Public-Private Security in Sweden: Conjunctive Factors and the Paradoxes of Policing

• In Event: Crime, Science and Politics WG Panel 5: Alternative Justice Pathways and Control Mechanisms

Abstract

The expansion of publicly funded private security represents a significant shift in contemporary crime control strategies. This project examines the emergence of Private Security Officers (PSOs) in Sweden, focusing on their role in urban security governance through the case of Gothenburg. Drawing on a mixed-methods evaluation, including key informant interviews, approximately 100 short in situ interviews, ethnographic observations, survey data, and crime statistics, the study explores the conjunctive factors enabling the emergence of tax-financed private security in welfare states such as Sweden. Findings indicate that the deployment of PSOs operates within a legal grey zone, shaped by a perceived crisis in policing, increasing local government responsibility for crime prevention, and the broader marketization of security services. While PSOs have shown minimal measurable impact on crime reduction, their presence is politically legitimized through discourses of safety and penal populism. Moreover, contradictions emerge regarding their role—expected to function as both enforcement agents and community guardians—despite limited training and high turnover rates. This study argues that the rise of PSOs reflects a broader transformation of the welfare state, where security provision is increasingly privatized. Greater interdisciplinary cooperation between criminology and welfare research is needed to critically assess this shifting landscape of public-private policing.

Author

• Hanna Sahlin Lilja, University of Halmstad, Gothenburg City