Janković, B., Cvetković, V., & Ivanov, A. (2019). Perceptions of private security: A case study of students from Serbia and North Macedonia. Journal of Criminalistics and Law, NBP, 24(3), 59–73.

PERCEPTIONS OF PRIVATE SECURITY A CASE STUDY OF STUDENTS FROM SERBIA AND NORTH MACEDONIA

1Bojan Janković1, 2Vladimir M. Cvetković, 3Aleksandar Ivanov

1University of Criminal Investigation and Police Studies, Belgrade

2University of Belgrade, Faculty of Security Studies

3University “St. Kliment Ohridski” – Skopje, Faculty of Security Studies

Abstract: In the last two decades of the 21st century, the significant develop- ment of the private security industry has taken place in Serbia and North Mac- edonia. However, the private security industry in these two countries did not reach professional standards as in other states of the former Yugoslavia. The aim of this paper was to determine students’ perception of private security and its employees. The survey data were collected using an anonymous survey of 354 students (296 from Serbia and 58 from North Macedonia). In both countries the attitudes are heterogeneous, but a relatively small number of respondents have expressed a high level of perception of private security. The research has shown that gender, as one of demographic characteristics, has its role in shap- ing young pexople’s views on the private security, that is, the female population has more positive views about private security officers, their integrity, and the nature of the private security job. The findings offer policy-makers and private security companies the opportunity to deploy new strategies to upgrade public attitudes towards private security, especially aimed at the male population.

Keywords: private security, perceptions, students, Serbia, North Macedonia.

INTRODUCTION

In recent years, the topic of private se- curity has attracted increasing attention from the professional and scientific public

for many reasons. The first reason is the increase in the volume of jobs entrusted to the private security industry, as well as

 

1. Corresponding author: bojan.jankovic@kpu.edu.rs

   the increase in the number of employees (Steden & Sarre, 2007a, 2007b). Today, in many countries, the number of employ- ees in the private security sector is equal to or significantly greater than the num- ber of police officers (Nalla, Gurinskaya, & Rafailova, 2017; Nalla, Maxwell, & Ma- mayek, 2017; Paek, Nalla, & Lee, 2018) – security officers: police officers – the USA 3:1; Hong Kong 5:1 (Nalla et al., 2017). Another reason for the public’s attention is that the security industry is struggling with the uncertainty of its status and rep- utation, which has been tarnished by the high turnover of low-skilled, low-paid staff, shown in the public to be prone to commit crimes and violence (Hansen Löfstrand, Loftus, & Loader, 2016).

   In post-socialist countries, the trans- formation of socialism into a capitalist system resulted in return of national- ized property and a significant increase in private property, that is, “the rebirth of private property” that influenced the development and organization of the private security (Meško, Nalla, & Sot- lar, 2005). In addition to changes in the ownership structure that occurred in all post-socialist states, there were addition- al aggravating circumstances develop- ment of private security in the former

   SFRY states: the independence of the for- mer SFRY republics, war events, the rise of corruption and crime, the beginning of the privatization processes, a large number of unregistered weapons from the war environment, undeclared work, “laundering” of illegally acquired money, outbreaks of non-institutional debt col- lection and other activities of criminal groups (Meško, Tominc, & Sotlar, 2013).

   In the countries of the former Yugo- slavia, the creation of private security first began in Slovenia, when, in the last decade of the 20th century, the private security slowly became a “player” in the security market (Nalla, Meško, Sotlar, & Johnson, 2006). According to research- ers, the highest standards in the field of the private security have been reached by Slovenia and Croatia (Nikač, Korajlić, Ahić, & Bećirović, 2013; Steden & Sarre, 2010), while Serbia and Macedonia re- mained “the most problematic” (Steden & Sarre, 2010). It was this statement that led the authors to investigate why these countries are “the most problematic”. We have tried to determine in this paper whether this statement is correct, wheth- er it has changed in the meantime, and whether the public in these countries views the private security as a “problem”.

