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# There's a plan for safety wardens on O'Connell Street – here's how similar initiatives have gone in other countries
- URL: https://www.dublininquirer.com/theres-a-plan-for-safety-wardens-on-oconnell-street-heres-how-similar-initiatives-have-gone-in-other-countries/
- Published: 2026-11-13T00:49:55.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-13T00:49:55.000Z
- Description: Even with no arrest or fining powers, private patrols can assert considerable authority over who gets to use public spaces.
- Author: Eoin Glackin
- Tags: Community Safety, city centre, City centre taskforce, City Desk, Local Democracy Reporting Scheme

When a man begging outside a shop in an American city refused to move, citing his constitutional rights, a private security officer did not arrest him or physically remove him.

Instead, the officer stood silently beside him.

The presence of the uniformed officer discouraged passers-by from giving the man money. Eventually, he left.

The incident was recorded by researcher Amanda D'Souza in a [study](https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28885524-d-souza-2019-an-examination-of-order-maintenance-policing-by-business-improvement-districts/?ref=dublininquirer.com) of security officers working for business improvement districts (BIDs), organisations that fund services such as cleaning, maintenance and security in commercial areas.

It illustrates a central question surrounding Dublin City Council's proposal to introduce private safety wardens onto city-centre streets: what influence may uniformed security personnel exercise even when they have no police powers?

The council's press office put out a statement, [clarifying](https://www.dublincity.ie/news/official-statement-re-dublin-city-taskforce-safety-operatives-proposal?ref=dublininquirer.com) that proposed wardens would have no additional statutory powers to arrest people, demand identification, search them, issue fines, enforce bye-laws or require someone to leave a public street.

But research from the United States and Europe suggests that private patrols can exercise considerable informal authority without such powers.

However, following the [death of Yves Sakila](https://www.dublininquirer.com/still-hurt-by-bertie-ahern-singling-out-congolese-people-loss-of-a-community-member-opened-a-fresh-wound-they-say/) after being restrained by security guards outside Arnotts on Henry Street in May, the Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) published a briefing note raising concerns about whether security guards in Ireland are adequately trained in the use of force.

Emily Williams, Policing and Justice Policy Officer at theICCL, warned that the regulatory framework for private security in Ireland contains significant gaps relating to the use of force, restraint and accountability.

## Soft power

BID-funded security patrols are relatively common in city centres internationally, said Professor Adam White, a researcher specialising in private security at the University of Sheffield, said by phone on Tuesday.

Their purpose is partly commercial–reassuring shoppers and encouraging people to spend time in city centres competing with suburban shopping centres and online retail.

But White said much of their work is uneventful and potentially useful. "A lot of the time, it's actually quite routine stuff that they're doing.”

Wardens might assist lost visitors, help someone in distress, offer directions or contact police when necessary.

The concern, he said, is that private patrols can also influence who is welcome in public spaces.

White drew a distinction between security personnel working inside privately owned shops or shopping centres and those patrolling public streets.

On private property, owners can impose conditions of entry. On public streets, security guards do not acquire equivalent powers simply because businesses employ them.

Nevertheless, uniforms can create an impression of authority, he said.

"Often people defer to a uniform without knowing what legal powers are behind that uniform," White said.

Someone might comply voluntarily with a request from a uniformed warden, he explained, even when the warden had no legal power to compel them.

That distinction is demonstrated in [D'Souza's research](https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28885524-d-souza-2019-an-examination-of-order-maintenance-policing-by-business-improvement-districts/?ref=dublininquirer.com).

Her study, published in the *Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice* in 2020, was grounded in 76 interviews and 171 hours observing security officers working across four BIDs in two unnamed American cities.

“Public safety officers” used surveillance, reporting, persuasion and relationships with local police to maintain order.

One officer explained how familiarity encouraged compliance. "After they see us around for a while, they respect us and then they move."

Another described how the prospect of police involvement could persuade people to cooperate.

D'Souza did not observe public safety officers calling police for assistance during her fieldwork, although some described invoking that possibility**.**

The study also documented how commercial priorities influenced decisions about whom officers approached.

One officer acknowledged that while homelessness was not illegal, “the beautification of the district is the most important”.

Another described his area as "first class", suggesting that shoppers did not want to see someone begging nearby. “Homeless \[people\] change your whole mood, they are a distraction,” a third officer told D'Souza.

