An Examination of Order Maintenance Policing by Business Improvement Districts

• Author: Amanda D’Souza
• Date: 01 February 2020
• DOI: 10.1177/1043986219890203
• Published date: 01 February 2020
• Subject Matter: Articles

https://doi.org/10.1177/1043986219890203

Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice

2020, Vol. 36(1) 70 –85

© The Author(s) 2019

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DOI: 10.1177/1043986219890203

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Article

An Examination of Order

Maintenance Policing by

Business Improvement

Districts

Amanda D’Souza1

Abstract

Despite their ability to improve public safety, research has often prioritized the

central role of the police in order maintenance, frequently overlooking the activities

of non-state organizations. The current study examines the role of one such security

program, Business Improvement Districts (BIDs). Specifically, it explores how BIDs’

security teams, also known as Public Safety Officers, enforce order within their local

districts. Data were collected from 76 semi-structured interviews and 171 hr of

participant observations within four different BIDs in the two American cities. Findings

illustrate how study participants demonstrated their use of reporting, surveillance,

and other behavioral strategies to establish order and themselves as guardians within

their districts. Scholars’ disproportionate focus on the work of the police downplays

the importance of private organizations. This study is an exploration into a piece of

this larger order maintenance network.

Keywords

order maintenance, broken windows, business improvement district, private security

Addressing visual and social disorder or “fixing broken windows” is a popular and

well-researched policing strategy (Skogan, 1990). Generally, this approach calls for

the police to focus on minor problems under the premise that these issues, if left unat-

tended, will result in more serious crimes (Wilson & Kelling, 1982). However, polic-

ing scholars have recently devoted increased attention to the impact that private

1Rutgers University, Newark, NJ, USA

Corresponding Author:

Amanda D’Souza, School of Criminal Justice, Rutgers University, 123 Washington Street, Newark, NJ

07102-3094, USA.

Email: amd337@rutgers.edu

890203CCJXXX10.1177/1043986219890203Journal of Contemporary Criminal JusticeD’Souza

research-article2019

D’Souza 71

security personnel have on persistent crime and disorder problems (Johnston &

Shearing, 2003). For example, private security forces have been shown to enhance

citizen perceptions of safety and reduce fear of crime, while simultaneously “freeing

up” the police to address more serious calls for service (Cook, 2009). Although police

remain a key agency within the order maintenance framework, an exclusionary focus

on this one set of actors, limits our understanding of the nuanced way that order is

routinely managed within neighborhoods.

Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) represent one type of organization within this

“ecosystem of social control” (Abbott, 1988). BIDs are defined geographical areas

where local businesses pay “tax” to fund supplemental support services. Typically, these

amenities include security, sanitation, infrastructure improvements, and social events.

The nature and extent of programs are dependent on funding, district size and commu-

nity needs (Gross, 2005). Over the last 50 years, the number of BIDs in downtown cores

has grown exponentially all over the world (Symes & Steel, 2003). In the United States

alone, there are 1,000 BIDs and more than 40 states have statutes permitting their cre-

ation (Symes & Steel, 2003). Historically, downtown cores have been negatively

impacted by deindustrialization, the flight of the middle class into the suburbs, tax incre-

ment financing (TIF), fear of crime, and the construction of mass private properties (e.g.,

large-scale shopping malls, amusement parks, and university campuses) (Kempa et al.,

1999). BIDs, in turn, have been argued to remedy and revitalize previously struggling

downtown cores (Hochleutner, 2003, p. 376). Specifically, their popularity is largely due

to their ability to target local problems in ways that are more efficient, cost-effective, and

proactive than traditional municipal governments (Mitchell, 2008).

BIDs employ private security personnel, Public Safety Officers (PSOs), who patrol

designated areas for issues that can adversely impact residents’ and visitors’ quality of

life (e.g., homelessness, panhandling, and disorderly conduct). BIDs have been shown

to reduce crime, while producing few displacement effects (Hoyt, 2005). They also

have been found to increase public perceptions of safety (Crawford, 1998), while

reducing criminal justice spending (Cook & MacDonald, 2010). Absent from these

empirical studies, however, are direct examinations regarding how PSOs view their

order maintenance role.

State-centered institutions comprise only one, albeit powerful, part of the social

control puzzle. The goal of this current study is to advance the empirical literature by

providing insight into how non-state centered agencies like BIDs enhance social con-

trol through an examination of the behavioral strategies of PSOs. As a result of histori-

cal and social changes, crime and its accompanying reactions have become more

complex and multifaceted (Crawford, 1998). Both public and private organizations

must now negotiate and manage their roles within an ever-evolving and interacting

system of governance (Abbott, 1988).

The Evolving Roles of the Public and Private Police

During the 1970s and 1980s, researchers began to question the certainty and celerity

of deterrence-based policing practices. Studies highlighted how tactics like preventive