   LITERATURE REVIEW

    

   The number of papers related to re- search of the role of private security has not been as widespread in the 20th centu- ry. By increasing the volume of work and the number of private security officers in the early 21st century (Steden & Sarre, 2007a, 2007b), there has also been an in- crease in the number of research in this area. Initially, research was mainly limit- ed to the “western world”, which is logi-

   cal, since this phenomenon has its roots in these areas, especially in the UK and the USA (Kesić, 2008). Research from this field started in more detail in Serbia and North Macedonia at the end of the first decade of the 21st century, first in Ser- bia (Davidović, 2007, 2009; Kesić, 2008, 2009), while in North Macedonia such studies were encompassed by the broad- er research that enabled the overview of

    

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   conditions in this field throughout the former SFRY (Steden & Sarre, 2010).

   Among the most extensive research on the private security, there has been the perception of citizens about the pri- vate security and its officers. This type of research covered two groups of re- spondents. The first group encompassed the respondents from the general popu- lation and of different ages (Moreira & Cardoso, 2015; Petrevski & Nikolovski, 2015; Steden & Nalla, 2010). The second group included younger population, the students from different faculties (Kesić, 2008; Nalla, Gurinskaya, et al., 2017; Nal- la & Heraux, 2003; Nalla & Hwang, 2004; Nalla & Lim, 2003; Nalla et al., 2006a).

   One of the first surveys in which the respondents were exclusively students or the younger population, was conducted in the US (Nalla & Heraux, 2003), and the findings indicated that generally most students had a positive perception of pri- vate security officers. Similar results were found among the students in Singapore (Nalla & Lim, 2003) and South Korea (Nalla & Hwang, 2004). In contrast to the students in these countries, the students in Slovenia (Nalla et al., 2006a), Russia (Nalla, Gurinskaya, et al., 2017) and Ser- bia (Kesić, 2008) have stated that they generally do not have a positive view of private security officers. Unlike the first group of states, where the private securi- ty was at a higher level, in post-socialist

   countries such as Slovenia, it was still a country in transition with underdevel- oped private security at the time of the survey. The private security service and its officers are not accepted by the young- er population in post-socialist countries as in the countries with the developed market economies (Nalla et al., 2006a).

   Some studies found differences in atti- tudes between genders, where the female population of respondents had more positive attitudes than the male popula- tion on certain segments of the private security. These segments were: nature (Nalla & Heraux, 2003), goals (Nalla & Heraux, 2003; Nalla & Hwang, 2004) and the image of the private security business (Nalla & Hwang, 2004), the professional- ism of the private security officers (Nalla, Gurinskaya, et al., 2017; Nalla & Heraux, 2003) and satisfaction with their work (Nalla, Gurinskaya, et al., 2017).

   Numerous private security surveys conducted in different countries have by- passed the territory of Serbia and North Macedonia, the countries aspiring to become the members of the European Union. That is why the research aims to show what the situation in the aforemen- tioned countries in this area is like and the perceptions of the younger popula- tion, security students, who have more comprehensive knowledge in this field, about private security and its officials.

   METHODS

    

   To assess respondents’ perceptions of the private security and its employees, a survey was developed with items from previous surveys conducted in South Korea (Nalla & Hwang, 2004), Slovenia (Nalla et al., 2006a), the Netherlands

   (Steden & Nalla, 2010) and Portugal (Moreira & Cardoso, 2015). The sur- vey was anonymous with close-ended, multiple-choice questions, and Likert scale questions (1 – strongly disagree; 5 – strongly agree). Participants were

    

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   chosen randomly from a population of students from the University of Crim- inal Investigation and Police Studies in Belgrade, the Faculty of Security in Belgrade and the Faculty of Securi- ty in Skopje who voluntarily agreed to

   participate in the research. The survey data were collected from a total of 354 students, 296 from Serbia and 58 from North Macedonia. The survey was con- ducted during the summer semester of the 2018/2019 school year.

   Analyses

   A multivariate regression analysis was used to test the variable ‘gender’ to vali- date our central hypothesis (Cvetković, 2019). Before moving on to the statistical test, we examined the general and spe- cific underlying assumptions to ensure that they were appropriate. Preliminary testing checked the assumptions about normality, linearity, univariate and mul- tivariate atypical points, homogeneity of

   variance-covariance matrices, and mul- ticollinearity; more serious impairment of the assumptions was not observed (Cvetković, Öcal, & Ivanov, 2019). The internal consistency of Likert scales for the 15 items is good with a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.63 (Cvetković et al., 2019). In addition, ANOVA analysis was conduct- ed for some appropriate variables.

