¶ … Private security industry [...] impact of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the private security field. Clearly, the private security industry, and all security, was impacted by the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York, Washington D.C. And Pennsylvania. Airport and border securities were tightened, and many Americans turned to private security firms to ensure their own personal safety. Millions of businesses also turned to private security to shore up their business defenses. Studies indicate that some forms of private security services are booming, but overall, the security industry has actually declined between 1999 and 2004. The nation's private security industry has certainly changed since the September 11 terrorist attacks, but how much it has changed really depends on specific areas of security. One industry researcher notes, "In 2003, there were approximately one million security guards (including airport screeners) employed in the United States -- compared to 650,000 U.S. police officers" (Parfomak 5). This indicates that more industries, and even the federal government, are relying on private security firms to guard a variety of business and industry, from the nation's airports and water supplies to the nation's businesses and private homes. Researcher Parfomak continues, "Nearly half of these guards were employed directly by the institutions they served; the rest, approximately 53% of all guards, worked for contract guard companies providing outsourced guard services" (Parfomak 5). However, surveys and studies...

Thus, it may seem that private security firms are increasing their role and their employment, but some are actually seeing less need for their services than they did five years ago. There are many reasons for this.
One reason private security firms may be seeing a decrease in numbers is their lack of authority. Parfomak continues, "Although security guards have long supplemented public law enforcement, they typically have more limited authorities than police and other law officers" (Parfomak 8). Some businesses may not feel comfortable with security firms that offer less police authority than traditional law enforcement personnel, and so they may be turning to other forms of security defense. In addition, private firms often do not pay as well as law enforcement, and do not train as rigorously, and some firms may consider private security guards an inadequate form of protection. Another reason may be the worry over business and industry security after the attacks may have been short lived, and businesses cut back on security as the time after the terrorist attack lengthened. Another plausible explanation is that because the economy slumped after the attacks, many businesses folded, and the need for security disappeared (Parfomak 12-13). However, the need for private security in certain areas has increased, such as in critical infrastructure like nuclear power plants,…