Private versus public security

Private versus Public Security
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Security remains a matter of concern to all persons and considering the security threats in most parts of the world, more people are hiring private security guards as personal bodyguards or to look after their premises and homes. It is the role of the government to provide security to all the citizens at all times regardless of their race, religious affiliation, gender, age or even social class. The significance of public security in securing the nation at the state, county, and national level cannot be overlooked. This is because their interest is the security of all persons, unlike private guards who will only mind about the security of their employees, their homes and their business premises. Lately, there have been numerous complaints regarding the accountability of the nation’s public security and more people have therefore decided to hire private security guards for extra protection (Sparrow, 2014). This proposal explores the differences between public and private security and their significance in securing the nation and all its dwellers.
Everyone yearns to live in a safe and secure environment although this is not always the case. The government will offer security to all its citizens, but there are those who are never content with the quality of services provided. Some people complain that the response of public security is slow and cannot address emergency security concerns. Majority of such individuals are private developers who feel insecure and would prefer to have extra protection (Jones & Newburn, 1998).

There is also another group of individuals who would not mind having private security services, but they are financially unstable to hire private guards. The rest of the population have no option rather than to rely on government-provided security. All the same, the significance of the public security in securing the nation and its population cannot be ignored.
In the quest to enhance security, many private developers have opted to hire private guards. Private security firms will provide both armed and unarmed security services at the time of convenience with the sole intention of mitigating any threat. Hired private guards will deal with any security concern with immediate effect depending on the authorities bestowed upon them by higher authorities. However, their area of operation is limited, and they will only address security matters that concern their employers and their private possession (Sparrow, 2014). Although they have no power and discretion to detain an offender, they will use enough force to ensure that the latter is not a threat to their employers. Consequently, private security services are immune to political restraints since they are privately owned, and their guards are answerable to their employers who will be held liable for their actions.
Public security has more authority as compared to private security and their area of coverage is nationwide. All the officers in public security are highly trained and armed to mitigate any security threat. Both the state and the federal government have given them the mandate of arresting and detaining anyone who is a threat to the citizens and the nation at large (Jones & Newburn, 1998). On most occasions, they are authoritative and instill fear to the members of the public. Although officers serving under public security are accountable to the public, they are answerable to higher authorities in government.
The success of the security docket is dependent on the collaboration between all the security forces and the members of the public. Security forces and precisely public security may not be in every location to spot offenders and detain them. However, the government should increase the number of police officers manning a given area depending on the population size (Sparrow, 2014). Private entities and developers who believe that hiring private security services is the panacea to solving all security concerns should also focus on the significance of national security to the performance of their businesses. Members of the public should collaborate with security services and offer insight on potential offenders in the quest to make the nation safe and secure.
ReferencesTop of Form
Jones, T., & Newburn, T. (1998). Private security and public policing. Clarendon Press.
Bottom of FormSparrow, M. K. (2014). Managing the boundary between public and private policing. US Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, National Institute of Justice.