   RESULTS

   Demographic characteristics

   The research was carried out during 2019 and it consisted of 354 respond- ents: 296 from Serbia, and 58 from North Macedonia. The sample includ- ed 49.4 % male (N=175) and 50.6 % fe- male (N=179) respondents. The average age of respondents was 22 years of age, and the most represented category was the one between 21 and 23 years of age.

   17.95 (N=63) respondents were with low income, and 82.05 (N=288) respondents were with high income. The most of re- spondents lives in city area 64.4 (N=228)

   (Table 1).To examine the central hy- pothesis of what gender is a predictable variable in all perceptions of private se- curity, a multivariate regression analysis was used to identify the extent to which seven independent variables are related to three socio-economic variables: gen- der, age, and income (Cvetković, Roder, Öcal, Tarolli, & Dragićević, 2018). Cat- egories in Table 2, males, young, low income people have been coded as 1; 0 have been assigned otherwise.

    

    

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   Table 1. Demographic and socio-economic information of respondents (N=354)

   		Countries		Total
   Variable	Category	N. Macedonia (N1)	Serbia (N2)	N	Male	Female
   	18-20	0 (0)	22 (7.4%)	22 (6.21%)	10 (5.7%)	12 (6.7%)
   Age (years)	21-23	43 (74.1%)	266 (89.9%)	309 (87.29%)	148 (84.6%)	161 (89.9%)
   	+24	15 (25.9%)	8 (2.7%)	23 (6.50%)	17 (9.7%)	6 (3.4%)
   	Low in- come	7 (12.07%)	56 (19.1%)	63 (17.95%)	28 (16.18%)	145 (83.82%)
   Income*
   	High in- come		237 (80.89%)	288 (82.05%)	35 (19.66%)	143 (80.34%)
   		51 (87.93%)
   Environ- ment	City	49 (84.5%)	179 (60.5%)	228 (64.4%)	111 (63.4%)	64 (36.6%)
   	Village	9 (15.5%)	117 (39.5%)	126 (35.6%)	117 (65.4%)	62 (34.6%)

   N1 = 58 (19.53 %), N2 = 239 (80.47 %)

   * National monthly average net salary

   According to Q1 (Table 3) the results show that the most important predic- tor is gender (β=-0.146). It explicates 14.6% variance. The remaining vari- ables did not have significant effects. This model (R2=0.031, Adj. R2=.020, F=2.75, t=10.81, p=0.000) with all the mentioned independent variables ex- plicates the 20% variance of perception that the private security officers are gen- erally well educated. The results of the multivariate regressions of Q2 show that all variables did not have significant ef- fects (R2=0.020, Adj. R2=.011, F=2.75,

   t=2.30, p=0.073) of perception that the

   private security officers are generally well trained. With regard to Q3 the re- sults show that the most important pre- dictor is gender (β=-0.102). It explicates 10.2% variance. The remaining variables did not have significant effects. Model (R2=0.024, Adj. R2=.015, F=2.81, t=9.76,

   p=0.000) with all the mentioned inde- pendent variables explicates the 15% variance of perception that the private

   security officers are generally well qual- ified. According to Q4 the results show that the most important predictor is gender (β=-0.220). It explicates 22% variance followed by the age (β=-0.106, 10.6%). The income level did not have significant effects. Model (R2=0.065, Adj. R2=.057, F=8.07, t=8.30, p=0.000)

   with all the mentioned independent variables explicates the 57% variance of perception that the private security of- ficers first react (before the police) to the induced violence at sports events. With regard to Q5 the results show that the most important predictor is gender (β=- 0.213). It explicates 21.3% variance. The remaining variables did not have sig- nificant effects. Model (R2=0.045, Adj. R2=.036, F=5.38, t=11.27, p=0.000) with

   all the mentioned independent variables

    

   explicates the 36% variance of percep- tion that the private security officers, while securing sports events, perform a good examination of persons when en- tering a sports facility. According to Q6

