NCJ Number
102124
Journal
Police Studies Volume: 9 Issue: 2 Dated: (Summer 1986) Pages: 86-91
Date Published
1986
Length
6 pages
Annotation
This article examines the proposition that private security agencies have grown, often assuming tasks previously entrusted to the public sector, due to the inability of public police agencies to adapt quickly to major social and technological changes.
Abstract
As public agencies of law enforcement suffer from personnel cutbacks and low clearance rates, private security agencies continue to flourish. Furthermore, this phenomenon will be shown to have occurred on a number of occasions during the past 140 years. Historical evidence is gathered to illustrate how this process has been repeated in response to the various manifestations of crime from the 19th century to the present. (Publisher abstract)