Essay on Privatization: Risk, Fear, and Insecurity in Modern Society

This essay examines the multifaceted relationship between privatization, risk, fear, and insecurity, using the expansion of the private security industry as a primary case study. The paper delves into various negative consequences of privatization, including environmental degradation due to mishandling of waste and incomplete detonation, and job insecurity, highlighting the emotional and physical toll on security guards. It further discusses the impact on public interest, pointing out the conflict of interest that arises when private companies prioritize financial gains over quality service, and how this can lead to increased crime and corruption. The essay also explores the risk of information sharing, the deployment of unqualified security guards, and the potential for high-cost economies and conflicts between private and public security sectors. The conclusion emphasizes the need for international regulation, clear duties, fair wages, and environmental protection measures to mitigate the negative effects of privatization and the growth of the private security industry.

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HOW THE PROCESS OF PRIVATIZATION RELATE TO RISK, FEAR AND
INSECURITY
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Privatization is concerned with the process in which private entities implement
government programs not limited to law enforcement. It has several definitions. It can be defined
as the practice of purchasing state-owned enterprises by private investors. Also, it can be used to
describe private businesses that are less regulated (Warner 2012, p.29). Privatization started
before 20th century in Ancient Greece. The government awarded most of its contracts to private
entities. In Australia, privatization increased greatly during 1900. In this period, the government
sold many of its assets to the private investors. The cost of these assets was approximately $85
billion. The following are some of the assets that were sold by Australian government; state
electricity, airports and banks. Privatization played some important roles to reduce debt levels in
most states. For instance, Victoria sold assets worth $30 billion (Prenzler and Milroy 2012,
p.342). However, the research has revealed that it leads to short term benefits. Private security
industry has grown tremendously. Following this development, business people are hiring
security guards from these industries to protect their properties worldwide. The main aim of this
essay is to discuss how privatization is related to risk, fear and insecurity.
First and foremost, Private Security Companies (PSCs) impact negatively on the
environment. During the process of solving conflicts, the environment is polluted since there are
several weapons that are used by security guards to fight with the culprits (Schwartz 2010).
Many PSCs have not integrated proper mechanisms that can be used to protect the environment
against degradation. There is mishandling of military wastes after war. Apart from mishandling,
there is also improper disposal of war debris. The following are some of the materials that
contributes vastly to environmental degradation; batteries, oils, building rubble, and fuels. For
example, the PSCs in the United States (U.S.) are poorly managed since a lot of wastes were
disposed in Iraq. Apart from military wastes, there was also abuse and fraud (Schwartz 2010).

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Therefore, the growth of private security industry has raised a lot of concern on health issues. For
example, burn pits have resulted in air pollution in Afghanistan, thus leading to harmful health
effects. The U.S. also improperly discarded the lead-acid in Iraq, therefore affecting the civilian
population as a result (Schwartz 2010). The main cause of environmental pollution is incomplete
detonation which results in not only air pollution, but also soil pollution as it lead to soil
compactness. Soil pollution leads to low agricultural productivity as the soil texture and
composition is affected. Therefore, the society lives in fear of insufficient food in future. Lack of
transparency is one of the reasons why private security firms do not protect the environment
effectively and efficiently (Schwartz 2010).
Other than environmental degradation, privatization also leads to job insecurity. There is
no guarantee that an employee will secure re-employment after privatization. The research has
shown that security guards are affected both physically and emotionally when they lose their jobs
due to several factors such as misconduct (Percy 2013). They feel disappointed and
hopelessness. The situation worsens when they fail to get another job. Also, unemployment
impacts negatively on family relationships due to lack of basic needs such as food and clothing.
Hence, an individual can be affected psychologically and develop health problems as a result.
Apart from unemployment, health problems can also be caused by poor environmental
conditions. This leads to environmental degradation and industrial sickness. Other than re-
employment, an employee can decide to resign when he/she is overworked. Moreover, private
security jobs are not permanent in most of the cases as the company can terminate the contract
anytime, thus rendering the security guard jobless (Percy 2013).
Besides, privatization can impact negatively on public interest. The Australian
government is concerned with provision of quality services to its citizens such as enhanced

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security and quality education (Ferguson et al. 2011, p.223). In contrast, the operations of private
companies are influenced by many factors such as finance which leads to a conflict of interest.
For instance, private security guards provide quality services if they are paid well. In contrast,
they provide poor services if they are paid low salaries. Therefore, the growth of private security
industry increases insecurity rather than reducing. Other than finance, other factors affecting
security operations include the relationship between the PSC and its security guards. For
example, the security guards provide poor services if they don’t relate well with their bosses.
Also, poor treatment at the place of work leads to poor services Ferguson et al. 2011, p.226). In
contrast, public security services does not depend on these issues. Therefore, the growth of PSCs
is very risky.
In addition, the growth of private security industry can increase crime activities. Firstly,
security guards are paid less salaries. Hence, they are not able to provide their children with basic
needs such as clothing and food (Schwartz 2011). Also, they find some difficulties while
educating their children as they need to provide necessary materials that are required in school
such as books. Following these developments, security guards are tempted to engage in criminal
activities such as stealing and robbery with violence. They can raid neighboring homes and steal
properties. They can also organize with criminal groups to capture children and demand for
money for their release (Schwartz 2011). These activities lead to adverse effects such as lose of
properties, injuries and deaths. Other than criminal activities, they can also engage in corruption
activities. In an organizational setting, there are different management levels, therefore some
employees and customers are not authorized to enter some sections within an organization.
However, security guards can receive bribes and allow them to visit such premises. This enable
them to access vital information about the organization. Also, they can access critical assets. This