    

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   the results show that the most impor- tant predictor is gender (β=-0.256). It explicates 25.6% variance. The remain- ing variables did not have significant effects. Model (R2=0.068, Adj. R2=.060, F=5.38, t=11.27, p=0.000) with all the mentioned independent variables ex- plicates the 60% variance of perception that the private security officers provide good and successful security services at sports events. In addition, according to Q7 the results show that the most impor- tant predictor is gender (β=-0.239). It explicates 23.9% variance. The remain- ing variables did not have significant effects. Model (R2=0.063, Adj. R2=.055, F=7.70, t=12.02, p=0.000) with all the mentioned independent variables expli- cates the 55% variance of the perception that the private security officers are good at coping with emergencies. The results of the multivariate regressions of Q8 show that all variables did not have sig-

   nificant effects (R2=0.022, Adj. R2=.014, F=2.75, t=2.60, p=0.063) of perception that private security officers are general- ly helpful. Also, the results of the mul- tivariate regressions of Q9 show that all variables did not have significant effects (R2=0.016, Adj. R2=.007, F=1.85, t=2.60,

   p=0.138) of perception that private se- curity officers are generally helpful. Ac- cording to Q10 the results show that the most important predictor is gender (β=- 0.141). It explicates 14.1% variance. The remaining variables did not have sig- nificant effects. Model (R2=0.020, Adj. R2=.012, F=2.35, t=10.02, p=0.000) with

   all the mentioned independent variables explicates the 12% variance of percep- tion that private security officers do their job professionally (Table 3). Guided by the results obtained, we can validate our hypothesis that gender is an important variable in the context of examining per- ception regarding private security.

   Table 2. Multivariate regression analysis results in predicting perception of private security officers2

   Predictor variable	Gender			Age			Income level
   	B	SE	β	B	SE	β	B	SE	β
   Q1	-.277	.101	-.146*	.258	.206	.067	-.147	.135	-.059
   Q2	-.223	.119	-.100	.322	.242	.072	.119	.156	.041
   Q3	-.238	.125	-.102*	.362	.253	.077	.186	.164	.061
   Q4	-.531	.126	-.220**	.515	.257	.106*	-.031	.166	-.010
   Q5	-.532	.132	-.213**	-.194	.269	-.038	-.041	.173	-.013
   Q6	-5.44	.111	-.256*	.098	.226	.023	.042	.145	.015
   Q7	-.487	.107	-.239	.098	.218	.204	.135	.140	.050
   Q8	-.239	.112	-.115	.215	.226	.056	.161	.147	.059
   Q9	-.246	.110	-.12	-.215	.223	-.052	-.033	.145	-012
   Q10	-.295	.113	-.141	.028	.228	.007	-.009	.147	-.003

   *p=.05. **p ≤ .01.

    

2. Q1 – Private security officers are well educated; Q2 – Private security officers are well trained; Q3 – Private security officers are well qualified; Q4 – Private security officers are the first to react (before the police) to the provoked violence at sports events; Q5 – Private security officers, while securing sports events, search people well at entering the sports facility; Q6 – Private security officers secure sport events well and successfully; Q7 – Private security officers are good at dealing with emergency situa- tions; Q8 – Private security officers are generally helpful; Q9 – Private security officers kindly receive calls for help; Q10 – Private security officers do their job professionally.

    

    

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   Perception of private security officers

   One-factor multivariate analysis of variance explored gender differences in the perception of the private security of- ficers. On this occasion, 10 dependent variables (Q1 – Q10) were used and the independent variable was gender. A sta- tistically significant difference was found between males and females regarding the combination of dependent variables F

   (10, 327) = 3.57, p = 0.000; Wilks’ Lamb-

   da = .902. When the results of dependa- ble variables were examined individual- ly, it was determined that the following differences had reached statistical signif- icance (together with Bonferroni adjust- ed alpha level of 0.005): Q1 – F(1, 327) = 7.27, p = 0.005; ηp2 = 0.02.

