Introduction

This introduction prepares the intellectual and scholarly context for the substantive chapters that make up this book. It surveys the wealth of scholarship on contemporary policing systems, private security and crime prevention. Moreover, it critically evaluates the frequent claim in that literature that private security and plural policing are relatively recent developments, which have occurred against the backdrop of a secure state monopoly over policing and security provision. It explores key themes from existing historical research on private security, demonstrating its rich history, and establishing several important contexts for the book as a whole. Furthermore, it analyzes the public-private distinction in security, outlining a broad understanding of the term ‘private security’ as a relational concept, which encompasses and informs the contents of the book. Finally, it briefly outlines the structure and contents of the book itself, and the contribution each study makes.