Private security is an absolute necessity as part of our country’s homeland security. After the terrorist attacks of September 11th 2001, the concept of “homeland security” truly came into a whole new focus. Prior to this tragic incident, the abundance of security vulnerabilities that existed in our country were not as well known or as well publicized. Furthermore, it was just assumed and expected that the public sector was quite capable of handling our domestic security needs. This could not have been farther from the truth.

The concept of “homeland security” is a both a broad and highly complex term that encompasses virtually every facet of the American infrastructure on land, in air, at sea, and even underground. Just taking into account the vast amounts of land that the United States encompasses is a difficult task within itself. The Office of Homeland Security (which was the predecessor to the Department of Homeland Security) attempted to simplify the concept of homeland security by describing it as a “concerted national effort to prevent terrorist attacks within the United States, reduce America’s vulnerability to terrorism, and minimize the damage and recover from any attacks that do occur.” Moreover, a number of federal agencies such as the Department of Homeland Security, Department of Defense, and the Congressional Budget Office just to name a few, have recognized the important role that private security firms will play in bringing the total concept of “homeland security” to fruition. Thanks in large part to federal studies and reports, the rapid inclusion and implementation of the private security sectors within the Department of Homeland Security has only served to bolster our domestic security and increase public safety.

Just as the concept of homeland security is extremely broad and complex, the private security industry is equally as expansive, and it only continues to grow. When most people think about private security, terms like ‘rent a cop” might frequently come to mind. Furthermore, Hollywood has helped to solidify these negative characterizations in the public minds by constantly producing movies such as “Paul Blart- Mall Cop” and “Armed and Dangerous.” While these movies might accurately describe a small percentage of the private security force, they do a tremendous disservice to the vast majority who operate daily with the utmost sense of professionalism and pride in their service. Sadly, many Americans will only see the one sided Hollywood view of the industry.
Particularly in this post 9/11 era, the services that private security firms offer have helped to bolster our nation’s defense, and they have proven to be an integral part of filling in the security gaps that public officials and agencies simply do not have the manpower to protect. Private security firms understand the critical role that they play on a daily basis, and for the most part they have done a tremendous job of absorbing and handling the huge burdens that come with ensuring the public’s safety. According to our textbook, private security firms operate in the defense of power plants, oil refineries, financial centers, computer systems, dams, malls, railroad lines, and a multitude of other highly plausible and vulnerable terrorist targets. Dempsey even uses a quote from a former FBI deputy director who says, “The great majority of the critical infrastructure is not protected by sworn officers. You name any industry and you’re going to find private security elements protecting it.” That is quite a statement. Especially coming from someone with the credentials of a former FBI deputy director. More importantly, it shines an even brighter light on just how important private security firms are to protecting and guarding the everyday American way of life.

Busch and Givens penned a wonderful article in support of the private sector being called upon in larger numbers to solidify our homeland security. In their journal article they open the discussion with a powerful quote from the former Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge. He said, “…I just want to say this about the private sector. In my mind, the government is incapable of responding to its maximum ability without adequate private sector support.” (Busch, 2012) Not only is the former deputy director of the FBI on board with the positives of private security, but the former Department of Homeland Security Secretary is all in as well. Furthermore, Busch and Givens write, “With approximately 85 percent of the nation’s critical infrastructure under private sector control, alliances between government and the private sector are absolutely essential in order to promote our homeland security.” (Busch, 2012) Just let that sink in for one second. 85 percent of our nation’s critical infrastructure is privately owned! That is an absolutely mind blowing number to conceptualize. This further emphasizes the necessity of timely and respectful collaboration between the government and the private sector. Furthermore, Busch and Givens discuss the growing threat that cyberterrorism poses to our nation’s security. More specifically, the NCSA (National Cyber Security Alliance) is discussed in great detail. According to Busch and Givens, “public and private partnerships are absolutely critical to the ongoing mission of the NCSA.” (Busch 2012) Especially after the large scale cyber-attacks by Chinese hackers against the Google accounts of several US government officials in July of 2011. Both the White House National Security Council and the Department of Homeland Security sought the assistance of Google, among other private cyber security firms, in order to assess the impact of the hacking, and to establish countermeasures aimed at thwarting the success of any future attacks. Needless to say, the cooperation and information sharing between public and private entities will be absolutely critical to the health and security of our cyber infrastructure moving forward. One can only imagine the devastation that would occur if a state supported hacker were to disrupt or infiltrate our cyber networks. Virtually everything that America does is intertwined within the cyberspace. The national power grid, nuclear facilities, missile detection systems, and even some of the nation’s most highly guarded secrets are all things that could be compromised as a direct result of a breach in our nation’s cyber infrastructure. As the authors are quick to point out, hacking attempts against our cyber networks are on the rise, and they will continue to become more frequent and more complex. Government agencies are not the only ones at risk, however. Credit card companies, big box stores, internet retailers, banks, etc… are all viable targets as well. These places hold all of our vital personal information, and if captured by terrorists, our information can be compiled to obtain passports and other forged documentation necessary to perpetuate attacks against our interests and our allies. It is absolutely frightening to think about, but as Busch and Givens note, private security firms are having major success with preventing these types of attacks. Moving forward they will continue to be extremely valuable in the war against cyber terrorism as we seek to remain one step ahead of potential hackers and their devastating technology.

