NCJ Number
123503
Journal
Police Volume: 22 Issue: 5 Dated: (February 1990) Pages: 22,26
Date Published
1990
Length
2 pages
Annotation
Thousands of U.S. police earn a second wage working for private employers, but questions are being raised about practical and ethical issues of "authorized moonlighting."
Abstract
Some city officials, police, unions, and private employers support moonlighting because it generates additional income for police officers at no public cost. Others, however, question the liability, ethics, and equity of allowing public servants to provide enhanced security only for private interests who can afford it. Private security forces are not bound by all the regulations and civil liberties concerns imposed on public police to protect both complainants and defendants. Some cities broker outside jobs, matching private employers with police officers and charging a fee to cover the program's overhead. One study estimates that 80 percent of U.S. police departments allow moonlighting, while 20 percent severely restrict or prohibit it. In some cases, merchants contract with city police for off-duty officers on the weekend. This approach is effective because criminals know that unarmed private guards do not really have much authority.