Public Policing Versus Private Security Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Public Policing Versus Private Security - Essay Example Many countries are working hard towards improving the quality of private security for their citizens. For instance, the United States department of defense contracted with the American Society of Industrial Security International (ASIS) to improve the quality of private security provided. ASIS internationals is an organization that deals with security professionals, providing educational programs, which cater for security interests such as ways to achieve advanced and improved security worldwide (ASIS ). This organization sees the need to improve private security of a country in order to cater for all the security needs of citizens. Despite the public police and private security playing a vital role in protecting the society from crimes, these two organizations vary in many ways. This paper will discuss in length the differences and similarities between their roles and their leadership structures. The Differences and Similarities between the Two Roles Differences The public policeâ⠂¬â„¢s main role is preserving peace, preventing crimes, assisting the crime victims, issuing warrants of arrests, charging, and prosecuting (Swol, 1999, p.34). They can also participate in prosecutions; for instance, in Canada, police are required to carry out the above duties, and therefore responsible for serving and protecting the public. Their powers also include the power to search arrests and detain crime offenders, and lawbreakers (Swol, 1999, p.33). Private security differs from public police in various ways; private security personnel work for specific clients upon hire to protect a person or property. Their duties are determined by a client’s interest; private security protects a client’s property, personnel, and private information of a company from man-made and natural threats (corrections, public safety & policing, 2008, p.6). In addition, the private security firms operate independently; as a result, their trust is earned by the host company (corrections , public safety & policing, 2008, p.6). Another difference is in the time of existence for these two personnel. For instance, in Australia, the existence of private security organization started in the 90s, which has grown since then due to the high demand for private agents (Reynolds, 1996). The public police are more concerned with public security, whilst the private security agents are concerned with the protection of personal and corporate interests. ASIS is a private organization that holds exhibitions, which are driven towards the security of businesses; they have the latest information and solutions that assist worldwide organizations in protecting their personnel, data, and property (ASIS, 2012). Therefore, the private security agencies benefit from, updated mechanisms of promoting security compared to public policing. In addition, private security personnel are normally contacted for a specific duration of time; the contract can be renewed or ended, depending on the clientà ¢â‚¬â„¢s decision. In contrast, the public police serve the public continuously. Similarities In some countries like Canada, private security personnel have the same powers of searching property, arresting, and detaining, as the public police (Swol, 1999, p.34). When transporting money to