This is a list of notable private security companies .
Pinkerton is a private security guard and detective agency established around 1850 in the United States by Scottish-born American cooper Allan Pinkerton and Chicago attorney Edward Rucker as the North-Western Police Agency, which later became Pinkerton & Co. and finally the Pinkerton National Detective Agency. At the height of its power from the 1870s to the 1890s, it was the largest private law enforcement organization in the world. It is currently a subsidiary of Swedish-based Securitas AB.
Securitas AB is Swedish group devoted to security services, such as security guarding and mobile patrolling, monitoring, investigation and related consulting services. The group is headquartered in Stockholm and had over 300,000 employees in 53 countries worldwide as of 2016. Securitas AB is listed at Nasdaq OMX Stockholm in the Large Cap segment.
A private military company (PMC) or private military and security company (PMSC) is a private company providing armed combat or security services for financial gain. PMCs refer to their personnel as "security contractors" or "private military contractors".
G4S is a British multinational private security company headquartered in London, England. The company was set up in July 2004 when London-based Securicor amalgamated with Danish firm Group 4 Falck. The company offers a range of services, including the supply of security personnel, monitoring equipment, response units and secure prisoner transportation. G4S also works with governments overseas to deliver security services.
Allied Universal is an American private security and staffing company, based in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania and Irvine, California. Formed in 2016 by the merger of AlliedBarton and Universal Services of America, Allied Universal is the world's largest provider of private security guards. It is also the third largest United States–based employer globally with 800,000 employees.
The Canadian Forces Military Police provide police, security and operational support services to the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) and the Department of National Defence (DND) worldwide.
Securitas AG is a Swiss company providing security services with head office in Zollikofen, regional offices in Basel, Bern, Geneva, Lausanne, Lugano, Lucerne, Neuchâtel, Olten, St. Gallen, Thun and Zürich as well as 25 other branches all over Switzerland.
Aegis Defence Services is a British private military and private security company with overseas offices in Afghanistan, the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Libya, Somalia and Mozambique. It is part of the Aegis Group of companies, which includes Aegis LLC, which is based in the United States. It was founded in 2002 by Tim Spicer, who was previously CEO of the private military company Sandline International; Jeffrey Day, an entrepreneur; and Mark Bullough and Dominic Armstrong, former investment bankers.
Chubb Fire & Security is a global organization specialised in fire protection and security systems, and is a subsidiary of APi Group Corporation.
The Communications and Information Services Corps (CIS) – formerly the Army Corps of Signals – is one of the combat support corps of the Irish Defence Forces, the military of Ireland. It is responsible for the installation, maintenance and operation of communications and information systems for the command, control and administration of the Defence Forces, and the facilitation of accurate, real-time sharing of intelligence between the Army, Naval Service and Air Corps branches at home and overseas.
Law enforcement in Switzerland is mainly a responsibility of the 26 cantons of Switzerland, who each operate cantonal police agencies. Some cities also operate municipal police agencies as provided for by cantonal law.
ArmorGroup International is a British company providing private security. It was founded in 1981 and was listed on the London Stock Exchange until 6 June 2008.
G4S Secure Solutions is a Serbian security company specialized in guarding, monitoring, cash handling, analyzing-consulting, security education and in sale of security systems.
Triple Canopy, Inc., is an American private security company and private military company (PMC) that provides armed security, mission support, and risk management services to corporate and government clients. The firm was founded in May 2003 by United States Army Special Forces veterans, including former Delta Force operators. In June 2014, the firm merged with rival security contracting firm Academi, formerly Blackwater, to form Constellis Group, with Craig Nixon, the former CEO of Academi, becoming the CEO of Constellis Group, and training facilities being consolidated at the existing Academi training facility in North Carolina. It was staffed by, among others, a number of former Army Special Operations personnel, Green Berets, Rangers, SEALs, MARSOC Raiders, other special operations personnel, and several law enforcement officers. At the time of the merger, over 5,000 employees were working for Triple Canopy.
Intelligent Limited is a Holding Company and Parent company headquartered in Gloucestershire, United Kingdom and was incorporated on 21 May 2008. Intelligent Limited provides a group management structure for four companies and was born out of the operations of International Intelligence Limited, a company specialising in Intelligence, Counter Espionage and TSCM sweeping.
G4S describes itself as "the world's leading provider of security solutions" and provides security services for over 40 embassies around the world, work as stewards at football stadiums and runs over six British prisons, operates prisoner tagging schemes, assists within the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) in the United Kingdom, and provides administrative roles to the health and education sectors. The company operates as a subsidiary of an American security services provider Allied Universal since April 2021.
The Corps of Commissionaires refers to a movement in Commonwealth countries of societies that provide meaningful employment for veterans of the armed services.
Plural policing is a term that describes the idea that the police cannot work on their own as the sole agency to deal with the wide range of issues that they are expected to deal with in the present day. It draws on the idea of a mixed economy and so is also sometimes referred to as mixed economy policing. Plural policing relates to the wide range of other agencies, both public, private, and charity that work towards the generic aim of law enforcement. The idea of plural policing was first considered in an article by Les Johnson in 1993 entitled "Privatisation and Protection: Spatial and Sectoral Ideologies in British Policing and Crime Prevention" in the Modern Law Review. Ten years later, he expanded on this initial work in a further article.