Abstract

In this article the main findings and conclusions are presented of an international comparative study on the pluralization of policing in five countries (England and Wales, Canada, Belgium, Austria, and the Netherlands). We focus on the question: what are the main differences and similarities in plural policing between these countries, and how can these be understood? In answering this question much attention is given to the position of non-police providers of policing (employed by municipalities or security companies) in relation to the regular police. To understand the peculiarities of this pluralization we paid attention to legal, historical, cultural and political aspects, to the organization of the regular police and the position of private security. This study shows that the pluralization of policing has not been the result of some goal-intended governmental policy, but more an incremental process or the effect of an accumulation of unintended consequences. In the last section we present four models of regulation of plural policing that may be relevant to imagining potential future policy developments.