Durham E-Theses

Durham E-Theses From fate to choice - private bobbies, public beats: private security patrol and the diminishing boundaries of neighbourhood policing McManus, Michael How to cite: McManus, Michael (1993) From fate to choice - private bobbies, public beats: private security patrol and the diminishing boundaries of neighbourhood policing, Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/5541/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk 2 In Fulfilment Of The Requirements For The Degree Of Doctor Of Philosophy. FROM FATE TO CHOICE - PRIVATE BOBBIES, PUBLIC BEATS % PRIVATE SECURITY PATROL AND THE DIMINISHING BOUNDARIES OF NEIGHBOURHOOD POLICING = The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. No quotation from it should be published without his prior written consent and information derived from it should be acknowledged. Submitted By Michael McMANUS. B.A. (Hons.). University of Durham, Department of Sociology and Social Policy. August, 1993. ABSTRACT. Neighbourhood private security patrol as a crime control strategy demonstrates society's increasing demand for security and assurance - factors which the public police provide ineffectively. Private security's function of preventative surveillance is likely to be aligned more closely to public needs than is the public police's post-event priority of detection. Street patrol by private security personnel symbolizes an attempt by some citizens to re-create the preventative aspects of traditional policing. But it predominates only in the residential areas of the economically privileged. This demand for target-hardening, by the surveillance of whole groups and categories of people, is best described not as part of a contemporary shift from individual to collective social control, but rather as a trend away from collectivism towards active individualism. Although social and emotional influence is apparent in the rationale for this strategy, its creation also concerns the institutionalization of the classical concepts of self-help and choice - principles which are actively acceded to and encouraged by the state. In order to react to crises individuals require social confirmation for their beliefs about the reality of crime and its control. The Home Office, Police and other interested agencies, including the Private Security Sector, provide this confirmation and they come together with communities as joint creators of new institutions. Thus, as classicist forms of control become marketable, lay-persons may participate more in policing their own neighbourhoods. This heralds the end of policing provision as fate - for as modern capitalism pluralizes it allows in private policing agents and strategies. However, while this form of control may be effective for those who choose to purchase it, there is a tendency for it to fragment rather than integrate surrounding neighbourhoods. Furthermore, it deflects crime into areas with inferior levels of surveillance. These negative aspects are not conducive to the requirements of quality and equity of justice, so crucial and intrinsic to the association policing should have with a democratic, equal and free society. The research on which this thesis is based was made possible by the generous cooperation of several individuals and organizations and I would like to express ray thanks to them. I am especially indebted to my Chief Constable, Mr. F. W. Taylor and the members of Durham Constabulary Police Committee for allowing me to undertake the study. I am also grateful to the Directing Staff of the Police College who supported the research by awarding me the Bramshill Fellowship - I acknowledge here the specific support and tutorship of David Pope. Thanks also to Dr. Nigel Fielding of Surrey University and Professor Richard Brown of Durham University and his staff at the Department of Sociology and Social Policy - in particular my Supervisor Dr. Bob Roshier, and Dr. Dick Hobbs who patiently and professionally shared with me their intellect and excellent insight into the sociology of policing. Also, I wish to thank Dr. Sarah Banks, my Tutor at University College, Durham, for her kind attention and sound advice and Dennis Harrigan for his encouragement and patient reading. The research, however, was only made possible by the subjects of the study - the public and private police and their clients. In this respect I wish to thank Tommy King, Ray and the Nighthawks, John Daly, Keith Morcomb, Jacky Ashenden, Nina Rueda, Metropolitan Police Officers Bromley and Orpington areas, Northumbria Police Officers Washington area and Durham Constabulary Officers at Pelton. Finally, thanks to Annette for her unending patience and understanding. The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. No quotation from it should be published without his prior written consent and information derived from it should be acknowledged. CONTENTS. Page PART ONE„ RESEARCH RATIONALE, THEORY. ENVIRONMENTS AND ISSUES: AN INTRODUCTION TO NEIGHBOURHOOD PRIVATE SECURITY PATROL AS AN AGENCY OF SOCIAL CONTROL. 