Policing in America

A comparison of Public and Private Policing in America

The responsibility of citizen protection , property security , and the maintaining of law and in a community is traditionally taken on by the public police department . The police personnel are hired , paid , and report to officials at various levels of the local government . Local responsibilities usually fall under the umbrella of the city police department or county Sheriff , while other tasks such as patrolling our highways may be the responsibility of the state police . An increase in population , growth of industry , and a rise

in crime have resulted in the inability of many police departments to effectively provide services as in the past . The result is the emergence of private police departments and private security companies

Private police departments have been operating since the early 1970 's (although private security companies have been in existence much longer . Large corporations , gated communities , retail establishments and businesses that engage in government contracting all have formed private police departments . These departments , however , have not been met without criticism , skepticism and debate . Arguments have been made that the private departments are not adequately trained , lack professionalism , and do not have the authority of public police departments . This may be partially true but each private department needs to be examined individually to better assess these arguments Some private departments require officers to attend law enforcement academies along side officers from municipal departments . This ensures the proper training is obtained and creates a more professional department

The responsibilities of a private police department have also been met with criticism . A comparison of responsibilities shows that many of the private departments perform the same duties and function in a similar manner to that of the public departments . In fact , Zalewski (2007 suggested that the functions performed by the private organizations are not dissimilar to the functions of the public services . Both public and private departments enforce laws , protect lives and property and are required to report to higher authority . The manner in which and to whom these responsibilities are carried out do differ in many ways

According to Joh (2006 ) public police systems and policies are governed by law . The U .S . Constitution , state constitutions , and local ordinances provide parameters establishing many of the procedures used in police work . Public police must also be responsive to requests of an entire community , city , town , or state . The interest of all citizens regardless of where he or she lives or works is protected by the public police . The need to protect all citizens of the community may give some citizens the feeling that not enough patrols are being made because of lack of exposure of the police . All public police officers are required to attend a law enforcement training academy and undergo field training prior to performing the duties and meeting the needs of the community In many instances psychological evaluations are part of the screening process for entry into the police field

Private police departments and their personnel are...