Some people consider police services as inappropriate for privatization, arguing that such services are public goods that only government can practically provide. The work of E. S. Savas and others, however, has persuasively demonstrated that many government services are not public goods or, at least, not pure public goods. Police services, in fact, have been successfully financed, through user fees, and delivered, via contracting, by the private sector. Moreover, there are some surprising examples of fully privatized police services, both financed and delivered privately. The major barriers to police privatization include tradition and attitudes, concern about control and accountability, union opposition, legal restrictions, and the difficulty of encouraging all beneficiaries to finance these services voluntarily, or privately. All of these barriers can be surmounted under certain circumstances. There are even signs that the privatization of police services, especially some milder forms of privatization, is gradually taking place.
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References
1.
1. E. S. Savas, Privatizing the Public Sector (Chatham, NJ: Chatham House, 1982), pp. 29-51.
2.
2. See Charles Feinstein, Privatization Possibilities among Pacific Island Countries (Honolulu: East-West Center, 1986), p. 10.
3.
3. Dale Pancake, “Cooperation between Police Department and Private Security,”Police Chief, June 1983, pp. 34-36.
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4. Roger M. Moulton, “Police Contract Service for Shopping Mall Security,”Police Chief, June 1983, pp. 43-44.
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5. James Stewart, “Public Safety and Private Police,”Public Administration Review, Nov. 1985, pp. 758-765.
6.
6. John Diebold, Making the Future Work (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1984), p. 161.
7.
7. Institute for Local Self-Government, Alternatives to Traditional Public Safety Delivery Systems: Civilians in Public Safety Services (Berkeley, CA: Institute for Local Self-Government, 1977), p. 14.
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8. John J. McCarthy, “Contract Medical Care,”Corrections Magazine, Apr. 1982, pp. 6-17.
9.
9. Philip E. Fixler, Jr., “Which Police Services Can Be Privatized?”Fiscal Watchdog, Jan. 1986, no. 111, p. 3.
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10. Ibid.
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11. Robert W. Poole, Jr., Cutting Back City Hall (New York: Universe Books, 1980), p. 40.
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12. Martin Tolchin, “Private Guards Taking the Place of Police,”Rutland Herald, 29 Nov. 1985.
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13. Poole, Cutting Back City Hall, p. 40.
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14. Institute for Local Self-Government, Alternatives to Public Safety, p. 14.
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15. Poole, Cutting Back City Hall, p. 41.
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Fixler , “Which Police Services Can Be Privatized?” p. 2.
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20. Philip E. Fixler, Jr., “Private Prisons Begin to Establish Track Record,”Fiscal Watchdog, June 1986, no. 116, pp. 1-4.
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Fixler , “Which Police Services Can Be Privatized?” p. 3.
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22. State Government News (Commonwealth of Kentucky), 30 Dec. 1986.
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23. George O'Toole, The Private Sector (New York: Norton, 1978), p. 28.
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24. Ibid.
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25. Poole, Cutting Back City Hall, pp. 41-42.
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26. William Wooldridge, Uncle Sam, the Monopoly Man (New Rochelle, NY: Arlington House, 1970), p. 122.
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27. Theodore Gage, “Cops, Inc.,”Reason, Nov. 1982, pp. 23-28.
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28. Ibid.
29.
29. “Oro Valley Must Hire Own Police,”Arizona Territory, 19 Feb. 1976.
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30. Poole, Cutting Back City Hall.
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31. William C. Cunningham and Todd H. Taylor, Private Security and Police in America (The Hallcrest Report) (Portland, OR: Chancellor Press, 1985), p. 186.
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32. “Private Firms Take Over Public Functions: Germany, Switzerland,”Urban Innovation Abroad, 4(9):1 (Sept. 1980).
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33. Alan C. Miller, “Law Strips Guard Force at Airport of Authority,”Los Angeles Times, 26 May 1987.
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34. Sorrel Wildhorn and James Kakalik, The Law and Private Police, LEAA report R-872-DOJ (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1971), 4:4.
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35. Theodore M. Becker, “The Place of Private Police in Society,”Social Problems, 21(3):446 (1974).
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36. Cunningham and Taylor, Private Security and Police in America, pp. 40, 324.
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37. Stewart, “Public Safety and Private Police,” p. 761.
38.
38. Athelia Knight, “ `Rent-a-Cops' Pose Problems for District,”Washington Post, 10 Nov. 1980.
39.
39. Toni Schlesinger, “Rent-a-Cops, Inc.,”Student Lawyer, Dec. 1978, p. 43.
40.
40. O'Toole, Private Sector, p. 10.
41.
41. Ibid.
42.
42. Karen Hess and Henry M. Wrobleski, Introduction to Private Security (New York: West, 1982), p. 276.
43.
43. Conversation with Lieutenant William Kennedy, University of Southern California, Campus Police, Jan. 1987.
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44. Hess and Wrobleski, Introduction to Private Security, p. 13.
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45. J. P. Shalloo, Private Police (Philadelphia: American Academy of Political and Social Science, 1933), pp. 25, 208.
46.
46. James Gallagher, “The Case for Privatizing Protective Services,” in Facets of Liberty, ed. L. K. Samuels (Santa Ana, CA: Freeland Press, 1985), pp. 93-96.
47.
Christine Dorffi , “San Francisco's Hired Guns,”Reason, Aug. 1979, pp. 26-29, 33.
48.
48. Becker, “Place of Private Police in Society,” p. 444.
49.
49. Hess and Wrobleski, Introduction to Private Security, p. 9.
50.
50. T. A. Critchley, A History of Police in England and Wales (London: Constable, 1967, 1978), pp. 29, 42.
51.
51. Conversation with Associate Attorney General Eddie Caldwell, Mar. 1984.
