Relationship between Private and Public Police In this paper I will be addressing the relationship between private and public police, weather their relationship is positive or negative, discuss how the conflict regarding the definition of public and private space influences the relationship between private and public police and ways that this relationship can be maintained or improved. The Relationship Policing is the government department charged with the regulation and control of the affairs of a community, now chiefly the department established to maintain order, enforce the law and prevent and detect crime (Farlex, 2011). In today??™s society public police and private security/police although different in some way are very important.
Private police don??™t work for an entire community they work for different types of businesses and are hired by individuals for a certain area. Although the private outnumber the police by at least three times more, they still don??™t have the same training and criteria as the police. Private securities don??™t have to deal with things such as public safety, or civil rights. Both private security and police are for the protection of the society, even if the public police protect everyone and the private security only protects who and what they are hired to protect. Some of the duties that the public police have are: maintaining order, service the community, handle crimes, crime prevention, traffic control, question suspects, search and seize property, interrogate, and arrest. As for private police their duties include: patrol business and other assigned areas, used as guards, and also to protect the assigned property. The training that the public police have to obtain is far more than what the private security has to obtain.
There are some private security officers that are still active public police officers; some are retired public officers so they do have the training of public officers. Some of the duties that public officers had are now duties of some private police. In other words the private security industry is taking over. Private police are being hired to protect the property and assets of companies as well as patrol the areas. Positive or Negative There are both positive and negative things about the relationship between the public and private police. Some public police may look down on private police, because that are considered to be at the bottom of the totem pole, and may get of the way of them doing their jobs.
On the other hand being that they are outnumbered the private police can assist them in many ways. The private police and help the public police with patrolling areas, apprehending suspects, and other things of that nature. I read that other factors increase the importance of public??“ private cooperation.
Examples include information age crime (computer and high technology crime), private security in traditional law enforcement roles, the globalization of business, increased international operation by law enforcement, and the interdependence of critical infrastructures (Ohlhausen Research, 2004). Conflict The conflict regarding the definition of public and private space influences the relationship between private and public police in the following ways: Private police can??™t detain, question or apprehend/arrest anyone on public and private property, but public police can. Private police don??™t have the powers that the public police have. Public police have to have probable cause in order to search anyone due to their rights, but private police don??™t have to worry about their rights (Severino, 2009). Improved and Maintained Ways that this relationship can be maintained or improved could be to improve communications between private and public police, by allowing them to work together to decrease any tension between them.
Get them to both understand that their job is to protect the people, their property, and the community regardless if it is private or public. Provide more training for the private police so they can further assist the public police as far as: arresting, investigating, and questioning. In conclusion, the relationship between public police and private police can be rocky at times but, if they can set their differences aside they can gain respect for one another. Police are outnumbered because more businesses are hiring their own private security to protect them and their property and assets. Because, private security can??™t arrest and question, or investigate the public police still have work to do. The negative things about the private and public police caused the conflict between them, but the positive things can help to improve them.
