Private Security

Historical Development

Much of the disagreement about what constitutes private security and its legitimacy as a social science discipline is rooted in historical context. The practice of using people to protect property and people is centuries old. It originated in the Middle Ages (approximately 500 to 1500), when land barons who owned large estates began taking political and economic control of nearby estates. The land barons were allowed to keep their property in exchange for pledging allegiance to the king and agreeing to provide armed men to assist the king when necessary. This system of social and economic organization is called feudalism. Where the peasants of the neighboring estates that were taken over by the land barons once had to protect themselves against marauding bands of thieves, they could now rely on the land barons for protection. In exchange for this protection, however, the peasants had to swear their allegiance to the land barons and turn over their property and other holdings to them.

Each land baron usually had many people working for him in various capacities, including retainers and [Page 1253]knights. In today's protective forces, retainers would be akin to infantrymen, and knights to special forces. In general, the knights were higher ranked and required greater training and skill than the retainers. Still, each group of men was expected to protect the political and economic interests of the land baron. Among the problems land barons encountered were kidnapping, theft, robbery, and piracy. When noblemen and land barons traveled into the countryside they were often accompanied by several retainers to prevent being kidnapped or robbed. This practice may have laid the groundwork for the first executive protection force.

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