Changes in Private Security with Changes in the PUBLIC SAFETY Environment

Abstract

Public safety is an important index for the quality of life of the public, and the public are taking an increasing interest in it. South Korea is coming up with various public safety policies in order to increase the level of public safety. The police force of a country is the most powerful institution for maintaining public safety but the police is faced with challenges due to insufficient manpower and budget. Furthermore, demand for private security is increasing, with structural expansion and reorganization taking place in the public safety service market. With increased importance in private security, taking private security into account when establishing public safety policies has become not an option but mandatory. Hence, understanding changes taking place in private security from diverse perspectives and understanding the role that it plays must serve as the basis when deciding on the country’s policies or systems related to private security and putting them into effect. The aging population is expected to aggravate the abnormality in the age distribution of the labor market, especially the private security market, when it sees an increased inflow of older workers. But the private security market structurally has an abnormally more older workers than other industries, so when it sees an increased inflow of old labor, it may firmly cement its image as the market for older working population, and problems with the their work capabilities would cause a shift in how private security is viewed. With increased individualism and increased income made by the public, there would be a continual increase in the demand from the private security industry. With this, the type of demand for private security would change from “place-centric” to “individual-centric.” According to the Profit-Oriented Enterprise Theory, increase in personal income would bring about the public’s increased desire for ensuring their personal safety and protecting their property, and this would continually increase the demand from the private security industry. Moreover, as individualism takes greater hold in society, the concept of private security is changing from “place security”(concerned with buildings, offices, etc.) to “personal security.” The dual aspect of advancements in science and technology — advancements in telecommunications and IT technology versus increase in various threats — is expected to diversify the ways in which supply/demand works and change how transactions take place in the private security industry. This dual aspect is expected to bring advancements in private security, and advancements in science and technology would bring diversity to public safety services. The diversity in public safety services would also bring about a change to how transactions take place between the provider and the consumer, with advancements in IT technology. Changes in the laws and regulations would have both a favorable effect and an adverse effect. On the upside, it would increase the size of working age population and reduce the number of older people in poverty. On the downside, it would decrease level of professionalism and the public would have a stereotypical view of the private security sector in terms of the kind of people working there, especially when it comes to their age. The Security Industry Act made it easier for workers to enter the private security sector, and attempted to increase the number of private security firms and beef up the security staff with subsidies given to senior citizens applying for the job. However, with a low level of professionalism in private security and with the program to necessitate paying more than the minimum wage, there is a concern for quality.