Private police

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Private police are law enforcement bodies that are owned and/or controlled by non-governmental entities. Additionally, the term can refer to an off-duty police officer while working for a private entity, providing security, or otherwise law enforcement-related services.

These can be firms to which the government contracts out police work (e.g. the 1975–1977 Oro Valley, Arizona-Rural/Metro contract, the 1980 Reminderville, Ohio-Corporate Security contract, the 1976 Indian Springs, Florida-Guardsmark contract, and the 1976 Buffalo Creek, West Virginia-Guardsmark contract), or they can be officers who contract with various firms to patrol the area, as in the case of the San Francisco Patrol Specials.[1]

A specific type of private police is company police, such as the specialized railroad police or mall security. In some cases, private police are sworn in as government employees in order to ensure compliance with the law, as in the Kalamazoo, Michigan-Charles Services contract, which lasted 3½ years. Private police services are sometimes called "Subscription-Based Patrol."[2]

Private security firms in the U.S. employ more security guards, patrol personnel and detectives than the U.S. federal, state and local governments combined, fulfilling many of the beat-patrol functions once thought central to the mission of public police. It has been argued that the private police market furnishes tangible evidence about what people want but are not receiving from public police.[1][3][4] The growth of private policing is a phenomenon that is occurring all over the world.[5] In Australia, private and public police have conventionally been considered parallel systems, with private security as very much the lesser or junior entity.[6]

Private police typically focus on loss instead of crime; preventive methods rather than punishment; private justice (such as firing embezzlers or issuing no trespassing warnings to shoplifters) rather than public court proceedings; and private property rather than public property.[7] With the exception of North Carolina, private police lack the same arrest powers of government law enforcement, but do have the right to make a citizen's arrest if they actually witness a crime happening.

In North Carolina, private police are certified company police agencies governed by the North Carolina Department of Justice chapter 74E of the Company Police Act. Under 74E Company Police in North Carolina can, and do make arrests, and write citations for violations of the law the same as any municipal police officer. Company Police jurisdiction is on any real property that they own, possess and control, or have been contracted to protect by the owner or person in control, unless they are in continuous pursuit for a crime that was committed in their jurisdiction or investigating a crime that occurred in their jurisdiction. Private police in North Carolina must meet or exceed all training and certification requirements as any municipal, county or state law enforcement officer.


"Policing" and "private policing" are somewhat elusive concepts. "Private sector" police have been described as "any individual or group involved with law enforcement or security, but lacking official police authority."[8] At the core of the policing concept, though, is the combating of crime. Patrick Tinsley writes:[9]


United States[edit]

The largest private police forces in the United States are the railroad police employed by the major Class I railroads.

In South Carolina, all Security Officers have the authority and power to make an arrest just as Sheriff's Deputies do (although this is unique for the USA).[10] In (Spring Valley HOA) Columbia, South Carolina, Private Officers respond to calls for service, run traffic radar, make arrests and use blue lights.[11] Security Officers in South Carolina are Law Enforcement under state law, case law and the Attorney General’s opinions, and are authorized by the state to issue Uniform Traffic Tickets to violators and make arrests for violations of state laws.[12] Security Officers are considered Private Law Enforcement Officers.[13]

In Boston, Massachusetts, more than 100 housing projects and low-income apartment buildings are some times patrolled by private security. A few of these companies employ Special Police Officers that are licensed and trained through the City of Boston. These Special Police officers do meet the states standard of a special police officer. These Special Police Officers in Boston get their power from BPD rule 400.[14]


As in the United States, the largest private police forces in Canada are the railway police forces of the two largest rail carriers, Canadian Pacific Railway and Canadian National Railway. Both police forces' jurisdictions extend into those U.S. states where the respective companies operate. Via Rail also operate an unarmed police service.

South Africa[edit]


United Kingdom[edit]

A number of Port Police forces exist within the UK that are run by the respective port authorities, which are private companies. Legislation relating to Port Police dates back to the Harbours, Docks and Piers Clauses Act 1847, although subsequent legislation has been passed in relation to specific ports. Most Port Police have jurisdiction within 1 mile of port property. However, the Marine Navigation Act 2013 allows the Chief Constable of the local force to grant a port police force jurisdiction throughout England and Wales in relation to port business. The legislation was enacted after it emerged that the Port of Dover Police were acting unlawfully when transporting prisoners to custody when it was over a mile away from port property.[16]

Relationship to anarcho-capitalism[edit]

Private police figures prominently in anarcho-capitalist theory and, along with advocacy of private defense agencies, dispute resolution organizations,[17] and private production of law,[18] distinguishes it from minarchism.[1][3] It is argued that complete privatization of the police function (with funding, control, ownership, etc. of all police forces passing to private entities) would eliminate the ability of the state to forcibly collect taxes, and that arguably the only way it could work would be within the context of a society in which all other services were privatized as well. However, Edward Stringham has pointed out numerous examples to the contrary.[3]


In Great Britain, the police function was historically performed by private watchmen (existing from 1500 on), thief-takers, and so on. The former were funded by private individuals and organizations and the latter by privately funded rewards for catching criminals, who would then be compelled to return stolen property or pay restitution.

In 1737, George II began paying some London and Middlesex watchmen with tax moneys, beginning the shift to government control. In 1750, Henry Fielding began organizing a force of quasi-professional constables. The Macdaniel affair added further impetus for a publicly salaried police force that did not depend on rewards. Nonetheless, in 1828 there were privately financed police units in no fewer than 45 parishes within a 10-mile radius of London.