   Table 3. Perception of private security officers3

   Serbia			N. Mace-                                        donia		Total		Male		Female		F	Sig.	ηp2
   	X̄	SD	X̄	SD	X̄	SD	X̄	SD	X̄	SD
   Q1	2.50	.95	2.45	.96	2.50	.95	2.35	1.00	2.63	.88	7.23	.005*	.02
   Q2	2.83	1.12	2.94	1.05	2.85	1.11	2.72	1.14	2.96	1.05	4.01	.046	.01
   Q3	2.74	1.16	2.92	1.19	2.77	1.16	2.65	1.19	2.88	1.10	3.38	.067	.01
   Q4	2.38	1.19	2.42	1.26	2.38	1.20	2.10	1.14	2.69	1.18	18.20	.000**	.05
   Q5	2.58	1.26	2.89	1.12	2.63	1.24	2.41	1.28	2.87	1.17	11.73	.001**	.03
   Q6	2.68	1.05	2.83	1.12	2.70	1.06	2.46	1.06	2.97	.97	21.47	.000**	.06
   Q7	2.48	1.01	2.80	1.04	2.53	1.02	2.31	1.02	2.76	1.02	17.87	.000**	.50
   Q8	3.23	1.02	3.01	1.12	3.20	1.04	3.07	1.13	3.32	.92	4.94	.027	.01
   Q9	2.87	1.01	3.01	1.06	2.89	1.02	2.79	1.05	2.99	.98	3.18	.075	.00
   Q10	2.39	1.02	2.67	1.14	2.44	1.04	2.29	1.11	2.56	.96	5.61	.018	.01

   p = .05. **p ≤ .01.

   An overview of the average values of the results revealed that in female pop- ulation (M=2.63, SD=.072) there were slightly higher levels of perception about the levels of education of security of- ficers noticed than at male population (M = 2.35, SD = .073); Q4 – F(1, 327) = 18.20, p = 0.000; ηp2 = 0.05. An over-

   view of the average values of the results revealed that there were slightly higher

   levels of perception that private security officers react first to the provoked vio- lence at sports events noticed in females (M=2.69, SD=1.18) than in males (M = 2.10, SD = 1.14); Q5 – F(1, 327) = 7.27,

   p = 0.005; ηp2 = 0.021. An overview of the average values of the results revealed that there were slightly higher levels of perception that private security officers search a person well at entering a sports

    

3. Q1 – Private security officers are well educated; Q2 – Private security officers are well trained; Q3 – Private security officers are well qualified; Q4 – Private security officers are the first to react (before the police) to the provoked violence at sports events; Q5 – Private security officers, while securing sports events, search people well at entering the sports facility; Q6 – Private security officers secure sport events well and successfully; Q7 – Private security officers are good at dealing with emergency situa- tions; Q8 – Private security officers are generally helpful; Q9 – Private security officers kindly receive calls for help; Q10 – Private security officers do their job professionally.

    

    

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   facility noticed in females (M = 2.87, SD

   = 1.17) than in males (M = 2.41, SD = 1.28); Q6 – F(1, 327) = 21.47, p = 0.000;

   ηp2 = 0.06. An overview of the average values of the results revealed that there were slightly higher levels of perception that private security officers secure sports events well and successfully noticed in female population (M=2.97, SD=.097)

   than in male population (M = 2.46, SD

   = 1.06); Q7 – F(1, 327) = 7.27, p = 0.005;

   ηp2 = 0.021. An overview of the average results showed that a slightly higher lev- el of perception of the level of education of private security officers was observed in females (M = 2.63, SD = .072) than in males (M = 2.35, SD = .073).

   Perception of integrity of private security officers

   To examine the perception of integ- rity of private security officers, one-fac- tor multivariate analysis of variance and 6 dependent variables were used (Q11 – Q16) with gender as an independent variable. A statistically significant differ- ence was found between males and fe- males regarding the combination of de- pendent variables F (6, 327) = 2.72, p = 0.013; Wilks’ Lambda = .954. When the results of the dependent variables were considered separately, the following dif- ferences were found to reach statistical

   significance (together with Bonferroni adjusted alpha level of 0.008): Q11 – F (1, 327) = 12.80, p = 0.000; ηp2 = 0.03.

