Criminology: could there be a relationship between criminologists and security managers?
Ralph van Os RSE
MARCH 2003
In The Netherlands Security management is growing as a
profession i.e. specialism at bachelor and academic level.
The policy in The Netherlands is to aim and to follow countries
like the United Kingdom and the USA. In these countries
security management has already been accepted as a true
profession and it is also part of scientific studies. The
British see security management as a part of the social
science. Criminology is, seen from this angle a social science
because security management is mentioned as part of criminology,
according to The Scarman Centre at Leicester University.
Could this be an option for the Dutch security related branch?
The practitioners
In The Netherlands the practitioners of criminology have
an accepted and respected role. Governmental parties do
contact criminologists or criminological research centres
when they have a security or security related problem. As
showed in an recent example:
The minister of Justice was questioned by the Parliament
about the relationships and more specific: about co-operation,
between private security organisations and governmental
organisations like the police force etc. It seems to be
a logical thought that the minister contacted some interest
groups from the branch along with other security experts
and specialists. Unfortunately the minister decided only
to ask the WODC to do a scientific research. Almost every
member of the research staff, had a criminological or criminology
related background i.e. degree. None of the researchers
had a security-related background or degree.
Other familiar examples are:
- The Parliamentary Inquiry Committee to investigate the
research methods of the police, better known as 'The Van
Traa Committee', used for their investigation for instance
Dr. M. den Boer who is a female criminologist.
- The inquiry committee also asked four of the leading
professors in criminology, Prof. Dr. F. Bovenkerk, Prof.
Dr. C. Fijnaut, Prof. Dr. G. Bruinsma and Prof. Dr. H.
van de Bunt, in The Netherlands to investigate the size
and nature of organised crime in The Netherlands.
- The Dutch Foundation for Society, Safety and Police, known in The Netherlands as SMVP for their (scientific) investigation and investigation reports about: (private) security, government and safety make use of criminologists for investigation and research. As shows in their latest report about public-private fraud prevention: Publiek-private fraudebestrijding (Dordrecht, januari 2000 Dr. C.D. van der Vijver ).
given information as earlier mentioned, is why there is so less bearing surface to recognise that a security manager is a professional expert and to pay a security manager a ditto, equivalent salary. Something simply as this is already recognised in countries like for instance The United Kingdom.
Maybe that this has to do something with the professional standard of Security Management in those countries. I believe that security managers in the Netherlands often will have some implicit theories about human behaviour. Security people who have a limited, individualistic view of human nature and offending, will draw on the theories that will fit best in their own views e.g. rational choice, reducing opportunities, or formal sanctions. The value of the use of criminology for the security related branch should be that they, before giving advice or taking any preventive measures, are capable to explain the deviant behaviour in different circumstances. Moreover, criminology gives good guidelines for the studying of human behaviour and values. In the end it will be possible to put in place preventive measures, neatly fitting into the circumstances at hand, based upon such studies The security manager will be able to provide proactive tailored measures in advice and implementation of security policies.
There are many signs handed out and given by the media,
the society and the politics that a lot of things has to
change. Government, scientists and society have to see and
respect security i.e. security management as a scientific
professional expertise. When we take a look at the problems
that lies in the past of The United Kingdom, we see that
they had, almost, the same problems. According to dr. Martin
Gill:
It is interesting to note that the literature on security
management
(which consists more of 'guides' and 'manuals' than 'studies')
includes relatively few evaluations of management approaches.
Indeed, the security world had often found solutions before
defining the problems and there is a need for more and better
evaluations. In health-care it is accepted that an aspirin
will
cure a headache and a plaster will help to heal a cut finger.
But in the field of crime all too often a plaster is being
used to
cure a headache and it is assumed that an aspirin will stop
a
cut finger from bleeding.
(Gill, 1996: 14)
The managed in The United Kingdom to deal with these problems, they solved it and look at them nowadays. Security management is accepted and respected as a scientific social science, part of criminology.
Existence training's
There is in The Netherlands a growing interest and realisation
of the need to get a professional and scientific form of
security management. Momentary, while writing this article,
there is only one professional full-time bachelor training
related to the area of security. This is the training for:
Integral Security Care, which starts every semester at The
Hogeschool, kind of University, of Utrecht. A remarkable
fact of this training is that criminology is a part of this
course. The reason for this decision lies probably in the
nature of this course. This course is aiming to be a pre-stage
for students who want to become a police officer. Before
you can be a Dutch police officer you have to join the NPA
and graduate there. By the start of their course in Utrecht,
students get the opportunity to sign a contract with a regional,
local, police force that they want to join. They don't have
to make this choice there is also the possibility to study
other parts of governmental security (related) parts. The
fact that this course aims to much, only, on governmental
and police related (security) problems and questions instead
of the several specific private security related topics
makes is not really useful as a broad training course for
security managers.
Besides this full-time course at a bachelor training level
there are in The Netherlands several post-bachelor training
course:
· Security Management
· IT & Security
· Risk Management.
