Abstract
As fiscal constraints on public police agencies intensify, law enforcement agencies in many jurisdictions will become receptive to donations in cash or in kind by private individuals or organizations. This paper seeks to develop a framework for analysing the balance of advantage derived from private sponsorship of public police. It discusses a number of risks posed by private sponsorship, including capture by the donor, inequality in the provision of service, and the erosion of legitimacy. Creative thinking about the future funding of public police will include consideration of the limits of private sponsorship, and of the management of sponsorship programs that are introduced.
Acknowledgements
Earlier versions of this paper were presented at the Annual Meeting of the Australian and New Zealand Society of Criminology, Melbourne, 2001; The Law and Society Association, Vancouver, 2002; and at the International Conference on Policing and Security, Montreal, 2003. The author wishes to thank staff of the J. V. Barry Library and Dr Gregor Urbas of The Australian Institute of Criminology for research assistance, and Professor Jane Stapleton and Dr Lucia Zedner for their comments on a previous draft. The author also wishes to acknowledge the support of the Australian Research Council, grant No. DP0343750.