Imaginary boundary of public policing? A lens from Hong Kong 2019

There is a growing prevalence of privately owned public spaces amid urban development. These private premises, such as shopping malls and school campuses, are typically managed by private security guards, but the police may intervene in exceptional circumstances. Intellectual debates concerning the blurring boundaries between public and private space in policing have emerged in Western democracies, particularly regarding the accountability of private policing personnel. This study addresses this under-researched yet significant transformation: What are the implications of the increasing ambiguity between public and private spheres in policing? We examined several incidents in Hong Kong in 2019, using court cases to explore this ‘invisible boundary’. The findings challenge the oversimplified perception of the public and private dichotomy and suggest a de facto expansion of public police authority under the ‘pluralisation of policing’. Copyright © 2024 Sydney Institute of Criminology.