The difference homeland security makes: Comparing municipal corporate security in Canada and the United States

Abstract

We explore what we refer to as municipal corporate security (MCS) units, a new form of security organization that differs significantly from public police and private contract security. Based on 36 interviews with MCS managers in 16 cities across Canada and in the United States, we examine how in-house security practices developed in private corporations are being transferred to municipal governments. We draw from the sociology of security governance to demonstrate how the Department of Homeland Security funding and policy has shaped MCS in the USA since 2001. The absence of similar centralized funding and policy for MCS in Canada has led to more piecemeal policy transfer, fewer links to federal government or national security, and more focus on nuisance policing than anti-terrorism. We also engage with the sociology of security consumption to argue that governments should be conceived as major buyers of security goods.