The Emergence, Growth and Implications of Private Policing in Victoria

The growth of private policing has been the subject of numerous commentaries that perpetuate the rhetoric of Shearing & Stenning (1980) in announcing a "quiet revolution". The figures that formed the basis of these original commentaries were largely based in the US and appeared to generalise readily into the Australian experience. Australian authors have used official statistics to support the notion that change of a similar scale is occurring in Australia. This work examines these figures more closely and questions previous assumptions which equated a licensed security officer to a public police officer on a one-to-one basis. It also shows how the vacuum created by restrictions on public policing create unprecedented opportunities for private sector growth which arguably erode accountability while creating opportunities for enhanced cooperative partnerships. The emergence of private policing and the relationships between public and private police are examined against theoretical frameworks and complemented by the insight of the practitioners and industry leaders which enables the development of a rich, Victoria specific, picture that will inform the shape of future research.