Why Private Security And Not The Police?
In the years since 9/11 private security has increasingly taken over from the police in matters relating to commerce and industry. Everywhere people are concerned about security and have become accustomed to seeing in places to which they have access, not just police, but private security personnel and equipment as well.
As a commercial security company operating here in Melbourne for over 20 years and specialising in the provision of event security guards, executive security, corporate security and crowd control security, we have observed this development and taken part in it.
From just a handful of employees when we started, we have grown to our present size of 110 full time staff that includes 84 specialist security guards and officers. We provide security for sports events, conferences, all kinds of commercial and industrial premises day to day, and also VIP visits to our clients.
Where Private Security is often Needed
Much of our security work is in areas that were formerly the sole province of the police. It is they who were responsible for order at and around many public or ticket-only events, and for ensuring the safety of all persons there. They were the sole authority entrusted with the security of private property to which the public have access, such as car parks and shopping centres.
So why have the police retreated from many of these areas, to be replaced by private security firms and their personnel?
Part of the reason is the cost of policing. Along with everything else, these have risen steadily over the years, and since the financial downturn started in 2008 there have been cuts in police budgets. The demands on police time and manpower, however, have remained, and even increased in some areas.
Police authorities are therefore quite happy in most cases to pass security duties on to private firms, where they are restricted to enforcing order on private property. Private security officers do, of course, have the same rights of citizen’s arrest as anyone else, and as long as there is no abuse of power in their treatment of the public then the arrangement has by and large worked satisfactorily.
Why Need A Private Security
But there are other areas of industrial security that have grown up in recent years, and that have in turn fed into the more mainstream areas of private security. The main problem here is industrial espionage and sabotage. This has steadily become a major issue that has had to be dealt with by more and more concerns, which have felt the need to bring in companies such as ours to help them.
The police normally cannot become involved in anyone’s business unless and until a crime has been committed. Before then they can only advise. Companies like us can not only advise just as effectively (or even better) but can take an active role on behalf of our clients in preventing and countering any offensive move taken against our clients.
We can become almost a department of our client companies, and are often entrusted with sensitive information and access to areas closed to all but the most senior employees. That is the only way in which we can give the maximum protection to those who depend on our expertise and trustworthiness.
To find out more about how we can help you in the area of private security, just telephone and ask to speak with one of our senior consultants.
