Policing is changing rapidly and radically. An increasingly complex array of public, private and municipal bodies - as well as public police forces - are engaged in the provision of regulation and security. Consequently, it is difficult to think of security provision primarily in terms of what the public police do, and so the terminology of 'fragmented' or 'plural' policing systems has become well-established within criminology and police science.

'Plural policing' is now a central issue within criminology and police studies throughout the world, and there is now a large and growing body of research and theory concerned with its extent, nature and governance. To date, however, this work has been dominated by Anglo-American perspectives. This volume takes a detailed comparative look at the development of plural policing, and provides the most up-to-date work of reference for scholars in this field.

Edited by two of the world's leading authorities on policing, and including individual contributions from internationally recognised experts in criminology and police studies, this is the first ever volume to focus on ‘plural policing’ internationally, and to draw together empirical evidence on its developments in a formal comparative framework.