Citizen participation and public private partnerships: lessons to learn from each other

• In Event: POLWG Panel 2: Plural Policing: Public-Private Partnerships and Citizen Engagement

Abstract

The literature on citizen participation often excludes private, for profit actors within its definition of “citizen”. To some extent, this is understandable, given that citizen participation either concentrates on giving input on policy decisions regarding security, or actively involving citizens in the production of security (Schuilenburg & Snel 2019). In regard to the first activity, giving input, the concept of lobbying provides a far better framework of analysis than citizen participation. When it comes to actively involving these actors in the production of security, the picture becomes more diffuse. What about situations where employees of private security companies are involved in one way or another in ensuring security? From a legal point, they certainly are citizens, but these kinds of interactions are often rather seen through the conceptual lens of public-private coordination, but there is little consensus in academic literature on the definition of this concept (Bovaird 2010; Klein 2010).
This exploratory article examines the cooperation with private security companies, with a specific focus on the current definitions and interpretations of public private partnerships and citizen participation in this context. Based on an analysis of a literature study on both citizen participation and public private partnerships, and expert interviews to test our insights, we offer a critical perspective on the role of private actors in the security domain. In doing so, we emphasize the need to define and contextualize concepts such as PPS and citizen participation more sharply.

Authors

• Joery Matthys, Leiden University

• Yentl Dudink, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam