Public/Private Partnerships in Crime Prevention

This chapter explains how a great deal of the responsibility for policing has shifted away from governments (the public police) to the private sector, typically through private securityPrivate security companies who are available under contract for governments and private businesses alike. Indeed, on some estimates there are twice as many full time and part time operatives who put on a security uniform each week in Australia than there are police officers. That being the case, their role in crime prevention is not only useful but essential. The chapter explores the factors that have given impetus to this national and international growth, and the relationships between private operatives and public police, especially by virtue of the former providing the latter with computer hardware and software in the fight against counterterrorismCounterterrorism, cybercrimeCybercrime, and organisedOrganised crime crimeCrime organised. The chapter ends by weighing up the pros and cons of an expansion of this vast empire of crime-reductive agents.