Wackenhut Corporation

Formed in 1954 by George R. Wackenhut and three other former special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Wackenhut Corporation provides security services to a vast number of private and government agencies. Its involvement with so many federal agencies is unique among private security firms, particularly in its role as a provider of uniformed security officers for U.S. State Department facilities around the world and for nuclear power plants and transit agencies within the United States.

Much like the development of both the Pinkerton and the Burns detective agencies in the 19th century, the Wackenhut Corporation in the 21st century remains closely associated with its founder and his family. By 1958, a number of smaller companies in which he was involved were combined under the name of Wackenhut Corporation, and George W. Wackenhut remained as president and chief executive officer of the company for more than 30 years, after which his son became president. The family remains closely associated with the firm, which is headquartered in south Florida and has been publicly traded since 1966 with its stock traded on the New York Stock Exchange from 1980 until it merged with Group 4 Falck, a Danish security firm, in May 2002. Although it became a wholly owned subsidiary of Falck, Wackenhut continues to operate as a separate company, even though its stock is no longer publicly traded.

The Wackenhut Corporation is one of the largest private security companies in the world; it employs more than 67,000 people, about 50,000 of whom provide direct security services, around the globe. Revenues in 2001 were approximately $1.8 billion, not all of which were directly related to the security portion of the business. The firm's first international office opened in Caracas, Venezuela, in 1966. Currently, in addition to more than 150 domestic offices, it operates on six continents, with offices in Canada, the United Kingdom, Indonesia, many Western European and Middle Eastern countries, and in South American and the Caribbean, and claims operational capabilities through association with other firms in more than 85 countries. While many of its clients are private, such as banks, office buildings, and industrial complexes, it also provides security services to government and quasi-government agencies in many of these countries.

Beginning in 1978, through acquisition of another security firm, Wackenhut began providing technical and consulting services to the nuclear industry. Through its nuclear services division it provides security at close to 30 nuclear generating plants in the United States, including plant protection, access control, and fire and emergency medical services. Among the federal installations that rely on[Page 900] Wackenhut for security and related services are the Department of Energy's Savannah River Site in South Carolina and its Nuclear Test Site in Nevada, the Rocky Flats Environmental Technology Center in Colorado, the Oak Ridge complex in Tennessee, the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the Johnson Space Center in Texas, and a number of Department of Defense facilities and Army ammunition plants around the country. It has also provided a range of security services at Hoover Dam. Wackenhut's federal contracts have been estimated to be worth about $200 million annually. Since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, Wackenhut has been contracted to provide passenger security screening for the Circle Line-Statute of Liberty ferry in New York City.

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