ABSTRACT
Th e growth of the private security sector is a worldwide phenomenon. Th e reasons for this dramatic growth are mass private ownership in postindustrial as well as developing countries. Private owners’ fear of crime grew faster than the government’s interest in protecting them. Private security is one of the fastest developing industries; it has been expanding for over 30 years in the economic market of developed countries (Clede, 1993). Worldwide, the private sector security market is valued at US$85 billion and has an annual growth rate of 6-8% (Abrahamsen & Williams, 2005). Considering the fact that in the United States the private sector possesses and protects 85% of national infrastructure, private security plays an important role in its protection. In the United States, there are more than 10,000 private companies with 2 million employees (Morabito & Greenberg, 2005). It is estimated that in the European Union (EU) there are 20,000 private security companies with 1,100,000 employees (CoESS & UNI-Europa, 2003) aft er the latest EU enlargements in 2004 and 2007. In postsocialist countries, the development of private security is a natural outcome of a transitional economy, which resulted in the increase of private police. Social changes led to the change of police nature and its adjustment to the market economy (Mesko, Nalla, & Sotlar, 2004).