   An overview of the average values of the results revealed that there were slightly higher levels of perception that the ex- isting monitoring of private security of- ficers’ work is more effective observed in females (M = 2.81, SD = .076) than in males (M = 2.46, SD = 1.00). In other dependent variables, no statistically sig- nificant difference was found between males and females (Table 4).

   Table 4. Perception of integrity of private security officers4

   Serbia			N. Mace-                                        donia		Total		Male		Female		F	Sig.	ηp2
   	X̄	SD	X̄	SD	X̄	SD	X̄	SD	X̄	SD
   Q11	2.63	.87	2.67	1.06	2.64	.91	2.46	1.00	2.81	.76	12.80	.000**	.03
   Q12	2.66	.91	2.93	1.07	2.70	.94	2.60	1.02	2.82	.84	3.95	.048	.01
   Q13	2.87	.90	3.08	1.27	2.91	.97	2.79	1.03	3.02	.91	4.55	.034	.01
   Q14	3.22	1.04	3.12	1.15	3.20	1.06	3.24	1.19	3.16	.90	.51	.471	.00
   Q15	2.90	1.15	2.74	1.26	2.88	1.17	2.80	1.29	2.95	1.02	1.38	.242	.00
   Q16	2.77	.92	2.91	1.08	2.80	.95	2.69	1.03	2.91	.85	4.72	.031	.01

   *p=.05. **p ≤ .01.

    

4. Q11 – The existing monitoring of the private security officers’ work is efficient; Q12 – The existing reg- ulations are adequate for the control of work of private security officers; Q13 – Private security officers have numerous discretionary powers; Q14 – Private security officers abuse their powers; Q15 – Private security officers are responsible when they exceed their authority; Q16 – Private security officers are generally honest.

    

    

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   Perception of the job of private security officers

   Results of one-factor multivariate analysis of variance (8 dependent var- iables (Q17 – Q24) with gender as an in- dependent variable) show that a statis- tically significant difference was found between males and females regarding the combination of dependent varia- bles F(8, 327) = 4.24, p = 0.000; Wilks’

   Lambda = .904. When the results of the dependent variables were considered separately, it was determined that the following differences reached statistical significance (together with Bonferroni adjusted alpha level of 0.006): Q21 – F (1, 327) = 12.71, p = 0.000; ηp2 = 0.037. An

   overview of the average values of the re- sults revealed that slightly higher levels of perception that the private security officer’s job is more paid were observed in female population (M = 2.78, SD =

   .99) than in male population (M = 2.37, SD = 1.08); Q22 – F(1, 327) = 10.12, p

   = 0.002; ηp2 = 0.03. An overview of the average values of the results determined that slightly higher levels of perception that the private security officer’s job is more paid were observed in females (M

   = 1.72, SD = .76) than in males (M = 1.72, SD = .90); Q23 – F (1, 327) = 7.88,

   p = 0.005; ηp2 = 0.023. An overview of the average values of the results deter- mined that in females (M = 2.82, SD = 1.06) there are slightly smaller levels of perception that the primary role of a private security officer is to arrest sus- pects observed than in males (M = 3.15, SD = 1.17). As for other dependent var- iables, no statistically significant dif- ference was found between males and females (Table 5).

   Table 5. Perception of the job of private security officers5

   Serbia			N. Mace-                                          donia		Total		Male		Female		F	Sig.	ηp2
   	X̄	SD	X̄	SD	X̄	SD	X̄	SD	X̄	SD
   Q17	4.01	.88	3.78	1.24	3.96	.95	4.03	.98	3.90	.92	1.44	.230	.00
   Q18	3.90	.97	3.81	1.19	3.88	1.01	3.88	1.05	3.86	.98	.015	.903	.00
   Q19	3.45	1.01	3.41	1.24	3.45	1.04	3.48	1.17	3.40	.93	.507	.477	.00
   Q20	3.79	.87	3.64	1.15	3.77	.92	3.77	1.01	3.77	.83	.002	.969	.00
   Q21	2.67	1.01	2.15	1.16	2.58	.92	2.37	1.08	2.78	.99	12.71	.000**	.037
   Q22	1.57	.83	1.67	.98	1.58	.86	1.42	.76	1.72	.90	10.12	.002*	.030
   Q23	3.08	1.08	2.37	1.12	2.96	1.12	3.15	1.17	2.82	1.06	7.88	.005*	.023
   Q24	3.61	.90	3.40	1.29	3.58	.98	3.64	1.06	3.51	.89	1.44	.230	.004

   *p=.05. **p ≤ .01.

