Public and Private Policing in Retail? An Australian Study on Diversion

The encroachment of alternative or private policing entities within public safety and community crime prevention has expanded to the point that private personnel greatly outnumber public police. As public resources continue to be thinly dispersed and their focus prioritised across communities, modern security providers now assume responsibility for many traditional policing functions such as surveillance of public space, protection of public buildings and "mass private property" and the investigation of internal corporate crime. Although public policing agencies tend to embrace partnerships and the concept of multi-agency approaches to prevent crime, there appears an inherent resistance to the transfer of traditional policing functions to alternative providers. This article explores the possibility whether private security personnel are able to perform traditional public policing functions including offender processing. This research considers the processing of first-offender adult shopstealers. The method adopted involved a literature review, analysis of contemporary policing practices and a descriptive case study. Findings determined the majority of respondents supported the concept, with caution. A number of system and operational considerations were identified and discussed should the transfer of any public policing function be contemplated. (C) 2007 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved.