Uneasy Partners Against Crime: The Ambivalent Relationship Between the Police and the Private Security Industry in Mexico

2017 ◽  
Vol 59 (1) ◽  
pp. 74-95 ◽  
Author(s):  
Logan Puck
Keyword(s):  
Political Economy ◽  
Private Security ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
Security Forces ◽  
Security Industry ◽  
Private Security Companies ◽  
Mexican State ◽  
Private Security Industry ◽  
Ambivalent Relationship ◽  
Security Companies

AbstractLegitimation is a fraught process for private security companies operating in Mexico and other countries in the Global South where the police have a poor reputation. Mexican private security companies have an ambivalent relationship with the police, which causes firms to engage in two seemingly contradictory practices. Companies attempt to gain legitimacy by aligning with the image of the police to earn a sense of “symbolic stateness” while simultaneously distancing themselves from Mexico's actual police forces so as to disassociate from the institution's poor reputation. Consequently, collaboration between public and private security is limited, despite official attempts by the Mexican state to foster positive contact between them. Overall, this study contributes to the growing literature on private security by providing novel insights into the strategies private security firms utilize to navigate within states possessing delegitimated security forces, and the resulting lucrative political economy landscape.

scholarly journals Human rights violations committed by private military and security companies: an international law analysis

2016 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 753-766 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elzbieta Karska
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Private Security ◽  
International Community ◽  
Human Rights Violations ◽  
Real Problem ◽  
Security Industry ◽  
Private Security Companies ◽  
Private Security Industry ◽  
International Conventions ◽  
Security Companies

Abstract: This paper is devoted to the growing phenomenon of the private military and security industry with respect to human rights obligations. In the first part, it will analyze the concept of a private security company, which is not clear in national regulations and has few relevant provisions in international conventions. The second part will contain a short description of examples of human rights violations committed by private military and security companies, or with their participation, during service delivery or other forms of activity. The third part of this paper discusses possible methods of responsibility enforcement, with respect to the transnational character of many private security companies involved in human rights violations worldwide. One of the most important elements of the discussion in international community should focus on binding international instrument, preferably a convention, which would be able to establish at least very elementary rules for states and international organizations, responsible for using private military and security companies. The international community has witnessed a lot of initiatives from non-governmental entities, also model laws and self-regulations of the private security industry, but still the real problem has not even been reduced. The number of human rights violations has grown. Keywords: Human rights. Private security companies. Liability.

Improving Human Rights in the Private Security Industry: Envisioning the Role of ICoCA in Latin America

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 79-107
Author(s):  
Cristina NARVÁEZ GONZÁLEZ ◽  
Katharine VALENCIA
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Latin America ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Code Of Conduct ◽  
Private Security ◽  
Human Rights Abuses ◽  
Security Industry ◽  
Private Security Companies ◽  
Private Security Industry ◽  
Security Companies

AbstractThe private security industry in Latin America has been associated with human rights abuses, particularly in the context of extractive operations. Most private security guards in the region are poorly trained and do not undergo adequate vetting. These factors combined with serious deficiencies in the rule of law across the region too often enable private security companies to effectively operate outside state control and engage in human rights abusive practices. This article argues that adoption of the International Code of Conduct for Private Security Providers (ICoC) by Latin American private security companies and states, coupled with civil society engagement with ICoC’s Association, may help reduce negative human rights impacts arising out of private security services within the extractive industry.

scholarly journals Privatizing war and security in Afghanistan: Future or dead end?

2007 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonio Giustozzi
Keyword(s):  
Ad Hoc ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
Private Security ◽  
Security Forces ◽  
Abusive Behavior ◽  
Private Security Companies ◽  
Dead End ◽  
Military Discipline ◽  
Security Companies

An assessment of the employment of mercenaries in Afghanistan gives mixed results. U.S. armed forces appear to have been happy with the Afghan Security Forces and ad hoc militias and only replaced them because of political reasons or because they felt that they were no longer needed. By contrast, the work of private security companies seems to have satisfied few. While in the short term no practical alternative to their use existed, it is not obvious that this option saves any money to the governments involved in the medium and long-term. Moreover, private security contractors are not subject to the control of military authorities, nor to military discipline. Their record of abusive behavior is indisputable and probably played a significant role in alienating the Afghan public. Unless much changes, the potential of private security companies in peacekeeping does not appear to be a bright one.

Private security companies and domestic violence: A welcome new development?

2016 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 433-449 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diarmaid Harkin ◽  
Kate Fitz-Gibbon
Keyword(s):  
Domestic Violence ◽  
Private Security ◽  
Protective Services ◽  
For Profit ◽  
Security Industry ◽  
Private Security Companies ◽  
The Poor ◽  
New Development ◽  
Private Security Industry

Due to the poor reputation of the private security industry and the multiple lines of concerns raised by scholars over the potentially corrosive costs of commercial security provision, it is important to consider whether for-profit companies are a welcome addition to the network of actors who respond to the needs of domestic violence victims. Using the case study of ‘Protective Services’ in Victoria, Australia, who appear to be one of the first known instances of a private security company offering services to victims of domestic violence, we argue that there may be advantages for victims engaging with commercial providers and reasons for optimism that commercial outfits can improve feelings of safety for a particularly vulnerable and under-protected population.

Moonlighting

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tessa Diphoorn
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Private Security ◽  
The Other ◽  
Boundary Crossing ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
Private Security Companies ◽  
Private Policing ◽  
Continuous Boundary ◽  
Security Companies

This chapter focuses on police officers’ ‘moonlighting’ in South Africa. Working in security-related fields outside their police job, as bouncers or in private security companies, police officers engage in a space between public and private policing. This chapter shows not only that state and non-state policing practices influence one another, but that each contains an element of the other. Moonlighting is a continuous boundary-crossing between public and private, between state and non-state.

Market Opportunities and Political Responsibilities: The Difficult Development of Chinese Private Security Companies Abroad

2018 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-45
Author(s):  
Andrea Ghiselli
Keyword(s):  
Private Security ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Initial Development ◽  
Security Services ◽  
Security Industry ◽  
Private Security Companies ◽  
Chinese Policy ◽  
Market Opportunities ◽  
Overseas Operations ◽  
Security Companies

Building upon the conceptual work of Krahmann and Habermas, this study explains how political power and market forces in China combined to create an enormous domestic market for overseas security services and, at the same time, undermined the full development of domestic private security companies (PSCs). The growing responsiveness of the state to the request for protection of Chinese citizens and assets abroad made room for the initial development of Chinese PSCs’ overseas operations. However, the policy makers’ focus on political loyalty has inhibited the full-fledged maturation of China’s private security industry. So far, large foreign PSCs have been the main beneficiaries of this situation. The future development of Chinese PSCs remains possible in a gradual and pragmatic way, but Chinese policy makers will have to deal with important diplomatic and political questions before the development of any “Chinese Blackwater” will be imaginable.

scholarly journals Private military and security companies’ logos: Between camouflaging and corporate socialization

2020 ◽  
pp. 096701062092358
Author(s):  
Eugenio Cusumano
Keyword(s):  
International Relations ◽  
International Market ◽  
Private Security ◽  
Security Industry ◽  
Visual Identity ◽  
Private Security Industry ◽  
Shifting Identities ◽  
Shed Light ◽  
Peircean Semiotics ◽  
Security Companies

International relations scholarship has paid insufficient attention to security providers’ tendency to emulate the visual attributes of other actors in an attempt to (re)construct their identities and increase their legitimacy by signalling adherence to prevailing norms. Research on the discourses deployed by private military and security companies (PMSCs), for instance, has relied almost exclusively on the analysis of written documents. This article argues that even basic visual units like logos serve as windows into the genealogy and evolution of the international market for force. By combining insights from Peircean semiotics and institutionalist theory, I show that PMSCs’ logos are not only marketing tools, but also symbolic acts that shed light upon the shifting identities and legitimization strategies of the international private security industry. Specifically, I argue that PMSCs’ logos can be conceptualized as forms of camouflaging, blame-shifting, mirroring and socialization into corporate identities. These overlapping processes have reshaped the international private security industry brandscape, informing a shift away from the use of logos displaying symbols and colours borrowed from military visual identity systems.

