According to data from the United States Census Bureau and the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2022 there were approximately one and a half times the number of private security officers than public police. This industry continues to grow and although private security has significantly contributed to security and investigative services in the United States, the industry’s practices have traditionally been different from public police in their appearance, duties, and the locations in which they worked. While many safety and security goals between private security and public police overlap, they have not always effectively coordinated their services.
The Future of Police and Private Security Executive Roundtable is a meeting of major city police chiefs and private security executives designed to discuss approaches for enhancing strategic partnerships to improve public safety. The roundtable, hosted by the FSU College of Criminology and Criminal Justice, occurred in June 2023 in Washington, D.C.
The round table focused on the following four areas of discussion:
- Effective Police/Private Security Partnerships - Identifying examples of successful partnerships and the practices that underpin them
- Technology - Identifying examples of how technology can enhance collaboration between police and private security
- Research - Identifying areas where research would enhance knowledge about effective police and private security partnerships
- Future - Drawing on the experience of private security and police executives to lead a discussion of future challenges and collaboration in addressing them
The project aims to identify areas where private security and public police can coordinate their efforts and develop recommendations for future collaboration. In addition, the roundtable aims to establish and strengthen relationships that result in future collaboration between police, private security executives, and researchers. The roundtable also aims to identify areas of future research to establish evidence-based practices in public/private partnerships and collaboration.
CONTACTS
Principal Investigators: Brian Stephens and Darrel Stephens
Dates: 2023
Funding Agency: Bureau of Justice Assistance through ICF International, Inc.
Funding Amount: $22,779