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Trading in Security: Issues in the Commodification of Public Security

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The Handbook of Security

Abstract

In early July 2012, just a few weeks before the opening of the London Olympics on 27 July, the multinational security company G4S defaulted on its £284m contract to provide 10,400 security personnel for the event, citing recruitment and scheduling difficulties. Around 4,700 members of the armed forces had to be drafted in to cover the shortfall in security personnel (Aljazeera, 2012). Additionally, police officers engaged in Olympic security worked overtime, and other officers were placed on standby. The default cost G4S £88m in penalties and other payments such as reimbursements to the police and military to cover salaries and accommodation (Monaghan and Weardon, 2013). The share value of G4S also fell significantly in the days following the Home Secretary’s 12 July announcement of the default (Bryan-Low, 2012).

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  1. Julie Ayling
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  1. UK

    Martin Gill (Professor of Criminology and Director of Perpetuity Research) (Professor of Criminology and Director of Perpetuity Research)

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© 2014 Julie Ayling

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Ayling, J. (2014). Trading in Security: Issues in the Commodification of Public Security. In: Gill, M. (eds) The Handbook of Security. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-67284-4_42

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