The transformation of provision security to private sector at Iranian and British criminal law, concept, legal foundation and manifestations

In the past, the provision of security was the duty of state and public authorities specially police, but in the twentieth century, we are witnessing the transition from public to private security and the emergence of new and non-governmental actors, which has been accompanied by a kind of security commodification. The emergence of mass private property, the growth technical surveillance systems, rising crime rates and insecurity, as well as the oversupply of public demand from the resources available to the state police, have welcomed private security companies, and government have realized that they can no longer be the sole security agents. In this article, with comparative analytical approach, we discuss the concept, legal foundation and manifestations of the private security industry in Iranian and British law. Findings indicate that the key elements of the private security industry in Iranian law are narrower than in British law and cases such as private detectives, the use of private experts in the investigation of crimes such as fraud are not recognized, in fact the physical security of the industry is more welcomed. In the field of prison services, detection and cyber security, government security and the exception of private security are dominated.