Police should partner with private security agencies

[davis002]

Charles Baker
Jun. 29, 2007 02:18 PM
I read with sadness about the circumstances that could have prevented the senseless death of 18-year-old Gabriella Contreras. The slow response and apparent inattention to duty by the Phoenix police officer was totally unacceptable. It also represents a larger issue within the criminal justice system and the need to fight crime and protect our nation's communities.

Our police officers are overwhelmed with crime and responding to calls for service. They cannot possibly be "in all places at all times" to prevent or discover crime. Therefore, they should cultivate and utilize the significant number of private security officers that work diligently for the company or private institutions where they are employed. These private security officers can provide a tremendous amount of information regarding criminal activity, suspicious persons or intelligence information that can be used to solve open criminal cases. But by and large, police officers dismiss them as "cop wannabes," and look down upon their occupation.

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articl...,charles2.html

[LPGuy]

That article is spot-on. It would really be foolish to overlook local security officers as potential sources of information. Many of these officers are walking or driving patrols in their areas, and others are monitoring CCTV and probably have exterior building cameras that can record crimes and be used as evidence. In addition, it's always a good idea to know who in the area may have your back in a situation when things go badly.

When I worked loss prevention for a large department store in a shopping mall, I made it a point to introduce myself to all the mall security officers and other loss prevention officers that worked for the other mall stores, as well as get to know all the local police officers that worked in my area. I had occassion to back up another store's loss prevention team before, and the mall security officers would routinely back me and my fellow officers up. I'd utilize the same mindset as a police officer as well.

[War113]

Police Officers often come to our University as our camera's are monitoring most of the main roads going trough montreal.They threat us as professional (usualy)and we do the same.I think tho this article is right.

[Christopherstjo]

The article points out the sad truth existing; mirrors what the USDOJ reported in 2004, and what I have said many times before. S/O's have a great deal of value in the criminal justice system of government but are typically looked down upon.

It would be interesting to see stats on how many crimes addressed stem directly from security involvement whether it occurs merely by calling 911 or making the detainment or arrest. I venture to say that the bulk of criminals taken off the street, across the U.S., stems from some kind of s/o involvement.