This study examined the emergence of private policing in Slovenia, including Slovenians' perceptions of private security work, goals, professionalism, and the role private security plays in crime prevention.
The first private security companies in Slovenia appeared during the transformation of the social and political system at the beginning of the 1990s. The most significant change in private policing came in 1994, when the National Assembly of Slovenia passed legislation for the regulation of private security companies, private investigators, and their relationship with the state. Private security companies were required to be licensed with the state. The Chamber of the Republic of Slovenia was created to oversee various aspects of the private security industry. In the last 10 years, private security slowly became a significant part of the security market in Slovenia, and this led to the passage of a new law on private security in 2003. Six forms of private security were distinguished, and new regulations were created for the responsibilities of the Chamber of the Republic of Slovenia. The new law introduced mandatory training of private security personnel prior to their employment, and the inspection and control of private security companies was entrusted to the Ministry of the Interior. A study that examined college students' perceptions of private security work and officers found a prevalent attitude that private security personnel might be helpful to their clients but not necessarily to the general public. Most respondents did not view private security officers as professional or well educated. A total of 600 questionnaires were distributed to all the criminal justice majors and a random sample of noncriminal justice majors at a university in Slovenia. A total of 509 useable questionnaires were returned (85-percent response rate). 6 tables and 16 references