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498 Annals Am. Acad. Pol. & Soc. Sci. 9 (1988)

handle is hein.cow/anamacp0498 and id is 1 raw text is: PREFACE This issue of The Annals brings together articles pertaining to both the history and the future of the private security industry in the United States. The private security industry has long suffered under the misconception that it provides the doddering retired military man with the job of guarding a warehouse-while he takes advantage of the opportunity to catch up on some much needed sleep. This profile of the security guard, or night watchman, as he was called, while once somewhat accurate, has undergone changes that affect the present and the future of the industry. In progressive companies, today's security officer may be male or female; he or she may be 25 years old, or perhaps 50; he or she is probably a high school graduate and is increasingly more likely to have some college education, or, in our company's case, nearly 25 percent of the security officers have graduated from college or have attended college for at least one year. Today's security officer is not merely looking for a temporary night job that will furnish the chance to watch television and rest up for the more important day job; today's security officer is choosing security as a career. The responsibilities of the security officer have changed, and they continue to change, given the dynamic nature of the industry. With police budgets steadily shrinking and the crime rate on the increase, society is feeling the effects of understaffed law enforcement agencies. Many traditional responsibilities of law enforcement agencies are being privatized-including public building security, residential neighborhood patrol, traffic control, parking enforcement, crowd control, and court security-and communities are discovering that their police departments, for instance, can work in concert with the private security industry to provide comprehensive security in a more cost-effective manner than they otherwise could have done. Public law enforcement agencies are not alone, however, in facing the challenge of providing sufficient security despite dwindling resources. Corporations, too, are anticipating lean times, based upon economists' predictions for an upcoming recession. Some have already begun implementing across-the-board cutbacks in areas such as security and, unfortunately, have subsequently realized that security is perhaps the one area wherein reduction in personnel is a mistake with far-reaching implications. Corporations' employees and former employees have reacted bitterly to their termination; as a result, the businesses have experienced increased loss, particularly of property and information. Again, private security is the efficient solution: corporations can prevent loss without the expense of their own full-scale proprietary security department. Their management can join with an outside private security company for a comprehensive loss prevention program. Clearly, the security industry will continue to play a more active and important role than ever in the coming years. The public's acceptance of private security officers for what they have become or are becoming-responsible agents in overall NOTE: The fine work of those who assisted with this issue of The Annals was greatly enhanced by the efforts of Susanne Loftis, my associate at Guardsmark, Inc. I am grateful to all those who made this project possible. 9

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