NCJ Number
185521
Date Published
January 2000
Length
61 pages
Annotation
This essay examines recent shifts toward privatization and
civilianization in policing, with attention to the dimensions of
these shifts, their causes, and their effects on five critical
dimensions of public safety: effectiveness, cost, equity, choice,
and legitimacy.
Abstract
Recent trends toward privatization and civilianization are
contrasted with the centuries-long movement toward reliance on
sworn officers to provide public safety, a movement that
culminated in the 1960's. The author explores the implications of
the privatization and civilianization trends in terms of the utilitarian dimensions of effectiveness and costs, as well as in terms of non-utilitarian considerations such as equity and
legitimacy. A variety of prospective policies and reforms aimed
at minimizing the potentially harmful aspects of privatization
and civilianization are examined in both the public and private
domains. These include improving private security service through
licensing and bonding of agents and agencies; reducing problems
associated with public monopolization of policing through
improved accountability systems and accreditation; improving
procedures for screening, training, and managing civilian
specialists; making more effective use of civil remedies for
harms in both the public and private sectors; and finding ways to
clarify roles and improve coordination among the public, private,
and civilian components of policing. The essay concludes with a
look to the future of privatization and civilianization,
including an identification of critical issues related to current
trends and an examination of directions that appear most
promising for improving service in both the public and private
domains of policing. 2 exhibits, 64 notes, and 130 references
Date Published: January 1, 2000