scholarly journals Using the competing values framework (CVF) to investigate organisational culture in a major private security company

2011 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 343-352 ◽  
Author(s):  
D Kokt ◽  
C Van der Merwe
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Private Security ◽  
Competing Values Framework ◽  
Competing Values ◽  
The South ◽  
Security Industry ◽  
Private Security Companies ◽  
African Context ◽  
Private Security Industry ◽  
Fierce Competition

The proliferation of crime, especially in the South African context, has placed considerable emphasis on the private security industry.  This has also increased fierce competition in the private security domain with both national and international private security companies infiltrating the South African market.  Like public policing private security has an important role to play in combating crime and other transgressions, with the exception that private security owes its existence to paying customers.  By using the Competing Values Framework (CVF) as conceptual guide, the researchers are able to provide the managers of the company under investigation with insight on how their cultural orientation affects their functioning and ultimately their competitive advantage.

scholarly journals Private Military and Security Companies in UN Peacekeeping Operations: Problems and Perspectives

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 61-77
Author(s):  
М. A. Nebolsina
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Private Security ◽  
Security Market ◽  
Conflict Zones ◽  
Peacekeeping Operations ◽  
Security Industry ◽  
Un Peacekeeping ◽  
Private Security Industry ◽  
Peacekeeping Missions ◽  
Security Companies

While some of the UN member states refrain from providing peacekeepers due to security reasons, the UN frequently turns to the private security market for support. In turn, private military and security companies (PMSCs) take on risky missions and fill in the procurement gaps. It is common practice to criticize PMSCs for not having a clear international legal status, operating in the “grey” area of the law and not being accountable for their actions. Furthermore, the UN often equates PMSCs to mercenaries of the past and calls for strict regulation and surveillance of their activities. This practice has remained unchanged since the 1992 reforms, and the UN has done nothing to reduce the involvement of PMSCs in peacekeeping missions. On the contrary, it has, under pressure from lobbyists for the private security industry, actually increased security expenditures for PMSCs by unprecedented amounts. The UN’s position as a unique universal intergovernmental organization exempts it from a great deal of transparency, accountability and reform. While the private security industry includes various PMSCs that compete for contracts in conflict zones and post-conflict areas, the UN does not have any kind of competitor in peacekeeping procedures. The UN criticizes PMSCs for their blatant human rights violations and disregard of international law, yet continues to contract them for its peacekeeping missions. This paper examines the problem of involving PMSCs in UN peacekeeping operations. It aims to answer the following main questions: How do PMSCs, as partners of the UN in the peacekeeping process, contribute to the protection of human rights, which is one of the organization’s basic declared principles? Can PMSCs become a recognized instrument within the UN system? Would UN peacekeeping eff orts improve as a result of hiring PMSCs?

scholarly journals The State of Security Law Violations by the Private Security Businesses in Seoul and Countermeasures

2014 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 159
Author(s):  
Ju-lak Lee ◽  
Seok Lee ◽  
Jinsung Kim
Keyword(s):  
Police Officers ◽  
Korean War ◽  
Private Security ◽  
Prevention Measures ◽  
Security Industry ◽  
Security Officers ◽  
Private Security Companies ◽  
The Korean War ◽  
Quantitative Development ◽  
Private Security Industry

The private security industry in South Korea has grown rapidly since the cessation of the Korean War in 1953. The main duty of the private security officers in their beginning era was to simply protect the supplies of the U.S. military stationed in the country, but the number of people employed in the business has outgrown the number of police officers since 2001.Despite the quantitative development of the private security industry, the quality of the services provided by the businesses has not advanced sufficiently except for a few number of specialized areas because of the perception that the police should be in charge of the overall security of society in addition to the low crime rate in the country and the lack of safety awareness by citizens. This has also resulted in an overflow of under-qualified businesses. Moreover, the lack of sense of duty among the employees of private security has resulted in violations of the existing laws and regulations, which has hindered further development of the industry. In this study, the current state of the private security companies registered at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency is examined in addition to the details of the Private Security Act and its breaches by the security businesses in Seoul area during 2013. With a basis on the findings, the causes for the violations are assessed and prevention measures are suggested.  

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