RENT-A-COP -- AN IDEA WHOSE TIME HAS COME? 

Remember how shocked you would have been a few short years ago by many of the changes that have now occured? Things that weren't even discussed in our culture are now widely accepted and are rapidly becoming universal?

Consider that last 10 years as a sea of tranquility compared with what's to come.

Try this for "thinking the unthinkable". Privatization of the police forces! And, other functions of the criminal-justice system. No longer considered bizarre in some circles, it is already underway.

Bear in mind that private security forces are already 50 percent larger than public law enforcement agencies in North America!

Why is this happening? According to Edward J. Tully "People are re-inventing government". He says that when citizens fail to get the police service they need, they are willing to go elsewhere. "I know of nothing in any state law that prevents IBM from providing law enforcement services", he added.

Possible privatization of police forces is a future option. And, North America's finest may be an endangered species by 1994, if citizens aren't satisfied with public police services, according to Mr. Tully.

He points out that such self-help groups as Neighborhood Watch and Mothers Against Drunk Drivers (MADD) have already made their point. Although he didn't bring up this specific, public support in many cities for the Guardian Angels shows there is a vacuum to be filled.

After more than 150 years the official British Transport Police, guardians of British ports, have been replaced by private security firms. Associated British Ports said it was a cost-saving move, and that the switch "would not mean any reduction in security cover for our customers". Could it possibly mean an improvement?

In the U.S. a number of minimum-and-medium security correctional facilities are now being run by such dynamic firms as the Corrections Corporation of America who are based in Nashville and Behavioral Systems Southwest of Los Angeles. Talks are reportedly underway between America's largest independent private-security firm, Wackenhut Corporation of Coral Gables, Florida about building and operating prisons and jails for several states. The first privately-operated maximum-security prison opened its cell doors not long ago in Pennsylvania. Buckingham Security Ltd. of Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, a small independent company captured the contract. Idaho and New Jersey all also in negotiations with Buckingham for similar take-overs. About 25 major prisons are now under private contract with predictions that the number will double in the next 18 months.

So yesterday's "unthinkable" -- the privatization of criminaljustice functions -- is now underway with self-help groups, security firms and "prison companies" confronting a government monopoly with startling free-market competition! U.S. Supreme Court Justice Warren Berger has even suggested that private corrections firms should be given a chance to play a role in operating the nation's correctional facilities.

In yet another sphere the appeal of "private courts" will soon hit centre stage. Court delays everywhere are piling up case backlogs that make the adage "Justice delayed is justice denied" a farce. All justice today is delayed. This too will change. In the U.S. even Supreme Court Chief Justice Warren Burger observed, that our system of justice has become "too costly, too painful, too destructive, and too inefficent, for a truly civilized people." The new buzz word is ADR - "alternate dispute resolution"

California, where it seems everything starts these days, has a "rent-a-judge program" in which retired judges can be hired to render a fully legal decision.

Specialized ADR institutions include Insurance Arbitration Forums, Inc., Homeowner's Warranty Corporation, the Major Appliance Consumer Action Panel and various auto-industry ADR set-ups. In New York the Center for Public Resources provides adjudication for disputes in business matters.

In the past two years four for-profit ADR firms have gone into action. They are enDispute, Inc., Washington, D.C. with alliances in Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco and Pittsburg. They pioneered the development of the "mini-trial". There is Dispute Resolution, Inc. of Hartford, Conn., Judicate of Philadelphia and Civicourt of Phoenix, Arizona. The latter guarantees a court date within 30 days. That has lots of appeal when the alternative is two years. They even work nights and weekends!

In a related field -- that of removing juvenile graffiti from city property -- a Los Angeles-based firm Graffiti Removal has already garnered contracts from eight municipalities in Southern California. Proof that contracting out graffiti removal is no longer an off-the-wall idea!

Who made those outrageous statements at the beginning of this column. Who is Edward J. Tully? He's the head honcho at the Education Department of the FBI National Academy. He said it all at an annual meeting of the International Association of Chiefs of Police! More information: Local Government Centre, Reason Foundation 1018 Garden St., Santa Barbara, CA 93101.

Phone: (805) 963-5993.

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