Policing the waterfront: Networks, partnerships, and the governance of port security

The waterfront has long been recognised as a site where criminal elements flourish. For centuries, the maritime transport industry—and ports in particular—have been exploited by opportunistic individuals for a whole raft of illicit purposes. History has shown that policing the waterfront has (and continues to) posed a formidable challenge, as law enforcement continues to seek to allay concerns over organised crime, smuggling, trafficking, pillage, and terrorism. This book represents a first attempt to fully explore the intricacies of how crime is controlled on the waterfront, and seeks to enhance current theoretical understandings of the policing 'partnerships' that exist between public and private actors. In particular, this book charts the complex configuration of waterfront 'security networks', and by using a range of analytical techniques, presents new empirical data which expose and explain the social structures that enable policing partnerships to function. This task is achieved through a comparative research design, analysing the narratives of both public and private security providers at the American Ports of Los Angeles/Long Beach and the Australian Port of Melbourne, the busiest ports in each country.