Table of Contents

List of Illustrations
Preface
1. Private Policing in the United States: The Diffusion of State Power
2. Self-Defense and the "Armed Citizen"
3. Varieties of Vigilantism
4. Security Guards and Patrols
5. Private Detectives
6. Policing of Labor
7. Prisoners for Profit
8. What Should Be the Relationship between the State and Private Police in American Society?
Select Bibliography
Index

Promotional Information

Surveys private policing from 1850 to the present, arguing that private agencies have acted as an auxiliary of the state.

About the Author

Wilbur R. Miller is Professor of History at Stony Brook University, USA.

Reviews

A work of seminal and erudite scholarship, A History of Private Policing in the United States is an extraordinary study that is enhanced for academia with the inclusion of thirty-four pages of Notes, a six page Selected Bibliography, and a fifteen page Index … [Especially] and unreservedly recommended for college and university library American Law Enforcement History collections and supplemental studies reading lists.
*Midwest Book Review*

Bill Miller provides a valuable corrective to anyone who believes that private policing and security emerged towards the end of the 20th century. This is a well-researched, well-argued and highly readable book.
*Clive Emsley, Emeritus Professor, The Open University, UK*

A brilliant and original synthesis of the many strands of private policing in American history. It is a gripping read which forges unexpected and compelling connections between private forms of self-help such as self-defense, bounty hunting, and vigilantism, and parallel developments such as the advent of private detectives and the use of private muscle to suppress the labor movement.
*Jacqueline E. Ross, Prentice H. Marshall Professor of Law, University of Illinois, USA*

A major contribution to the history of private policing in the United States. It delivers far more than its title suggests by detailing the connections between a variety of policing bodies including detective agencies, vigilantes, security guards, hired strike-breakers, and many others. Miller’s comprehensive answer to the conundrum of the Second Amendment stands out among many other thought-provoking insights into the American plural policing system.
*Dolores Janiewski, Associate Professor, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand*