ABSTRACT
The previous chapter explored the ways in which the pursuit of security is changing the scope and compass of criminal justice. The present chapter explores the growing provision of security by private and commercial organizations and in so doing revisits the question of whether security is inextricably a state function. Looking beyond the state, it reveals a sizeable and rapidly growing private security sector that provides and sells security products and services for profit. Private security is a burgeoning industry and the technological paraphernalia of security products scatter our social world (Jones and Newburn 1998, Lyon 2001). This industry has played an important role in expanding the scope of security, in creating a market in security provision, and a commodity of security itself (Krahmann 2008). The growth in commercial provision challenges the enjoyment of security by all as a public good (Loader 1999), while diversification and privatization of security services erodes the role of the state as its primary provider and guarantor (Loader and Walker 2001, 2007). At the same time, state security actors
are increasingly coming to behave like their commercial counterparts, selling their expertise and services around the world.
