Private security and public policing

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by Geoffrey Li

Roles and responsibilities
Training, regulation and accountability
Large increase in private security personnel between 2001 and 2006
Proportion of visible minorities and women increasing in both policing and private security
Private security employees more evenly distributed across all age groups
Police attain higher levels of education
Police officers earn more than private security personnel
Summary
Survey methodology
Counts from the Police Administration Survey
Detailed data tables
References
Notes

It is becoming increasingly difficult to clearly define the roles and responsibilities of private security and public police. While there remain distinct tasks that are handled solely by one or the other, the task of "policing" and securing society carried out by a network of public police and private security is often overlapping, complimentary and mutually supportive1 (Law Commission of Canada, 2006).

This article compares the roles, responsibilities, and oversight of private security and public police, discusses the regulations governing the security industry and police, and presents employment profiles from Census data. For the purpose of this report, "private security personnel" include two major occupations: private investigators and security guards.

Roles and responsibilities

In Canada, public police act on behalf of the government and society to enforce laws, maintain the peace, detect crime, respond to emergencies, assist victims of crime, and provide assistance in prosecuting offenders. Police are also involved in community support and outreach programs such as drug awareness and crime prevention. Police services receive their powers to search, arrest, and detain individuals from the Criminal Code of Canada and from provincial and territorial Police Acts.

Police have traditionally protected public property and spaces. In the case of "mass private property" — venues that are privately owned or operated, but used extensively by the public such as indoor shopping malls, privately operated airports, and sporting arenas — owners often turn to private security to help maintain order and control access. While private security personnel may perform many police-like functions, they act on behalf of their employer, and not necessarily on behalf of the public.

Private investigators generally conduct investigations (e.g., to locate missing persons, obtain information for civil and legal litigation cases), provide risk management consultations, implement security measures to protect property against theft and fire, and investigate corporate fraud. Private investigators tend to be directly employed by security companies as well as the retail trade and public administration industries (Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2006).

Security guards primarily maintain order and enforce regulations at public events and within establishments, protect property against theft and vandalism, provide armoured car service for transporting valuables, and control access to venues. Security guards also tend to be directly employed by security companies. Other major employers include public administration; the arts, entertainment and recreation industry; transportation and warehousing; health care and social assistance; and, accommodation and food services (Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2006).

Acting on behalf of property owners, private security personnel have the same criminal law enforcement powers as ordinary citizens, and are legally able to arrest and detain individuals2. In 2006, the Law Commission of Canada noted that trespass laws, in particular, are frequently used by private security since most provincial trespass statutes empower owners and their agents (i.e. private security) or police officers to arrest trespassers. Trespass acts are "… the workhorse of private security services in their patrol of the shopping malls, airports, sports stadiums and other private spaces where the public tends to congregate" (Law Commission of Canada, 2006).

Training, regulation and accountability

Successful police recruits are required to go through screening and training requirements to ensure that they are suitable and fit for the job. While private security personnel undergo background checks (i.e. criminal records) and training, the duration and scope is not as in-depth as that of the police.

Training for police within jurisdictions is standardized and centralized at police colleges and academies. Training for private security personnel may vary from company to company, although most provinces have, or are developing, minimum training standards.

Police are held accountable for their actions through a number of mechanisms. Members of the public may file complaints about police activity through local, municipal, or provincial police boards and commissions, and public/civilian complaints boards/commissions. In addition to the police service's own internal investigations, police may also be subject to criminal prosecution and civil litigation.

While provinces and territories have laws regulating security personnel and agencies, as well as a process for investigating complaints made against private security, private security personnel are primarily accountable to their employers and clients. As the Law Commission of Canada notes, the government's role in regulating the private security industry is "not as prominent as it has been with public police" (2006). However, many provinces have taken steps to better regulate the private security industry in terms of training, licensing, and oversight.

