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Community perceptions of private security at a mega-event

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Abstract

The pluralisation of policing has caused much debate in criminology. Yet very few studies examine how the public perceive private security. This article addresses this gap by drawing on empirical qualitative data from the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. It makes an empirical contribution to the existing mega-events literature by showing how local residents from a community perceived private security within the context of their everyday environment. Findings show that perceptions of private security were overall negative. This was attributed to a perceived lack of local knowledge, perceived lack of professional expertise, perceived poor communication, and perceived authoritarianism among security actors. Such findings raise important implications regarding the normative legitimacy of private security at mega-events and society more generally.

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Acknowledgements

I wish to thank the two anonymous referees for their informative and constructive comments.

Funding

This work was supported by the Economic and Social Research Council and Scottish Government [Grant Number 1624849].

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  1. De Montfort University, 3.04 Heritage House, The Gateway, Leicester, LE1 9BH, England, UK

    Adam Aitken

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Correspondence to Adam Aitken.

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Aitken, A. Community perceptions of private security at a mega-event. Secur J 35, 987–1005 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41284-021-00309-y

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