'When it comes to violence in my place, I am the police!' Exploring the policing functions of service providers in Edinburgh's Cowgate and Grassmarket

This study explores the role of social service providers in providing basic policing and security functions to residents of a marginalised community in Edinburgh. Through analysis of interview data, social service providers are revealed as routinely engaging in a variety of activities traditionally associated with public policing, such as crime prevention activities, peacekeeping and order maintenance tasks, receiving complaints regarding criminal and disorderly activities, surveillance of suspect identities, as well as informally liaising with the public police on crime and security issues within the community. The hitherto informal policing functions of service providers have recently begun to change with the implementation of a Remote Reporting programme that formalises the crime reporting functions of service providers, linking voluntary service agencies more closely to the criminal justice system. Both formal and informal policing activities are explored within an analysis that draws on the conceptualisation of contemporary security governance as 'networked'.