Perceived advantages[edit]

Advantages of private police as contractees of states[edit]

There is evidence that private police can provide services more cheaply than public police. The cost of San Francisco's private patrol specials is $25–30/hour, compared to $58/hour for an off-duty police officer.[19] In Reminderville, Corporate Security outbid the Summit County Sheriff Department's offer to charge the community $180,000 per year for 45-minute response time emergency service by offering a $90,000 contract for twice as many patrol cars and a 6-minute response time.[20]

There are the usual public choice issues involved that can thwart public sector reform, such as the fact that citizens realize their individual votes have little chance of affecting the outcome. As Bruce L. Benson notes, "Many people are very concerned about what the government is doing for (or to) them, but they rationally choose not to invest in information about candidates or to vote because they recognize that the costs of doing so exceed the benefits."

Advantages of private police as contractees of private citizens[edit]

Another advantage cited by Benson is that private police would have a contractual responsibility to protect their customers.[21] In Warren v. District of Columbia, the court found that public police have no such responsibility.[22] Thus, private police can be sued if they fail to respond to calls for help, for instance.



Under anarcho-capitalism, taxpayers would not be forced to fund police services; these transactions would be voluntary. One argument against such a policy is that it would disadvantage the poor, who could not afford to spend much money on police. Thus, some more moderate libertarians favor issuing police vouchers to each citizen, granting them a certain amount of money to hire a private police company of their choice at taxpayer expense.


Public police are limited in size by the political jurisdiction, although some local public police forces already contract with national private firms for specialty services, such as maintenance of communications equipment, for which it would not be economical for them to hire a full-time government employee.[25]

Perceived disadvantages[edit]

Problems within the industry include the possibility of criminals setting up their own firms, misuse of surveillance devices, and strained relationships between the public and private police.[26]


In Florida, Critical Intervention Services patrols neighborhoods and has used lethal force before.[27] They have limited power, like other private security agencies in the state, regulated by Florida Statute 493.[28] Unlike public police, there are few oversight bodies for private police. Therefore, private citizens who wish to complain against private police must do so through the courts, which is expensive.

See also[edit]


  1. ^ a b c Stringham, Edward (2015). Private Governance. Oxford University Press. 
  2. ^ Gil Guillory and Patrick C. Tinsley (2009), The Role of Subscription-Based Patrol and Restitution in the Future of Liberty 
  3. ^ a b c Stringham, Edward (2008). Anarchy and the Law: The Political Economy of Choice. Transaction Publishers for the Independent Institute. ISBN 978-1-41280-579-7. Retrieved 8 January 2015. 
  4. ^ Sklansky, David A. (1998–1999), Private Police, The, 46, UCLA L. Rev., p. 1165 
  5. ^ Philip C. Stenning (September 2000), "Powers and Accountability of Private Police", European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research, European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research, 8 (3): 325, doi:10.1023/A:1008729129953 
  6. ^ Rick Sarre; Tim Prenzler Dr. (2000), Relationship Between Police and Private Security: Models and Future Directions 
  7. ^ Joh, Elizabeth E. (2005), Conceptualizing the Private Police, 2005, Utah L. Rev., p. 573 
  8. ^ Private Sector — Private Spies, Rent-a-Cops, and the Prison-Industrial Complex, 1978 
  9. ^ Tinsley, Patrick (1999), Private Police: A Note (PDF), Journal of Libertarian Studies 
  10. ^ South Carolina Code of Laws, Title 40, Chapter 18
  11. ^ South Carolina Code of Laws, Title 56, Chapter 5 Section 170
  12. ^ South Carolina, Attorney General's Opinion: Aug 01,1978; Apr 30, 1987; May 23, 1995; Aug 30, 2001; Oct 15, 2004 and State V. Brant (S.C.1982) 278 S.C. 188,293 SE2d 703
  13. ^ South Carolina, Attorney General's Opinion: Aug 01, 1978 and South Carolina Code of Laws, Title 56, Chapter 5 Section 420
  14. ^ Operation Partnership: Trends and Practices in Law Enforcement and Private Security Collaborations (PDF), Law Enforcement-Private Security Consortium 
  15. ^ Jenny Irish (1999), Policing for Profit: The Future of South Africa's Private Security Industry, Institute for Security Studies 
  16. ^
  17. ^ Stringham, Edward (1999). "Market Chosen Law". Journal of Libertarian Studies. 14 (1): 53–77. SSRN 1676257Freely accessible. 
  20. ^ Gage, Theodore J. (1982), Cops, Inc, Reason 
  21. ^ Benson, Bruce L., To Serve and Protect, p. 180 
  23. ^ a b Pastor, James F. (2003), The Privatization of Police In America: An Analysis and Case Study, Jefferson, NC: McFarland, ISBN 978-0-7864-1574-8 
  24. ^ Murray N. Rothbard. (1985), "The Public Sector, III: Police, Law, and the Courts", For a New Liberty: The Libertarian Manifesto, New York: Libertarian Review Foundation, p. 220, ISBN 0-930073-02-9 
  25. ^ Benson, Bruce L. (1998), "Potential Benefits and Pitfalls of Contracting Out for Criminal Justice", To Serve and Protect: Privatization and Community in Criminal Justice, New York: New YorK Univ. Press, p. 34, ISBN 0-8147-1327-0 
  26. ^ H Draper (1978), Private Police 