emergencies. Public-private partnerships can provide many benefits, especially in terms of pairing law enforcement with a private security provider to same public monies. The article provides several recommendations that should be considered when determining whether to use private security providers. Some of these recommendations include: services with the potential to be priced should be considered for privatization, tasks that do not require the full range of police officer skills should be considered for privatization, private security can prove effective in a distinct geographic area, problem-oriented policing offers the prospect of improved police-private partnerships in dealing with specific crime problems, and the community policing approach offers hope for improving police performance and the community’s sense of participation. The article presents the experiences of Lakewood, CO, as an example of the benefits of outsourcing law enforcement tasks to private firms. The article concludes that properly defined and managed, a partnership with a private enterprise can make the job of police officers more effective and rewarding and the results reported to voters more positive in the long run. Endnotes