Many thinkers in the security and law enforcement industries are stating that the pandemic, massive unemployment and the ongoing protests toward racial/social justice could lead to perfect conditions for a rise in crime. While at the same time, as the Wall Street Journal reports, the average tax revenue in cities has declined around 11%. This puts pressure on police departments to continue established levels of community and business protection. This poses several problems in working to meet protest expectations with meaningful reform, working in some cases with less money (or redistributed money) and keeping standards of policing high.
Part of the solution thinking for this has been to seriously look at a partnership between public law enforcement and private security officer companies. The thinking goes that private security guards can support in duties certain law enforcement duties thus giving law enforcement police and sheriffs more time for preventing and solving crime. This idea of a partnership is now becoming more mainstream thinking, with several important organizations of police seriously looking at how this would work.
On the security guard side, the thinking is going that private security companies need to be looking at expanding capacity and capabilities. This includes smart recruitment and screening, better and more thorough and proven training and skills cultivation, and making security a good career choice.