The Haagse (Hague), kind of University, Hogeschool, arranges
these courses. There is also the possibility to follow these
specific courses in company or at two other Hogescholen
in The Netherlands. This courses apply (coming) security
managers with the use of security related methods like for
instance: 'De Haagse Methodiek' (DHM®), besides this
methods is also gives new angles. The The Hague method (DHM®)
is in The Netherlands the most used method in security related
studies at the post-bachelor level. The Ministry of Economic
Affairs envelops this method. Two public servants, mister
Ackx and mister Duindam, developed this course further into
what is nowadays known as The The Hague Method. This method
is very useful and interesting for security related topics
but unfortunately it misses something. This course would
be more complete when criminology was part of it. The meaning
of the founders of the several post-bachelor courses at
The Hague University was the creation of a master-degree
construction. All security related post-bachelor diplomas
together should be enough for a sort of academic, master,
degree in security. Unfortunately this idea is not yet realised.
Maybe that with new courses like Criminology & Security
in the course program, together with the coming changes
in the Dutch Law on Education, this will become reality
in the near future.
Supervision
Beside these bachelor and Post-bachelor training programs
There are many other security-related courses to follow.
Because of the limited scope of this article, the level
of education, which is mostly beyond the bachelor level,
and by the fact that only a few are recognised by the government
i.e. governmental law like WEB and ECABO , I don't go in
on detail or use them further in this article. It is remarkable
that the government only for that few, the so called elementarily
standard training programs, uses their authority. By several
exams, which are arranged under the auspices of the SVPB
, like:
· ABM, Basic security guard
· Particulier Onderzoeker, private investigator
· het Vakdiploma Beveiliging, professional security
guard
· het Kaderdiploma Beveiliging, middle security manager
is a delegation from the Ministry of Justice present.
There is also a legal framework, The Dutch Law on (private)
Security Organisations and (private) Investigation Departments,
which set the requirements of the above mentioned training
programs. When we go along into the security workfield focusing
at the management level and the ranking above it, we'll
see that the government doesn't have any requirements or
legal control set on the shape and elementary of the courses
i.e. training programs.
When we compare the higher training programs at post-bachelor
and bachelor level like:
· Post-HBO diploma Security Management
· Post-HBO diploma Information Security nowadays
known as IT & Security
· HBO training Integral Security Care
We see that legal requirement set or ask by governmental
institutions like the Ministry of Justice, about any kind
of demands and regulations etc. is missing. When we go back
in time, to the historical beginning part of security in
The Netherlands we see that his is never been a topic in
the governmental and politics agenda and policy. Besides
the missing part of supervision by governmental and branch,
they also forgot the need for criminology to be part of
the training courses, from the basis training to managerial
courses. Perhaps that this shows the doubtful development
of the public police force that wants to create a professional
status against the private security/police part. When we
look for instance to the basic training for the first stage
of becoming a police countable, we see that, in limited
way, that parts of criminology are involved. When we look
at the managerial level, police inspector et cetera, we
see that criminology is a subject and a important part of
the training at police institutions as the NPA.
Yet, after the first publication of this article there
is a reasonable possibility for a change. The Holland, Dutch,
University, Hogeschool is aiming for a specific full time
bachelor course in security. They are willing to integrate
criminology into this course. This meaning of this new course
is to fill the gap between the Cadre diploma security and
training courses like the post-bachelor course at the Hague
University. The latest news is that the Dutch Society of
Criminologists started a workgroup, workgroup van Os, who
will investigate several possible co-operations between
other related societies, like for instance the Dutch Society
of Security Managers. And last but not least the Hague University
asked the author if he would consider to write a new post-bachelor
course, Criminology and Security, and be the course director
of it.
Private sector
There are, besides the post-bachelor en bachelor courses,
also post-graduated courses in The Netherlands. Because
of the limited scope of this article and because of the
relevancy I will focus to the most relevance course: Master
of Public Security Management (MPSM). This training course
is started at the end of the nineties by the Graduate School
Twente together with several other, international, universities.
This course is a very good and interesting initiative with
a sufficient criminological background. Unfortunately there
is one imperfection. This study is too much based on governmental
and related functions in stead of aiming to the (private)
security branch. A small investigation showed that this
was a missing change. Therefore they decide to develop a
total new course which will start coming November 2000.
This new course Strategic(al) (Security) Management is specific
aiming to the private security sector.
Complete route
All earlier, above, mentioned training courses, which are
frequently expand through the commerce, are aiming on the
several parts of the occupational segments. Institutions
and (their) trainers, lectures and experts are fighting
against each other in stead of connecting knowledge. Maybe
that in this new millennium, with the lessons that can be
learned, the branch will plan, created and develop a total
new security course, from secondary to university level.
Including the knowledge of criminology. Our security guards
on the street could be profited by the use of this new knowledge.
They will, with their extra i.e. better-armed and trained
skills, create a higher and better level of security. Scientist
do recognise that there is a need for this kind of combined
knowledge. The Dutch Society of Criminologists (NVK) recognise
for instance that there is much more to invest and to do
then the disputed co-operations with the government. The
total field of private security, private investigator et
cetera lie waste.
Momentarily the branch together with the scientists are
aiming for a small and not insignificant part of the branch,
such as information security, as shown in a meeting that
take place Friday the 11th of February 2000, organised by
SISWO and the periodical theme edition for Criminologists
(Informationing from society and criminality). The blend
mix impulses to (further) and new co-operation. Co-operation
between professional groups of security practitioners and
scientists like criminologists. When we look back, five
months after this meeting, what are the results yet? The
concrete co-operation between criminologists, NVK and security
managers, VBN will be further invested by the new created
workgroup Van Os. There is one thing about which everybody
agrees on, it is better to work together then working against
each other! We're now waiting and working on a actual implementation
i.e. realisation of this via nova.
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