In another journal article, John Fleishman outlines the benefits that public and private sector cooperation have had in the overall security of Orange County, California. Much like across the rest of America, the tragedies of 9/11 ushered in many changes throughout Orange County, California, particularly in terms of homeland security operations. Fleishman writes, “The pre-9/11 paradigm of public agencies alone preparing for and dealing with the impacts of terrorism needed be improved.” (Fleishman, 2004) He quotes Orange County Sheriff Mike Carona who said, “A partnership between public and private sectors is essential in the process of combating terrorism.” Fleishman goes on to explain that Orange County, California has done a wonderful job at implementing the private sector involvement in their comprehensive security plans. Sheriff Carona describes private involvement as an “early warning system” of sorts. He recognizes the inability of public law enforcement to be everywhere at once. He said that collaboration with private security serves to promote a greater level of security for the people of Orange County, and it allows the county to adequately disperse their public resources accordingly while being able to trust the private sector to fill in the various gaps. Lastly, in another article anonymously penned, the author discusses at great length the development of the National Infrastructure Protection Plan (NIPP) which originally called upon all 17 critical infrastructure sectors to initiate voluntary private sector councils. Shortly after the creation of the Department of Homeland Security in 2002, President George W. Bush, along with his team of National Security advisors, accurately recognized the threats that terrorists could pose to our national infrastructure. In highlighting these threats, they began to realize that an overwhelming majority of this critical infrastructure was privately owned. Given the high stakes of securing these areas, NIPP came into being and sought to establish greater collaboration between the public and private sector, and to brainstorm ideas and methods so that our critical infrastructure might be more seamlessly protected. Needless to say, this initiative has been highly successful at thwarting would be attackers, and it is still fully operational to this day. According to the Official Department of Homeland Security webpage, the current NIPP program was recently updated by President Obama in February of 2013 to address more modern concerns and threats to our infrastructure and to our national security. The Department of Homeland Security webpage confirms that “The National Plan is streamlined and adaptable to the current risk, policy, and strategic environments. It provides the foundation for an integrated and collaborative approach to achieve the vision of a Nation in which physical and cyber critical infrastructure remain secure and resilient, with vulnerabilities reduced, consequences minimized, threats identified and disrupted, and response and recovery hastened.” (DHS, 2013)
In conclusion, this type of cooperation is the same story that is told in cities and towns across America. The sentiment is echoed across the country. With the threats of terrorism only rising, and the list of potential targets growing in both number and complexity, the presence of a vast and able bodied private sector security force is absolutely necessary for the security and defense of our precious homeland. Regardless of the overused stereotypes that exist about private security employees, one would be hard pressed to develop a list of negatives that could come even close to outweighing the positives that they provide to our communities, counties, states, and our nation as a whole. The private security industry has been growing at a rapid pace, and for a good reason. It is a safe bet that they are here to stay, and they will only continue to expand. For that, the American people should truly be thankful!

References

Busch, N. E., & Givens, A. D. (2012). Public-private partnerships in homeland security: Opportunities and challenges. Homeland Security Affairs, 8(1) Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1266365905?accountid=38769

CBO (2004, December). A CBO Paper: Homeland Security and the Private Sector. Retrieved from Congress of the United States Congressional Budget Office: http://www.CBO.gov/sites/default/files/cbofiles/ftpdocs/boxx/doc6042/12-20-homelandsecurity.pdf

Dempsey, J. (2011). Introduction to Private Security 2nd Edition. New York: State University of New York Empire College.

DHS. (2013, February). The National Infrastructure Protection Plan. Retrieved from The Official Website of the Department of Homeland Security: http://www.dhs.gov/national-infrastructure-protection-plan

Fleischman, J. (2004). Engaging the private sector in local homeland defense: The orange county private sector terrorism response group. Sheriff, 56(5), 33-34. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/199465124?accountid=38769

PUBLIC/PRIVATE LINKS GROWING IN CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE SECURITY. (2006). Security Letter, 36(20), 1-2. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/202901801?accountid=38769