Facing pressure to crack down on crime amid a record budget deficit, Oakland is joining other US cities that are turning over more law-enforcement duties to private armed guards

Facing pressure to crack down on crime amid a record budget deficit, Oakland is joining other US cities that are turning over more law-enforcement duties to private armed guards. In 2009, the Oakland City Council voted to hire International Services Inc., a private security agency, to patrol crime-plagued districts. While a few Oakland retail districts have pooled cash to pay for unarmed security services, using public funds to pay for armed guards would mark a first for the city. Hiring private guards is less expensive than hiring new officers. Oakland police say they consider unarmed guards acceptable, but don’t support armed guards. However, some local leaders say that they have few other options to reduce the city’s violence.

Questions:

Do you think that privatization of public services is a good thing? Why or why not?
What are the ethical and political questions at stake in the privatization of police forces?
Is the privatization of police forces comparable to the privatization of other public services, say, mail delivery, or food services? Why or why not?
Write a 2-3 page double-spaced short essay with your answers to the questions listed above. Two sources of references at least should be included in your writing following APA (7th ed.) guidelines.

NOTE: Be sure your name and the assignment are at the top of every document you submit for a grade in this course. Further, save your paper as Last Name, First Initial POS224_WA#1, e.g., SmithJ_POS224_WA#1 (Note underscore between name and course and Writing Assignment), and submit it in Word format.