ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on how British police forces emerged, particularly the Metropolitan Police Service. There are constant arguments about why the private security sector has emerged as a contender for the capture of many policing roles believed to be the domain of public law enforcement agencies. It is impossible to argue definitively when public policing relinquished the reins of so many critical tasks, or indeed when the private security sector took on the perceived mantle of a 'private policing agency'. However, it is difficult to ignore the fact that the private security sector now carries out a significant number of duties that were once the realm and responsibility of public police forces. The chapter examines the unique relationship between public police and the private sector, primarily in the US and the UK. It also examines the phenomenon referred to as the private security company.
