Postmodern Policing and Governance Issues

Postmodern Policing

• Policing is increasingly decentralized, moving from a state-centric model (like the London Met) to community-based and private sector solutions (private security, self-help).
• Policing is also increasingly interconnected through transnational social networks, operating above the state level.
• This dispersion and fragmentation creates complexities in policing, requiring greater collaboration.

Governance Issues

• Issues of the right to police others are a lingering concern, echoing historical problems (e.g., colonial policing, community involvement in policing).
• Increased citizen arrest powers are a contemporary example in some jurisdictions.
• Sovereignty is a key issue in multinational crime; the question of whose rules apply is complicated and often supported by various governments' interests.
• Transnational policing raises questions about potential neo-colonialism and the interests actively protected by policing.

Trends in Domestic Private/Public Policing

• The private sector significantly outnumbers public police forces—roughly 150% more private police than public.
• Significant functional overlap exists between public and private policing.
• Collaboration and networking are growing common trends.

Reasons for Increased Private Policing

• Risk aversion among citizens due to perceived heightened risks, leading to the demand for personal security and safety measures (e.g., school pick-ups, gated communities).
• Reduced public sector spending on policing in the 1990s.
• Increased affluence fostering a consumerist society where people actively purchase safety and personal security.
• Rise of large private property that operates like mini-cities (e.g., shopping malls, large private commercial spaces).

Policing ‘Mass Private Spaces’

• Large indoor shopping malls resemble cities in population size, with significant daily traffic.
• This creates a significant need for private security and surveillance, highlighted by the high call volume for security services in these environments.
• A large private property, like a mall, might have an equivalent level of security calls annually as a considerable city; therefore, mall security might employ a staff comparable to a small police force.

Explore the evolution of policing from a state-centric model to decentralized, community-based approaches. This quiz examines governance challenges, the complexities of transnational policing, and historical concerns related to citizen arrest powers and sovereignty. Test your understanding of modern policing trends and their implications.