The pluralisation of policing

Abstract

Over recent decades, the New Zealand landscape of policing has been reconfigured. Combined, the proliferation of private security, the renaissance of voluntary citizen-based policing, and various enforcement and regulatory agencies other than police have forced a reconsideration of the nature of and responsibility for policing. This chapter examines plural policing in New Zealand, focussing on two of its most prominent dimensions: the private security industry and the nationwide network of volunteer community patrols. In recognition of the limited academic attention paid to this topic, the chapter aims to enhance awareness and understanding of the increasing diversity and complexity of contemporary policing arrangements, and of the plurality of providers that, together, represent an extended policing “family”.