Typologies of partnership policing: case studies from urban South Africa

Diphoorn, T. and Berg, J. (2014) Typologies of partnership policing: case studies from urban South Africa. Policing and Society, 24(4), pp. 425-442. (doi: 10.1080/10439463.2013.864500)

Abstract

In the contemporary pluralised landscape of policing, partnerships between public and private policing bodies are often the norm, rather than the exception. This is particularly the case for South Africa, where partnering between the state police and private security industry has a long history. Through focusing on different types of partnerships between the state police and the private security industry in urban South Africa, this article shows that the generally applied ‘junior-partner’ model does not reflect the complexity and diversity of public–private policing partnerships. Through an analysis of unstructured and structured interactions between private security officers and police officers in different operational settings in three South African cities (Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban), this article shows how various forms of partnering – ranging from competitive and collaborative – simultaneously take place due to a range of different factors, such as the nature of information-sharing, personal perceptions and networks. This article thereby emphasises the diversity of partnering in contemporary urban South Africa that often maintains and challenges the ‘junior-partner’ model.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Berg, Dr Julie
• Authors: Diphoorn, T., and Berg, J.
• College/School: College of Social Sciences > School of Social and Political Sciences > Sociology Anthropology and Applied Social Sciences
• Journal Name: Policing and Society
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis
• ISSN: 1043-9463
• ISSN (Online): 1477-2728
• Published Online: 09 December 2013