Intra-agency and Inter-agency Squabbles
Aside from struggle for juicy contracts, private security companies also struggle for dominance in the security market economy. This has led to polarization within the private security sector. The situation is that there is no single association in Nigeria under which private security companies can voice their agitations for recognition. Today, the private security company has such associations as: Society of Security Practitioners of Nigeria (SSPN), American Society for Industrial Security (ASIS – Nigerian branch), National Professional Security Association (APSA), Society and Safety Association of Nigeria (SSAN), Association of Industrial Security and Safety Organization of Nigeria (AISSON), Nigeria Institute of Industrial Security (NIIS), International Foundation for Protection Officers (IFPO) and many such others. This is fundamentally unhealthy for a private security sector that is struggling for national and international recognition and relevance in the global security market economy. The effect is that the struggle within the private security sector has deprived them of their relevance and place in the national security policy making unlike the private security companies in the United States which have prominent role in the security policymaking of their country. More devastating to the growth of PSCs is the inter-agency conflict between PSCs and other government security agencies. In a National survey conducted in the United States of America by the International Association of Chiefs of Police (2004) it was discovered that there exist a competition between the Private Security and public law enforcement agencies which serve as a barrier against crime control. Private security personnel on the other hand argue that public law enforcement officers have limited knowledge about the private security industry and so do not appreciate the important role they play in solving and preventing crime.