Abstract
Amidst the growing incidence of urban crime in Ghana is the proliferation of private security companies (PSCs). As of December 2014, Ghana’s Ministry of Interior, responsible for the registration and regulation of PSCs, reported that there were as many as 176 licensed companies in ‘good standing’ (that is, companies which have renewed their operating licenses) in the country. In broad terms, the proliferation of PSCs reflects a global trend and represents a logical extension of economic liberalization and privatization efforts of the Ghanaian state. The broad proposition in the security literature is that as the state cuts back on public services such as policing and security, the popular doctrine of resilience shifts the burden of security to society and consequently justifying the use of private security organizations. While PSCs have proliferated in recent decades, little studies have been done regarding their conformity with the existing policy, institutional and legal framework that set them up and the public perceptions about their activities and crime prevention in Ghanaian cities. More importantly, the extent to which PSCs have impacted on crime incidence and the public’s perceptions on their operations and accessibility remain to be explored. Based on key informant interviews as well as a survey of 2745 households undertaken in key Ghanaian cities (Accra, Kumasi, Sekondi-Takoradi and Tamale), this study seeks to bridge these knowledge gaps by critically examining households’ perceptions of PSCs and crime in large Ghanaian metropolitan cities. Quite contrary to the dominant propositions in the literature, the household survey identifies job creation/business as the single most important driver for the proliferation of PSCs.
Highlights
There are many dimensions of urban crime, studies have indicated its widespread existence in all countries (UN-Habitat 2007)
The random selection of households for the survey was achieved by two stage processes: first, enumeration areas (EAs) were selected through the probability proportional to size (PPS method) based on each city’s share of the total population of the four cities involved in the study
The country has witnessed the proliferation of private security companies (PSCs) as the demand for security services has soared due to increased global capital investments and an evergrowing middle-class
Summary
There are many dimensions of urban crime, studies have indicated its widespread existence in all countries (UN-Habitat 2007). Crime and violence have received significant attention in the urban literature reflecting its visible presence in cities worldwide, in developing countries where rapid urbanization is occurring within the context of weak governance systems and limited infrastructure and services (including policing) (Graham 2010). An increasing common response to crime across the world is the privatization of security and the proliferation of private security companies (PSCs).. An increasing common response to crime across the world is the privatization of security and the proliferation of private security companies (PSCs).1 This is partly as a result of inadequate public policing and, inefficient and ineffective judicial system (Lippert and O’Connor 2003).
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