Author: Philip P Purpura
ISBN No: 9781 420 092 8
Review date: 16/12/2025
No of pages: 611
Publisher: CRC Press
Year of publication: 11/09/2012
Brief:
If someone thinking about starting in private security asks for something to read, where do you direct them? An American book could be the answer, writes Mark Rowe. From the April 2011 print issue of Professional Security magazine.
Security: An Introduction by Philip P Purpura is, you have to say, a very long introduction, being a hardback an inch and a half thick. Is there a UK equivalent, though? The Security Manual by David Brooksbank(eighth edition published by Gower in 2007) fits the bill and is far more portable, though it struck me as more for the guard or superviser rather than the manager. By the way: at www.ashgate.com you can view two of Brooksbank’s chapters free. Purpura has written security and loss prevention handbooks for more than 20 years. Though written with US laws and regulations in mind, and with US reading and website lists, Purpura’s scope is so wide it takes in the UK – a paragraph about the Bow Street Runners, and another about the founding of the Met Police, for example. He covers every base – investigations, risk, personnel security, physical and IT security. His final chapter looking to the future applies to the UK as much as US, suggesting terrorism will become ‘more common and more deadly’, and surveillance technology will mean less privacy. Might security officers’ kit include voice-activated devices and sniffers for drugs (built into uniforms?). What about robots as cargo inspectors? As Purpura notes, technology does wonders for our lives, but criminals exploit it, too. Threats – such as robberies from retailers and fast-food restaurants that open later – are common to the US and UK. Naturally, oovering all security management means many topics are done at a gallop. But as a first port of call for someone thinking of a shift into private security, or wanting to brush up – perhaps for the ASIS certified protection professional exam? – Purpura has produced an obvious textbook.
About Philip P Purpura
Director of the Security and Justice Institute and coordinator of the Security for Houses of Worship Project in South Carolina. He has taught security and criminal justice courses for over thirty years. He serves on the ASIS International Council on Academic Programs. Purpura has practical experience as an expert witness, consultant, security manager, investigator, and police officer. He is the author of seven previous books; has been a contributing editor to three security periodicals; written numerous articles published in journals, magazines, and newsletters; and been involved in a variety of editorial projects for publishers. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in criminal justice from the University of Dayton and Eastern Kentucky University, respectively. He has also studied in Europe, Asia, and the former Soviet Union.
