Security and loss prevention Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Security and loss prevention - Essay Example Fijnaut (1995) attributes growth in private security to economically motivated reactions to increased criminal-related losses. The growth in many private business properties such as recreational parks and mega shopping malls led to an increase in special crime-related problems as noted by Shearing and Stenning (1983). The high increase in crime during this period resulted in many businesses incurring a lot of losses. This prompted the need to use private security to guard the businesses instead of relying state security that did not provide quick response to crime (Fijnaut, 1995). The recent growth in technology has also contributed to the increase in private security. This is due to the facts that new, advanced surveillance technologies could be used which was not the case in earlier times. The new technologies reduced the cost of security, which then stimulated demand for private security services that were (and still are) more cost effective. Fijnaut (1995) also notes that the growth was also attributed to the fact that many large companies in the eighties had economic drives, which led to slimming down of their secondary functions. These companies therefore decided to shift to the use of private security to replace the guards. Privatization of secondary functions by the governments also led to the growth in private security. In this case Fijnaut (1995) notes that government agencies like the prisons and police services began contracting elementary duties such as those of receptionists and access controls and transport to private security firms. In order to promote growth in private security, most governments in Europe introduced legislations regulating private security firms. In this case, private companies are required to fulfill certain requirements before they can be licensed. This is to ensure that individual guards’ criminal records are checked as a selection procedure (Fijnaut, 1995). This enabled those