How Private Security Companies are Doing Social Good and Benefitting Common Purposes - Essay Example

 1.1 SECURITY IS A BASIC HUMAN NEED
Private Security has been important to civilization, especially since the industrial age. Investigative literature has enriched and entertained people throughout the past two centuries, and famous investigators and their escapades have become folklores. The renowned Sherlock Holmes is a case in point.
Over 60 years ago, Abraham Maslow, the father of modern management psychology, pointed out that safety needs comprising of protection, security, order, law, limits, and stability are the second most important needs of a human being (abraham-maslow.com, 2009). Further, according to Reith, the evolution of the quest for security takes place in four phases. These are the search for collective security, the need for rules and laws, and predictably some people would not obey laws and the means to compel observance of rules found (docstoc.com, 2009).

1.2 EVOLUTION OF PRIVATE SECURITY
EARLY DAYS
From time immemorial humans needed security for their protection. In ancient days, people used weapons for their physical protection and lived in cliff dwellings or lakes and even erected walls and gates, the Great Wall of China stands as a testimony to this. With the progress of civilization, the rulers began to appointed specific people to protect citizens and their property from theft thus began the journey of security.

MIDDLE AGES
In the middle ages, in England tithing groups often were made responsible for law and order. With the conquest of Norman, the Frankpledge system emerged, where all free Englishmen needed to swear to maintain peace (Encyclopaedia Britannica, n.d.). Eventually, Magna Carta, The Great Charter of English liberty granted (under considerable duress) by King John at Runnymede on June 15, 1215 (1215), gave Englishmen “due process” of law and created the foundation for modern justice (britannia.com, n.d.). Later in 1285, the Statute of Westminster was established which articulated “watch and ward-town watchmen”, “Hue and cry-response to resistance” “assize of arms-weapons in the homes”, leading to the dissatisfaction of merchants and hiring of private security.

Figure 2: Hierarchy of Need
Source URL: http://www.bkone.co.in/images/8stageModel.jpg
INDUSTRIAL AGE
With progress in industrialization and the consequent rise in complexity of human living, it brought more crime to cities, necessitating additional protection for individuals and their property. Frequent riots brought intervention by the military, and the evolution of magistrate system, fledging-advocate of crime prevention, and the formation of Bow Street Runners-professional crime prevention. Historical landmarks such as defeating of Pitt’s Reform Bill for the establishment of a strong police force, and success of the Middlesex Justice Bill, the use of statistics by Colquhoun to argue in favor of a large police force and his subsequent establishment of a private security force built the foundation of private security. The Metropolitan Police Act proffered by Sir Robert Peel created the London Metropolitan Police to prevent crime with two prime objectives: prevention of crime and disorder and absence of crime and disorder would be a test of police. However, it was not until the 19th century, the separation of police and private security was discernible.