Citizen confidence in private security guards in Portugal

Abstract

Although private security guards are a visible presence and come into contact with the general public, very little is known about citizens’ trust in and satisfaction with private security agents who act not only in the capacity of service providers but as agents of crime prevention. Given the rapid increase in the employment of security guards in Portugal in recent years, the goal of this study is to assess citizens’ level of trust in and satisfaction with private security agents in Portugal and whether factors such as citizens’ contact experience and their perceptions about the professionalism, imagery, civility and accountability of private security guards influence their confidence in them. Findings from a sample of 163 respondents from the city of Porto suggest that professionalism and accountability appear to be good predictors of citizens’ confidence as measured by trust in and satisfaction with private security guards.