In the past couple of years, there has been a significant amount of uncertainty and unrest worldwide, prompting concerns for private security. Much of this is due to the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent restrictions, leading to massive protests in cities worldwide.
In the summer of 2020, large-scale protests culminated in a push to defund the police in the U.S. That then started to carry over into other countries.
Now, much of this unrest continues, and major cities particularly in America are seeing record crime levels. There are a variety of factors contributing, including police shortages.
All of this is leading communities to consider private security. The idea of private community or neighbourhood security isn’t as common in the U.S. and Europe as it is already in other parts of the world.
For example, in South Africa, there are more private security companies providing services than the police force.
So what should you know about the current situations surrounding private security, and also what it might mean for a neighbourhood to hire a firm?
3 Important Reasons Neighborhoods Should Hire Private Security
Private Security Increases Throughout the U.S.
The U.S. is different from Europe as far as what’s going on with police that’s leading more neighbourhoods to hire private security. There are a lot of shifts happening in public policing in the United States that contribute to somewhat different trends.
For example, a neighborhood in Baltimore, Federal Hill, recently said they’d be hiring their own security following a string of violent crimes.
In Seattle, the Ballard neighbourhood decided on a similar approach in the face of what residents described as blatant lawlessness. Hundreds of Ballard and Queen Anne, Fremont, and Magnolia residents came together and created a citizens program to improve surveillance. Another Seattle neighbourhood, Magnolia, hired its own patrol too.
San Francisco and New York residents are also hiring security teams for their neighbourhoods and communities.
Should Neighbourhoods Think About Private Security?
The level of security that might be provided depends on what a community pays for. For example, security guards may simply provide more eyes on what’s going on, and they can serve as a deterrent.
There are benefits to hiring private security when it makes sense for a community. Some of these benefits include:
- Private security professionals are very well-trained in most cases, and many have first responder and policing experience. This makes security personnel well prepared to deal with an emergency.
- The national average for police response times is around 7 minutes, and currently, in many cities, the police aren’t responding at all to certain crimes. Private security can react quickly and efficiently to both emergencies and non-emergencies. Well-qualified security providers can have resources to meet needs of clients quickly.
- Deterring crime is always the better option compared to dealing with the aftermath. Deterrence is one of the more significant reasons to hire private security—the hope is that nothing actually ends up happening. Active security patrols can deter crime while simultaneously providing peace of mind.
What’s the Future of Private Policing?
It’s likely the trend toward private policing and security will continue not just in major U.S. cities but around the world. Some worry it will increase inequality and decrease accessibility to safety resources. Ultimately, this is something that public police forces and local governments will have to consider.
Many private citizens feel vulnerable and until police can increase their budgets and respond to situations accordingly, the move toward hiring security is likely to continue.
Some police departments, at least in the U.S., favour a strong relationship between public and private police forces. They realize they don’t have the resources they need, nor do they have the staff.
Police departments see private security as potentially saving money while keeping communities protected.
For neighbourhoods thinking about hiring their own security, it’s a good idea first to see if you can get most residents on the same page with meetings or emails about the topic. You may meet resistance from some neighbours that you’ll have to address.
You’ll also have to determine the right to share the costs of something like security, particularly when it comes to some neighbours who don’t want it at all.
It’s likely to be an issue more community associations and homeowner’s associations grapple with over the next couple of years because the challenges police departments face don’t look like they’ll be abating any time soon.
It seems like everyone throughout the world is on high alert currently for a variety of reasons, making residents feel especially vulnerable.
