A History of Private Policing in the United States - (History of Crime, Deviance and Punishment) by Wilbur R Miller (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Private law enforcement and order maintenance have usually been seen as working against or outside of state authority. A History of Private Policing in the United States surveys private policing since the 1850s to the present, arguing that private agencies have often served as a major component of authority in America as an auxiliary of the state.

Wilbur R. Miller defines private policing broadly to include self-defense, stand your ground laws, and vigilantism, as well as private detectives, security guards and patrols from gated community security to the Guardian Angels. He also covers the role of detective agencies in controlling labor organizing through spies, guards and strikebreakers.

A History of Private Policing in the United States is an overview integrating various components of private policing to place its history in the context of the development of the American state.

Review Quotes

"A work of seminal and erudite scholarship, A History of Private Policing in the United States is an extraordinary study that is enhanced for academia with the inclusion of thirty-four pages of Notes, a six page Selected Bibliography, and a fifteen page Index ... [Especially] and unreservedly recommended for college and university library American Law Enforcement History collections and supplemental studies reading lists." --Midwest Book Review

"Bill Miller provides a valuable corrective to anyone who believes that private policing and security emerged towards the end of the 20th century. This is a well-researched, well-argued and highly readable book." --Clive Emsley, Emeritus Professor, The Open University, UK

"A brilliant and original synthesis of the many strands of private policing in American history. It is a gripping read which forges unexpected and compelling connections between private forms of self-help such as self-defense, bounty hunting, and vigilantism, and parallel developments such as the advent of private detectives and the use of private muscle to suppress the labor movement." --Jacqueline E. Ross, Prentice H. Marshall Professor of Law, University of Illinois, USA

"A major contribution to the history of private policing in the United States. It delivers far more than its title suggests by detailing the connections between a variety of policing bodies including detective agencies, vigilantes, security guards, hired strike-breakers, and many others. Miller's comprehensive answer to the conundrum of the Second Amendment stands out among many other thought-provoking insights into the American plural policing system." --Dolores Janiewski, Associate Professor, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand

About the Author