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Policing beyond the police: a ‘first cut’ study of private security in New Zealand

2009; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 19; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/10439460903375125

1477-2728

Trevor Bradley, Charles Sedgwick,

Criminal Justice and Corrections Analysis

Abstract This article presents the findings of a 'first cut' study on the size of New Zealand's private security industry, its continued growth over the past 30 years and its increasingly significant role in the policing of New Zealand society. The article documents the increasing private and public sector reliance on private security and demonstrates that, in common with Europe, North America and Australia, the public police are no longer monopoly providers of policing services. The article identifies and discusses significant drivers of that growth in the New Zealand context and concludes by drawing attention to arrange of normative and practical issues associated with the growth of private security including the limitations and inaccuracies of the official data, the lack of a strategic relationship between the police and the various industry associations, inadequate and outmoded regulation and the potential development of inequitable access to policing and security services. Keywords: New Zealandplural policingprivate securitycontract guarding and investigationofficial datagrowth factors Notes 1. As Jones and Newburn (2006, p. 34) point out, private and communal forms of policing did not disappear with the introduction of the 'modern' police in 1829 and that the public police have never enjoyed a 'monopoly' on policing. It maybe more accurate, therefore, to talk of the 're-birth' (Johnston Citation1992) or renaissance of private policing arrangements. See also Nalla and Newman (Citation1990), Jones and Newburn (1998) and Sarre (Citation2005). 2. As part of the current review of the Police Act (1958) NZP have made efforts to consult and engage stakeholders and communities on a wide range of policing issues, including the relationship between NZP and other providers. In the main, however, the review has been largely confined to issues directly relating to 'the' police (see Police Act Review Citation2007). In 2007, NZP organised and hosted a one day 'symposium' entitled 'Networked Policing in the twenty-first century' during which a number of presenters discussed various aspects of plural policing. It would be inaccurate, however, to describe this one-off forum as constituting a debate. Moreover, participants interviewed as part of this research have expressed disappointment that the symposium was not followed up with, for example, workshops or further discussion where a genuine debate could have taken place. 3. According to Kempa et al., 'first cut' studies were the earliest empirical investigations of private policing and provided a foundation for later 'second cut' studies. This study performs a similar role in the New Zealand context (see Kempa et al. 1999, p. 199). 4. The PI & SG Act (1974) does not require 'in-house' security staff, guards or investigators to be licensed or certified, and as such there is no official data on the 'in-house' security in either the public or private sectors. Neither is there any official data on the citizen-based voluntary policing initiatives, the most important New Zealand example of which is Community Patrols New Zealand. 5. Security and/or private investigation company owners or directors and the self-employed or 'one man band' operators are required to be licensed while their employees are required to be 'certified' (COA; see PI & SG Act [1974] Part 2 Sections 15–33 and Part 3, Section 34). As part of the licensing system all applications for either licenses or CoAs are submitted to the Auckland District Court Registrar and in turn vetted by the NZP. 6. The Registrar is responsible for administering the 1974 PI & SG Act part of which involves processing all nationwide applications, both new and renewals, for PI and SG licences and CoA. 7. A change of data management systems in 1990 meant MoJ data covering the period 1975–1989 is no longer readily available. 8. Data management systems of the NZP were replaced in 1994 with the result that data from earlier years is no longer readily available. 9. The New Zealand Household Labour Force Survey was also considered and examined but as it's based on a sample of just 24,000 households the resulting data, while offering some insights into the relative significance of security-related occupations for that sample, is of limited utility irrespective of how representative the sample in calculating the actual size of the guarding and investigative sectors. 10. The NZSIA was re-launched as the NZSA in 1999 following the merger of NZSIA and a 'splinter' association, Security New Zealand. 11. According to New Zealand's foremost policing historian, Richard Hill, beyond the appointment of special constables and the occasional 'moonlighting' of sworn police officers, up until the 1950s policing in New Zealand was almost totally dominated by the state. During personal communications with Hill during 2007 he noted that nowhere in his research on the history of policing in New Zealand from the early 1800s to the 1940s did he encounter any references to private policing or private security. 12. Chubb, one of the largest security companies worldwide, was not established in New Zealand until 1952, while Armourguard made its first appearance in 1960. 13. The private investigation sector was not included in the NZSIA pamphlet because the association did not represent PIs at that time despite their widespread existence. 14. These include the NZSA and its forerunner the NZSIA, ASIS NZ, NZIPI and NZSOA. 15. Examples include the typically low-response rates across a series of surveys conducted by the NZSIA. The NZSIA surveyed its members on five separate occasions from 1992 to 2006. The surveys explored a range of issues including the efficacy of the NZSA and its newsletter, member perceptions and the role of the NZSA, and whether or not SGs should be allowed to carry batons and/or firearms. Three of these surveys had a response rate of between 20 and 32%. 16. January, 2008. 17. The PI & SG Act (1974) does not require every employee of a security company to be licensed but rather just those engaged in the delivery of security services. As such the above figure does not include administrative or marketing staff. 18. Although the original reports for 1992 and 1993 are lost the total number of SG and PI licenses and CoAs issued was retrieved from industry publications (NZSIA News Citation1993) while the figures for 1994 were presented in the 1995 Registrar's annual report as a basis for comparison. 19. Because the licensing system had only recently been introduced the 1976 figures may undercount the total number of contract SGs and PIs given the uncertainty over who was required to be licensed. It is likely that this resulted in a degree of non-compliance (Annuam Report 2007, p. 1). 20. Once these discrepancies were discovered explanations were sought from MoJ and Police officials and the Registrars office. None could offer an explanation and these discrepancies remain unresolved. More disquieting, however, given the on-going review of security industry regulation, was the fact that none were actually aware of the existence of the problem until being informed by the authors. 21. The official justification for the police withdrawal from alarm activation response involved the high number of 'false alarms', which in 1983, according to then-Police Commissioner Thompson, was between 96 and 98% of all alarm activations (NZSIA 1984, p. 3). 22. In 1997, for example, the New Zealand Police Association President, Greg O'Connor, claimed that 'police are not providing the services the public need and the gap is being filled by private security firms' (cited in Bates Citation1997, p. 7). 23. Securitas (NZ) Ltd. was then one of the two largest security companies operating in New Zealand. 24. This person was the owner of SecurityLink Ltd., which according to the Editor of the Journal of the New Zealand Security Industry was, in 1997, the third largest security firm in the world, earning annual revenues in excess of US $300 million. In 1998 SecurityLink expanded its operations, having bought out 24 security companies in New Zealand. 25. A useful indication of this growth is provided by Liquor Licensing Authority statistics which show that the number of 'on' licenses – licenses that authorise the holder to sell/supply liquor to any person present on the premises and for those persons to consume liquor on the premises – and therefore the number of places to consume alcohol increased by 56% between 1995 and 2004 (Lash Citation2005, p. 19). 26. The 14 patrol schemes are located in Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin, Gisborne, Hamilton, Hastings, Hutt City, Manukau, Napier, Palmerston North, Queenstown, Rodney, Waitaki and Wellington.