1 CHAPTER 1. THE CHANGING CONCEPT OF TRADITIONAL POLICING. 2 EM1 ION ALE. 2 Public Sovereignty Of Police. 2 A Dearth Of Knowledge. 4 DEFINITIONS. 5 Policing. 6 Private Security. 7 RESEARCH AIMS. 9 Blurred And Sinister Boundaries? 11 Inadequacy of Public Police. 13 THEORETICAL ANALYSIS: RELATIONAL ARGUMENT AND EVALUATION. 14 Liberal Democratic Theory And The Dominant Perspective: Neo-Classicism And The Enabling State. 17 The Critical Perspective: The Oppressive State. 19 OUTLINE OF CHAPTER STHJCTURE. 21 CHAPTER 2= THE STATE AND THE MARKET - CONTRASTING VIEWS OF PRIVATE SECURITY AND NEIGHBOURHOOD POLICING: AN OVERVIEW. 24 1. KEY CONCEPT - THE PROBLEM OF MOTIVE: FREEDOM OF CHOICE VERSUS ECONOMIC CRISIS. 24 Self Help. 25 Public Choice. 27 Capitalist Logic: Economic Vacuum - Policing As An Historical Moment. 29 Page 2. KEY CONCEPT - COMMUNITY: EXCLUSION VEESUS INCLUSION. 33 Defining 'Community'. 33 Active Individualism And Ii'iactive Collectivism. 35 Three Models Of Community Crime Prevention. 36 Exclusion And Fragmentation Of Groups And Categories. 38 3. KEY CONCEPT - FUNCTION: SECURITY FOR, OR SECURITY OF SOCIETY? 40 Public And Private Police Distinctions. 40 Loss Reduction And Assets Protection: A Dominant Function. 42 The Victims And The Experts: Buying And Selling Solutions. 43 Concern And Fear: The Psychological Function. 43 Defining Fear. 44 Allaying Fear By Patrol. 45 A Belief System: The Sinister Function Of Securing Society. 45 The New Professionals. 46 4. KEY CONCEPT - SURVEILLANCE: INTRUSION VERSUS EXTRUSION. 47 Intrusion And The Penetration Of Society. 48 5. KEY CONCEPT - COOPERATION VERSUS CONFRONTATION. 50 Models Of Public And Private. 50 The Orthodox Alliance. 50 Organizational Power. 51 Scanning For Power. 52 Role Conflict. 52 6. KEY CONCEPT - CRIME CONTROL. 53 Crime Control And Inequity. 54 The Ethics Of Crime Displacement And The Failure Of Surveillance. 55 Displacement Of Crime And Rational Choice Theory. 57 CONCLUSION. 59 Penetrating Ideology. 60 Page CHAPTER 3. RESEARCH ENVIRONMENTS. METHODOLOGY AND ISSUES. 61 ENVIRONMENTS. 61 Case Study As A Relevant Research Method. 62 Moston. 64 Bridton. 65 Becton. 66 METHOD AND RESEARCH ISSUES. 67 The Analytic Problem Of Modernity. 67 The Sample. 69 INTERVIEW SCHEDULE. 73 Rationale For Private Patrol. 75 Community. 76 Function. 77 Surveillance. 78 Cooperation. 79 Crime Control: Indicators For Assessing Effectiveness. 79 Contamination. 81 Comparative Analysis. 81 Police Statistics. 82 PART TOO. EMPIRICAL PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS. 85 CHAPTER 4. MOTIVES. 86 THE ANTECEDENTS OF PRIVATE PATROL. 86 Private Bobbies Public Beats: Private Security Patrol In Neighbourhoods 86 The Moston Patrol. 88 The Bridton Patrol. 92 Page The Becton Patrol. 94 SUBJECTIVE VIBAIS. 96 Moston And Bridton. 97 A Hyperbola: Ideological Motive. 100 IMPOTENT POLICE. 103 A DEMAND FOR ORDER. 105 MOTIVATION: A DUAL PROCESS. 107 CHAPTER 5. COMMUNITY CHARACTERISTICS. 112 THE SYMBOLIC COMMUNITY. 112 ABSENCE AND BAD NEIGHBOURS: A SOCIETY OF STRANGERS. 114 KEEPING THEM OUT: COMMUNITY FRAGMENTATION. 117 Fear And Community Polarization. 119 CHAPTER 6= THE FUNCTIONAL NATURE AND CHARACTERISTICS OF NEIGHBOURHOOD PRIVATE SECURITY PATROL. 123 PROPERTY PROTECTION: PHYSICAL EFFECTS OF PATROL. 123 CONCERN AND FEAR: THE PSYCHOLOGICAL UTILITY OF PATROL. 126 Police Invisibility. 132 PROTECTION, ENTREPRENEURS, COMMUNICATION AND PERPETUATION OF FEAR. 135 SPECIFIC FUNCTIONS OF PRIVATE PATROL. 140 Unoccupied Premises. 141 Suspicious Incidents. 142 Minor Theft. 143 Nuisance. 143 Nuisance At Becton. 144 PATROLS' INFLUENCE ON PUBLIC DISORDER. 147 Becton: Absence Of Legitimacy. 148 FUNCTION: PREVENTION AND ASSURANCE. 152 Page CHAPTER 7„ THE MODUS OPERANDI OF PROTECTION. 154 SURVEILLANCE AND INTRUSION. 154 Friend Or Foe?: Offender Surveillance. 154 Supervising

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