   Satisfaction of citizens with private security officers

    

   The results of one-factor multivariate bles (Q25 – Q28) show that there is no sta- analysis of variance (4 dependent varia- tistically significant difference between

    

5. Q17 – A security officer’s job is dangerous; Q18 – Private security exceed are exposed to high risk of being injured during work; Q19 – Private security job is complex; Q20 – Private security job is stressful; Q21 – Private security job is well paid; Q22 – The primary role of a private security officer is to arrest the suspects; Q23 – Pri- vate security job helps reduce losses for the company; Q24 – Private security job helps in protection of clients.

    

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   males and females regarding the combi- nation of dependent variables F (4, 327)

   = 1.95, p = 0.101; Wilks’ Lambda = .978. When the results of the dependent var- iables were considered separately, it was

   determined that the following differenc- es reached statistical significance (to- gether with Bonferroni adjusted alpha level of 0.001) (Table 6).

   Table 6. Satisfaction of citizens with private security officers6

   Serbia			N. Mace-                                          donia		Total		Male		Female		F	Sig.	ηp2
   	X̄	SD	X̄	SD	X̄	SD	X̄	SD	X̄	SD
   Q25	2.75	1.12	2.62	1.10	2.73	1.12	2.61	1.17	2.85	1.05	3.99	.047	.011
   Q26	2.79	.95	3.01	1.09	2.83	.98	2.76	1.03	2.89	.92	1.63	.202	.005
   Q27	2.71	.94	2.89	.98	2.74	.95	2.64	.98	2.84	.90	3.61	.058	.010
   Q28	2.69	.99	3.02	.94	2.75	.98	2.62	.98	2.88	.97	6.16	.023	.017

   *p=.05. **p ≤ .01.

   Private security and the police

   The results of one-factor multivariate analysis of variance (7 dependent varia- bles (Q29 – Q35) show that there is no statistically significant difference be-

   tween males and females regarding the combination of dependent variables F (7, 327) = 4.24, p = 0.000; Wilks’ Lamb-

   da = .904.)

   Table 7. Private security and the police7

   Serbia			N. Mace-                    donia		Total		Male		Female		F	Sig.	ηp2
   	X̄	SD	X̄	SD	X̄	SD	X̄	SD	X̄	SD
   Q29	2.27	1.00	2.31	1.04	2.28	1.01	2.17	.076	2.39	.076	4.37	.037	.01
   Q30	1.75	1.01	1.70	1.02	1.74	1.01	1.61	.076	1.88	.076	6.30	.013	.018
   Q31	2.97	1.31	3.24	1.34	3.02	1.01	3.16	.099	2.88	.099	4.11	.043	.012
   Q32	2.97	1.22	3.05	1.06	2.98	1.19	2.98	.091	2.98	.090	.002	.966	.000
   Q33	2.89	1.21	2.63	1.13	2.84	1.20	2.74	.091	2.95	.090	2.73	.099	.008
   Q34	2.53	1.05	2.63	1.10	2.55	1.06	2.48	.081	2.62	.080	1.55	.214	.004
   Q35	2.33	1.03	2.32	1.03	2.33	1.03	2.25	.078	2.40	.078	1.85	.174	.005

   *p=.05. **p ≤ .01.

    

6. Q25 – I feel safe when I see a private security officer nearby; Q26 – Generally, I am satisfied with the private security officer’s behaviour; Q27 – Citizens are generally satisfied with the behaviour of private security officers; Q28 – Citizens generally trust private security officers when protecting their lives and property.

7. Q29 – Private security officers and police officers often work together to solve crimes; Q30 – Private security officers are difficult to distinguish from police officers; Q31 – Private security officers and po- lice officers should work together; Q32 – Private security officers and police officers protect the social community from crime together; Q33 – In the future, many police functions will be transferred to the responsibility of private security agencies; Q34 – The security job is generally structured similarly a police job; Q35 – Private security agencies are organized as police organizations.