Large increase in private security personnel between 2001 and 2006

For many years, employment in the private security industry has exceeded that of public police officers (Chart 1). In 2006, this was the case for all provinces except Saskatchewan3. There were about 102,000 private security personnel in Canada, compared to 68,000 police officers, representing about 3 private security personnel for every 2 police officers (Table 1). Security guards made up 90% of private security personnel.

While the rate of both police officers and private security personnel per 100,000 population increased between 2001 and 2006, private security grew much faster, up 15% compared to 3% for police officers. The increase in private security personnel was due to the growth in the number of security guards.

Chart 1
Large increase in private security between 2001 and 2006

Chart 1Large increase in private security between 2001 and 2006

Source: Statistics Canada, Census of Population.

Manitoba and Saskatchewan, which had the nation's highest crime rates, employed the most police per capita in 2006. Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador, provinces with crime rates well below the national average, had the fewest number of police per capita (Table 2).

Quebec reported the most security guards per capita among the provinces, while Alberta and Ontario had the most private investigators per capita.

Proportion of visible minorities and women increasing in both policing and private security

In 2006, the Law Commission of Canada stated that "…in spite of concerted efforts to increase diversity in police services in Canada, women, members of visible and ethnic minority groups, as well as Aboriginal peoples, remain significantly underrepresented, compared to their representation in the communities being policed" (based on 1996 Census data). Data from the 2006 Census show that, for Canada as a whole, this continues to be the case for visible minorities and women.

The representation of visible minorities among police officers and private security personnel doubled between 1996 and 2006. While the proportion of visible minorities among security guards exceeded that of the overall proportion of visible minorities among the population of Canada, this was not the case for police and private investigators (Text table 1).

The representation of females among police and private security personnel continues to increase. In 2006, females comprised about 1 in 5 police officers and 1 in 4 private security personnel (Text table 2). In 1996, the comparable figures were 1 in 8 police and 1 in 5 private security.

According to the 2006 Census, while Aboriginal peoples comprised 3% of Canada's population 15 years and over, they made up 4% of police officers and 5% of private security personnel (Text table 3).

Private security employees more evenly distributed across all age groups

Private security personnel came from all age groups while the majority of police officers were between 25 and 54 years of age.

Chart 2
Private security personnel come from all age groups

Chart 2 Private security personnel come from all age groups

Source: Statistics Canada, Census of Population.

There are relatively few police officers over the age of 55 (Chart 2). Among private security personnel, those over 55 years of age actually comprise the largest proportion (26%). As noted by Rigakos (2002), retirees may see a job as a security guard as a possible second career.

Police attain higher levels of education

Employment requirements usually dictate that police officers possess a high school education, although a college or university diploma or degree is usually preferred4. As such, police officers generally have higher levels of education than private security personnel. In 2006, 75% of police officers had completed at least a college certification, compared to 55% of private investigators and 37% of security guards.

Police officers earn more than private security personnel

In 2005, the average annual income5 for full-time police officers was higher than that of their counterparts in private security. Comparing those who worked full-time throughout the year, police officers earned about one and a half times the average income of private investigators, and more than twice that of security guards. However, these figures do not control for factors such as training requirements, specialized education, seniority, and the level of experience.

Increases in income between 2000 and 2005 for both police officers and private investigators were greater than was seen for security guards and for all occupations (Text table 4).

As well as earning less than public police, private security personnel were about five times more likely to experience unemployment. While 1% of police officers were unemployed during the week prior to the Census, 5% of private investigators and 6% of security guards were unemployed.

Summary

As has been the case for several years, private security personnel continue to outnumber police officers. Results from the 2006 Census indicate that there were about 3 private security personnel for every 2 police officers. 

Provinces with the nation's highest crime rates, Manitoba and Saskatchewan, employed the most police per capita in 2006 while Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador, provinces with crime rates well below the national average, had the fewest.

While representation of Aboriginal peoples, women and visible minorities among police officers and private security personnel increased between 1996 and 2006, women and visible minorities generally are underrepresented.

Survey Methodology

The primary data source used for this Juristat article was the Census of Population. While surveys such as the Labour Force Survey and the Survey of Employment, Payroll and Hours collect information on income and employment, the level of detail was not sufficient for the purposes of this report.

The Census collects data on every person in Canada and is conducted every five years. The data used for this report are from a sample of one in five Canadian households who were asked questions on topics such as education, ethnicity, mobility, income and employment. The results from this 20% sample were then weighted to the national level. 

Except where noted, data refer to the employed labour force, comprised of persons who worked for pay, were self-employed, or worked without pay in a family farm, business or professional practice; and those who would normally have worked but were absent from their job or business6.

For the purpose of this article, public police officers and private security personnel are classified according to Statistics Canada's 2006 National Occupational Classification for Statistics (NOC-S). Police Officers are captured on the Census under NOC-S codes A351 — commissioned officers and G611 — non-commissioned officers. Those referred to collectively as "private security personnel" are employed as private investigators and security guards. Private investigators (code G625 "Other Protective Service Occupations") include workers who conduct private investigations for clients or employers, and implement security measures to protect property against theft and fire, while the larger security guards and related occupations category (G631) include security guards and other related workers.

Counts from the Police Administration Survey

Counts for police officers are also collected by Statistics Canada's Police Administration Survey (PAS). The survey is conducted annually and gathers information on personnel and expenditures directly from municipal, provincial and federal police services. Counts of police officers from the Census are consistently higher than counts provided by the PAS due to a number of methodological differences between the two data sources.

For instance, the PAS includes counts of full-time officers and converts those working part-time into full-time equivalents (e.g., four police officers working 10 hours per week equal 1 full-time police officer), and also excludes temporary police officers. However, for Census counts part-time police officers are not converted to full-time equivalents and counts could include temporary police officers. Therefore, caution must be observed when making any comparisons between the Census and Police Administration data.

In 2006, police officer counts from the Census were 10% higher than those reported on the PAS for that year. However, trends between the two surveys are very similar. For example, between 2001 and 2006, both the Census and the PAS indicate a 9% increase in the number of police officers (Text table 5). Provincially, the rates per capita are generally consistent as well.

Detailed data tables

Table 1 Police officers, private investigators and security guards Canada 1991, 1996, 2001, and 2006

Table 2 Police officers, private investigators and security guards by province and territory, 2006

Text table 1 Proportion belonging to a visible minority group, Canada

Text table 2 Proportion who are women, Canada

Text table 3 Proportion who are Aboriginal, Canada

Text table 4 Average annual employment income in constant 2005 dollars, Canada

Text table 5 Police officers, Canada, selected years

References

Law Commission of Canada "In Search of Security: The Future of Policing in Canada" Ottawa, 2006.

Rigakos, George "The New Parapolice: Risk Markets and Commodified Social Control" Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2002.

Statistics Canada, unpublished data tables, Census of Population, 2006.

Notes

  1. For examples of the types of co-operation between public police and private security, see Rigakos, 2002.
  2. Section 494 of the Criminal Code of Canada.
  3. The total number of police officers in Saskatchewan includes those working at the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Training Depot, a facility for instructing recruits from across Canada. If those officers involved in training were excluded from Saskatchewan totals, then the number of private security personnel would slightly exceed the number of police officers providing policing services in that province.
  4. For examples of minimum requirements, see www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/recruiting-recrutement/howtojoin-commentvousenroler/requirements-exigences-eng.htm#req4 and www.torontopolice.on.ca/careers/minreq.php.
  5. Data on employment income are estimates from the 1996, 2001, and 2006 Census of Population and represent persons aged 15 years and older with employment income who worked full year, full-time during 1995, 2000, and 2005 respectively.
  6. The complete definition may be found at www12.statcan.ca/english/census06/reference/dictionary/pop028.cfm.