^aDepartment of Sociology, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, T2N1N4, Canada. E-mail: jmanzo@ucalgary.ca

A previous version of this paper was presented at the annual meetings of the American Society of Criminology, Toronto, November 2005.

Abstract

Private security officers undertake work that is similar, in many respects, to that of police officers. However, private security is not seen, from the standpoint of portrayals of officers in popular culture sources or from surveys that measure occupational prestige, as nearly as esteemed as public police work. Given this evident lack of respect, this study seeks to ascertain how security officers in three Canadian shopping malls view their work, in particular, whether they perceive their occupation as stigmatized and how they manage public perceptions of them. Interviews with officers demonstrates that "stigma" is not necessarily an issue for them; they note that their work practices do comprise activities that are police-like, that police officers themselves often have to contend with a lack of respect, and that they marshal techniques of managing insults that constitute part of their interactions with clients. In sum, the notion that private security work can be described in any global sense as stigmatizing is challenged here due to the nuanced views that officers report.