 

 

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When the results of the dependent variables were considered separately, it was determined that the following dif-

ferences did not reach statistical signif- icance (together with Bonferroni adjust- ed alpha level of 0.007) (Table 7).

DISCUSSION

The results of the research indicate that the perception of students of Serbia and North Macedonia of private security officers and their business do not differ drastically. In both countries the atti- tudes are heterogeneous, but a relatively small number of respondents expressed a high level of perception of private se- curity, i.e. the opinion of the majority of respondents is at a medium or low level of perception. Compared to the previous period in Serbia, a slight increase in con- fidence in private security can be noted, since the survey conducted by Kesić (2008). Although only basic analyses were conducted, more than half of the respondents did not have any praise for a certain segment of private security work, and only 29 respondents (out of 266) gave a positive assessment of a particu- lar segment of private security work. In North Macedonia, the obtained results are in line with previous studies (Vank- ovska, 2016) because a relatively small number of respondents expressed a high level of perception, that is, the opinion of most respondents is at a medium or low level of perception of the private se- curity. Similar results were obtained in Slovenia, in a survey conducted in 2004 (Nalla et al., 2006a) and in a study con- ducted in Russia (Nalla et al., 2017). All of these countries are former socialist states where private security and market economy were still under development at the time of the survey. The mentioned research in Slovenia was conducted in 2004, when it was admitted to the EU,

i.e. when it fulfilled the conditions for

full membership, so that it can be con- cluded that the private security industry was under development at that time.

 

In contrast to former socialist states, in the studies conducted in countries where market economics and private security have a longer tradition, such as America (Nalla & Heraux, 2003), Singa- pore (Nalla & Lim, 2003), South Korea (Nalla & Hwang, 2004), the results ob- tained were inconsistent with the results of this research. They indicate that gen- erally most students have a positive per- ception of private security and the nature of the private security business. All of the above shows that it takes time to estab- lish confidence in the private security industry, and to enhance the level of pro- fessionalism. Most respondents rated the private security business as dangerous, complex, and stressful, and that private security officers are at high risk of injury, which is consistent with other research findings (Nalla & Heraux, 2003; Nalla & Hwang, 2004; Steden & Nalla, 2010). The research has shown that gender, as one of its demographic characteristics, plays a role in shaping young people’s views on private security. Compared to the male population, females have a more positive view of private security, the integrity of private security, and the nature of private security work. With respect to the female population, similar results were obtained in the studies conducted in America (Nalla & Heraux, 2003) in relation to the nature and goals of the private security business in Russia (Nalla, Gurinskaya, et al., 2017) on the perception of private

 

NBP • Journal of Criminalistics and Law Vol. 24, No. 3

security officers, in South Korea (Nalla & Hwang, 2004) where the female pop- ulation had a more positive view of the goals of the private security business. It

should be borne in mind that the num- ber of male respondents in the study was higher than the female population.

CONCLUSION

The results of an empirical study indi- cate that the public, especially the young- er population, in transition societies such as Serbia and North Macedonia, do not have a high degree of positive perception of private security. Compared to earli- er research, it can be perceived that the attitudes of young people in Serbia to- wards private security officers are more favourable than they were before, while in North Macedonia they remained at a similar level. The public should get used to the transition from a society where the police were the only ones in charge of cit- izens’ security, while in societies with the regulated market economy, a great part of that role was taken over by the private security industry.

The research findings indicate that the female population has a better per- ception of the private security. These findings offer policy makers and private

security companies the opportunity to deploy new strategies to upgrade public attitudes towards private security, espe- cially aimed at the male population. Also, the results of this study indicate the im- portance of the role and training of pri- vate security officers in shaping citizens’ confidence in them.

The authors are aware that the find- ings have their limitations because the research was conducted only within a narrow population of young students, and the results obtained cannot be gen- eralized because there are no views of the wider population in the paper. It would be particularly interesting to see in the future research the views of the citizens of Serbia and North Macedonia born in the age of socialism when there were no private security companies, and whether their views differ from those of the young population.

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