Research project Better, worse or no difference: police, private security guards and the policing of migrant youth

Theoretically, two traditions are woven together: criminological theory that emphasize plural policing and the importance of examining the outsourcing of the state’s capacity to provide security, respective urban sociological perspectives that underline the spatial aspects of policing and how these are linked to bordering practices. 

Among the project’s guiding research questions are: What are the similarities and differences in the policing by the police and by private security guards of migrant youth in stigmatized urban areas? What forms of skills and knowledge can be identified in the diverse actors’ abilities for conflict resolution, forms of collaboration and dialogue? 

Empirical material will be collected through ethnographic methods in the form of observations and interviews, complemented with document analysis.