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increases theft cases as an organization can lose its critical assets as a result (Schwartz 2011).
Therefore, the society lives in fear due to these criminal activities.
Furthermore, private security guards can share important information regarding a
particular company or an organization. Currently, information is one of the key factors that help
a company to gain competitive advantage over other related companies (Petersohn 2013, p.468).
The following are some of the information that can be shared by security guards:
 The type of technologies that are used to manufacture goods and services.
 The process in which the company manages its operations.
 Different ways in which the company utilizes new opportunities and markets.
 How the company maintain its customers and employees.
These information is very vital and can help other related companies to develop strategic plans,
hence competing effectively. This makes the company to lose its competitive advantage as a
result. Other than the above information, security guards can also be sent by hackers to do some
research about computer systems that are used within the organization. Therefore, computer
software are also vulnerable to attacks, hence halting normal business operations since they can
be compromised by hackers. Other than sharing information to other companies and hackers,
they can also share information to the criminal groups especially after they have been transferred
to other firms (Petersohn 2013, p.471). Thus, the business premises can be attacked as a result.
Apart from sharing critical information, there are also other dangers associated with
private security industries. As discussed earlier on, the operations of private entities can be
affected by some factors such as finance (Spearin 2011, p.198). There are large companies and
organizations that require many security guards. Sometimes these private companies may not

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have enough security guards to deploy in such companies. Therefore, these companies can
deploy unqualified security guards who lack necessary skills to get money. Security guards are
required to undergo training before they are deployed to protect business premises. Lack of skills
results in poor services, hence the business can lose its assets (Spearin 2011, p.197). The
business is also vulnerable to attacks since security guards may not be able to protect business
assets due to poor training. As a security guard, fighting is not the only way that can be used to
solve disputes. Sometimes security guards should negotiate with both parties and solve their
issues (Spearin 2011, p.198). Therefore, unqualified security guards may not apply the correct
mechanism to solve problems leading to more conflicts.
Moreover, the growth of PSCs can lead to high-cost economy. Hence, the citizens of a
particular country live in fear as a result. There is an increase of production cost due to poor
management (Prenzler and Sarre, 2012, p.39). Most of the managers in private entities do not
have necessary skills that are required to lead several projects successfully. Hence, there are
continuous disagreements between managers and employees which leads to low productivity.
Apart from poor management, there is also deployment of poor technologies. Thus, a lot of time
is used to perform some simple tasks (Schwartz 2010). Other than time consuming, these
technologies are also prone to errors and malfunctioning, hence a lot of money is used for regular
maintenance and upgrades. In addition, indirect tax is also too high, hence the whole process is
rendered expensive. Hence, companies, organizations and individuals are spending a lot of
money to pay for security services. The cost varies depending on several factors such as the
skills of security guards and the value of assets that need to be protected (Schwartz 2010). For
example, the cost of hiring an advanced skilled security guard ranges from $30-$40 per hour in
different Australian states.

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Finally, there are also conflicts between private and public security industries. Currently,
the number of private security guards has increased greatly. Following this development, private
security guards have started to carry out some of the duties of public officers not limited to
prisoner transportation (Sarre 2010, p.110). This has instilled fear among the public security
officers due to job insecurity. Other than conflicts, the growth of PSCs lead to misunderstanding
of the roles and duties of public and private security officers. Therefore, insecurity has increased
in different parts of the world due to confusions (Schwartz 2011). Last but not least, the growth
of PSCs has affected the operations of public complaint channels. Hence, leading to adverse
effects as people are abused as a result. They do not understand the right procedure that should
be followed to seek justice when their rights are violated. Apart from the procedure, they also
don’t know where they can seek help. This increases the number of non-reported crimes, leading
to violation of human rights. Also, the number of terror groups can increase. This is because
there is no guarantee that the contract of security guard will be renewed once it has expired. It
can also be terminated due to misconduct (Schwartz 2011). Therefore, these security guards can
join existing criminal groups and attack people.
In conclusion, private security industry has grown tremendously over the recent years.
However, the process involved in privatization is related to fear, insecurity and risk. The
following are some of the problems that are caused by PSCs; high-cost economy and job
insecurity. High-cost economy is caused by an increase of production cost due to poor
management. On the other hand, there is no guarantee that a contract between the security guard
and PSCs can be renewed. Hence, leading to job insecurity. Other problems include; increase in
activities of crime and terror groups. Therefore, the society lives in fear as a result. However,
international regulation is one of the measures that can be undertaken to reduce adverse effects

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related to the growth of PSCs. Apart from international regulation, duties and responsibilities of
security guards should be stated clearly to reduce misunderstanding and confusion. Also, PSCs
should ensure that they have paid their security guards well so that they can provide for their
families. Finally, PSCs should adopt better environmental protection mechanisms to reduce soil,
water and air pollution.

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References
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experiences of occupational violence and injury in Australia. International Journal of Police
Science & Management, 13(3), pp.223-233.
Percy, S., 2013, Regulating the private security industry. Routledge, viewed 24 May 2019,
<https://www.routledge.com/Regulating-the-Private-Security-Industry/Percy/p/book/
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Petersohn, U., 2013, The effectiveness of contracted coalitions: Private security contractors in
Iraq. Armed Forces & Society, 39(3), pp.467-488.
Prenzler, T. and Milroy, A., 2012, Recent inquiries into the private security industry in Australia:
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Afghanistan and Iraq: Background, analysis, and options for congress. Library of Congress
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Warner, M.E., 2012, Privatization and urban governance: The continuing challenges of
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