44.312 Security Management

 home > unit 1: history of private security and of management

• key developments:
  • 1636: Bostonians required to participate in town's night watch.
  • patrols in South to catch run-away slaves
  • public police forces inadequate to deal with property crimes. Private detective agencies formed by policemen and others beginning in 1845. First major ones were Henry Wells' American Express Company (later, Wells, Fargo) and Pinkerton's Northwest Police Agency, in the 1850's.
  • vigilante groups and cattle rustlers in the west
  • violent confrontations between labor groups and private guards hired by miners and other owners, such as the Homestead Strike.
  • until FBI was created in 1924, all public policing was local -- national companies such as Pinkerton, Brinks, Burns filled gap for national clients such as American Banking Association
  • As public police forces improved, & could do investigations beyond their own boundaries, private firms shifted from investigation to guard services.
  • With 20th century, creation of industrial security programs. Railroad and express companies nationalized during World War I to protect from sabotage. During World War II, military guards were stationed to protect defense industries.
• Current scope and state of private security industry
  • protection of assets -- personnel, property, proprietary information
  • avoiding unlawful events from happening to people, nations, states, and municipalities.
  • differs from public-sector security services in 3 ways:
    • goal is profit (usually)
    • differing statutory powers
    • different functions:
      • private security concerned with loss reduction and crimes against property, while public security is more concerned with detecting, investigating, prevention, apprehending and investigating criminal activities.
  • continually expanding as new challenges, such as domestic terrorism, arise
  • 9/11
    • attacks showed poor airport security
    • companies had false sense of security
    • showed need to anticipate rather than react
      "private security can continue to do what it has always done: work to convince management that tending to the basics by putting good access controls, contingency programs, and evacuation plans into effect is critical to protecting corporate staff and assets against both minor disruptions and major catastrophes. And perhaps most importantly, security professionals can ensure that even when the memories fade--and they will--the safeguards remain." --Security Management Online

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