The Private Security Industry: A Review of the Definitions ...

1 The author(s) shown below used Federal funds provided by the Department of Justice and prepared the following final report: Document Title: The Private Security industry : A Review of the Definitions , Available Data Sources, and Paths Moving Forward Author: Kevin Strom, PhD; Marcus Berzofsky, MS; Bonnie Shook-Sa, MAS; Kelle Barrick, PhD; Crystal Daye, MPA; Nicole Horstmann, BS; Susan Kinsey, BS Document No.: 232781 Date Received: December 2010 Award Number: 2009 BJ CX K045 This report has not been published by the Department of Justice. To provide better customer service, NCJRS has made this Federally-funded grant final report available electronically in addition to traditional paper copies.

2 Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the Department of Justice. RTI Project Number The Private Security industry : A Review of the Definitions , Available Data Sources, and Paths Moving Forward Literature Review and Secondary Data Analysis Prepared by Kevin Strom, PhD Marcus Berzofsky, MS Bonnie Shook-Sa, MAS Kelle Barrick, PhD Crystal Daye, MPA Nicole Horstmann, BS Susan Kinsey, BS RTI International 3040 Cornwallis Road Research Triangle Park, NC 27709 This document was prepared by RTI International under Cooperative Agreement Number 2009 BJ CX K045 from the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS).

3 Lynn Langton and Brian Reaves, BJS Statisticians, were the program managers. The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) is a component of the Office of Justice Programs. BJS is an official statistical agency of the government. The Office of Justice Programs also includes the Bureau of Justice Assistance; the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention; the Community Capacity Development Office; the National Institute of Justice; the Office for Victims of Crime; and the Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking (SMART).

4 Iii Contents Section Page 1. Executive Summary 1-1 2. Background 2-1 Defining Private Security .. 2-2 Structure of the industry .. 2-3 Distinctions Between Contract and Proprietary Security .. 2-4 Types of Security .. 2-4 3. Overview of Secondary Data Sources and Survey Methodologies 3-1 Sources of Secondary Data .. 3-1 Survey Methodologies Used by Secondary Data Sources .. 3-6 4. Trends and Employee Characteristics in Private Security 4-1 Private Security Contract Firms .. 4-1 Private Security Employment .. 4-3 Services Performed by Private Security Organizations.

5 4-6 Guard Services .. 4-8 Alarm Monitoring .. 4-9 Investigation .. 4-9 Armored Transport .. 4-9 Correctional Facilities Management .. 4- 10 Systems Integration and Management .. 4- 10 Security Consulting .. 4- 11 Pre-Employment Screening .. 4- 11 Information Technology Security .. 4- 11 Markets for Private Security .. 4- 11 Critical 4- 13 Commercial .. 4- 14 Institutional .. 4- 14 Residential .. 4- 15 Government .. 4- 15 Demographics .. 4- 15 Revenue .. 4- 21 This document is a research report submitted to the Department of Justice.

6 This report has not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the Department of Expenditures .. 4- 24 5. The Relationship between Private Security and Law Enforcement 5-1 History of Collaboration: Private Security and Law Enforcement .. 5-2 Issues and Challenges for Cooperation .. 5-5 Private Security Law Enforcement Partnerships .. 5-6 Private Security s Policing Roles and Powers .. 5-7 Officers Moonlighting in Private 5- 10 6. Regulation and Training of Private Security Sectors 6-1 Legislation.

7 6-1 Licensure and Certification .. 6-1 Hiring and Background Check Practices .. 6-7 Training for Private Security .. 6-8 7. Safety 7-1 8. Conclusion 8-1 References R-1 This document is a research report submitted to the Department of Justice. This report has not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the Department of Figures Number Page 1. Distribution of Company Security Functions Between Internal and External Providers, 2005 .. 2-5 2.

8 Number of Contract Security Firms in the United States by Data Source, 1967 2009 .. 4-2 3. Distribution of Establishments and Employees by Size of Firm (Number of Employees) .. 4-3 4. Total Number of Private Security Officers and Contract Security Officers in the United States by Data Source, 1980 2009 .. 4-4 5. Percentage of Private Security Officers Who Work Part Time, 1969 2008 .. 4-6 6. Percentage of Companies Outsourcing Security Services by type of Service, 2005 .. 4-7 7. Percentage of Companies That Have Purchased or Plan to Purchase Security -Related Technology, 2005.

9 4-8 8. Number of Proprietary Security Officers per Employee by industry Sector, 2009 .. 4- 12 9. Number of Employees per Security Officer by industry Sector, 2009 .. 4- 13 10. Distribution of Security Officers by Race, 2008 .. 4- 16 11. Distribution of Security Officers by Highest Level of Education Obtained, 2008 .. 4- 17 12. Percentage of Total Private Security Officers and Contract Security Officers Who Are Female, 2003 2008 .. 4- 18 13. Median Hourly Wage by Data Source, 1997 2008 .. 4- 19 14. Median Hourly Wage by Gender, 2003 2008 .. 4- 20 15. Annual Revenue Earned Among Contract Security Firms by Data Source (in Billions), 1980 2009.

10 4- 22 16. Average Annual Revenue per Contract Security Firm by Data Source (in Thousands), 1980 2009 .. 4- 23 17. Annual Revenue (in millions) by Largest Contract Security Firms, 2003 .. 4- 24 18. Spending on Security as a Percentage of Revenue by industry Sector, 2009 .. 4- 25 19. Spending on Private Security per Employee by industry Sector, 2009 .. 4- 25 20. Average Security Budget by Budget Year .. 4- 26 21. Percentage of Private Security Companies That Contacted Public Law Enforcement Agencies at Least Once per Year, 2005 .. 5-4 22. Percentage of Private Security Companies Reporting Specific Types of Security -Related Contacts with Law Enforcement, 2005.