Importance of Public–Private Cooperation. It is in the interest of both parties to work together. For example, law enforcement agen- cies can prepare private security to assist in emergencies (in many cases, security offi- cers are the first responders); coordinate efforts to safeguard the nation’s critical infra- structure, the vast majority of which is owned by the private sector or protected by private security; obtain free training and services; gain additional personnel resources and expertise; benefit from private sector knowledge specialization (in cyber crime, for example) and advanced technology; gather better knowledge of incidents (through re- porting by security staff); obtain intelligence; and reduce the number of calls for service. Private security also has much to gain from this cooperation. This segment can coordinate its plans with the public sector, in advance, regarding evacuation, transportation, food, and other emergency issues; gain information from law enforcement regarding threats and crime trends; develop relationships so that practitioners know whom to contact when they need help or want to report information; build law enforcement’s understanding of corporate needs (such as confidentiality); and boost law enforcement’s respect for the security field. Currently, public–private cooperation takes many forms, ranging from national-level, mainly information-sharing programs (such as the federal Information Sharing and Analy- sis Centers, or ISACs) to local-level, operational partnerships (such as the nation’s ap- proximately 1,200 business improvement districts). However, summit participants sug- gested that only 5-10 percent of law enforcement chief executives participate in partnerships with private security. Similarly, emergency response exercises tend to in- clude police, fire, public health, and other governmental authorities but leave out private security. Law enforcement’s capacity to provide homeland security may be more limited than is generally acknowledged. For the most part, the public sector tends to have the threat information, while the private sector tends to have control over the vulnerable sites. Therefore, homeland security, including protection of the nation’s critical infrastructure, depends partly on the competence of private security practitioners. Thus, building part- nerships is essential for effective homeland security. Other factors increase the importance of public–private cooperation. Examples include information age crime (computer and high techn...
