Once seen as the exclusive domain of the state, security is today increasingly in the hands of private actors. The extent of this privatisation is evident across the spectrum of security provision. It is often reported that the ratio of private contractors to US servicemen and women in the first Gulf war was 1:100, whereas in the current war in Iraq it is approximately 1:10, making private security companies the second largest member of the 'coalition of the willing'? In terms of logistics and training, the private sector also plays a crucial role, and while the US is leading the charge in military privatisation, similar developments are under way in other countries. Far away from the battlegrounds and the military training camps, the privatisation of security has also been growing at a staggering rate. Globally, the commercial security industry is now valued at at least $67.6 billion, and the sector has grown at well above average rates for over a decade. In the US, private security officers have for a long time outnumbered public police by a ratio of almost three to one, in the UK the ratio is two to one, in Hong Kong five to one, while in some developing countries the ratio is said to be as high as 10 to one.
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