[Maybe people shouldn't be able to collect social welfare at GPO, Arnotts lobbiesThe company behind the Henry Street department store raised the idea with the man in charge of the regeneration of the city centre, returns show.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/9f/78/9f782dda-9dc9-44d1-b817-fe80588bdc76/content/images/icon/Favicon-2-bb4ad296-7096-4886-b3fd-446390581cc9.jpg)Dublin InQuirerLois Kapila![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/9f/78/9f782dda-9dc9-44d1-b817-fe80588bdc76/content/images/thumbnail/The-GPO-post-office-door-1-46de58d0-292b-46bf-9b5f-7d8e373546f9.jpg)](https://www.dublininquirer.com/maybe-people-shouldnt-be-able-to-collect-social-welfare-at-gpo-arnotts-lobbies/)

Regardless of the safety officer’s personal views, D'Souza noted that the general sense was “homeless individuals were understood to increase people’s feelings of unpleasantness or fear and, as such, should be removed from the area”.

White said he was not aware of systematic evidence establishing the extent of mistreatment by BID patrols.

But he said their commercial objectives created an obvious potential tension. "The most likely targets of that sort of soft power are likely to be people experiencing homelessness," he said.

Similar questions have emerged elsewhere.

Research [from Denmark](https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28885391-denmark-private-security-guards-policing-public-space-accepted-manuscript-2019/?ref=dublininquirer.com#document/p1) examines how such schemes can develop.

In 2017, the municipality of Aarhus and a local business association funded private security patrols of Klostertorvet, a public square where homeless people and marginalised alcohol and drug users regularly gathered.

Café owners had complained that the groups were frightening away customers.

Although the contract was arranged through the business association, researcher Tobias Kammersgaard found that the municipality contributed €13,000 towards the patrols, compared with €4,000 from businesses.

Local politicians said the guards should engage with vulnerable people rather than drive them away.

But within six weeks, the head of a homeless people's organisation had received about 20 complaints from people who said they had been coercively excluded from the square.

One homeless man described guards ordering him and a friend to leave, claiming the municipality would not permit them to sit there. When he challenged them, the guards threatened to call police, although no officers arrived.

The security company's supervisor subsequently acknowledged that guards had struggled to adapt to public streets, where they lacked the powers they were accustomed to exercising in jobs on private property.

Following complaints, the company changed its approach, replacing or reassigning some personnel.

Kammersgaard spent 56 hours accompanying one of the newer guards, who had a background in social and educational work.

He documented the guard building relationships with people on the square, checking on intoxicated individuals and helping someone who became seriously unwell to obtain emergency medical attention.

Some people using the square welcomed his presence and regarded him as someone they could trust.

But the guard also encouraged people drinking alcohol to move to other locations nearby.

Kammersgaard concluded that this more supportive approach still involved exercising control over public behaviour, albeit through persuasion and relationships rather than coercion.

He also questioned the scheme's underlying priorities, as patrols operated principally during the daytime hours when cafés were trading, rather than at night when vulnerable people might have faced greater risks.

## Can private wardens improve safety?

Dublin has already experimented with community safety wardens, although it’s still unclear how similar the new initiative will be to the earlier pilot.

Wardens employed by BID DublinTown logged 220 actions around O'Connell Street and Wolfe Tone Square between 21 September and 22 November 2023, according to records released under the Freedom of Information Act. 

[What have the city’s “community safety wardens” been up to? - Dublin InquirerSchemes to post wardens around O’Connell Street and Wolfe Tone Square are part of a pilot aimed at improving feelings of safety in the north inner-city.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/9f/78/9f782dda-9dc9-44d1-b817-fe80588bdc76/content/images/icon/Favicon-2-505411b8-daae-45dc-8469-47f65b212813.jpg)Dublin InQuirerLaoise Neylon![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/9f/78/9f782dda-9dc9-44d1-b817-fe80588bdc76/content/images/thumbnail/community-safety-wardens-in-oconnell-street-by-laoise-neylon-scaled-e1732655243229-6cc184a4-9411-4a48-8bc4-a858adf0267d.jpg)](https://www.dublininquirer.com/what-have-the-citys-community-safety-wardens-been-up-to/)

They reported people sleeping rough to the Dublin Region Homeless Executive on about 100 occasions, gave directions 69 times, and recorded seven incidents involving knives found and disposed of on the streets.

They also reported graffiti, overflowing bins and blocked drains to the council, and contacted Gardaí once.

At the time, Maynooth University criminologist Ian Marder welcomed the emphasis on helping people and improving the urban environment but cautioned that the initiative needed an evaluation to establish whether it was meeting its objectives.

It remains unclear whether the pilot reduced crime or improved public confidence.

International research provides some evidence of the practical benefits of such patrols, however.

D'Souza observed officers reporting graffiti, vandalism, damaged pavements and other problems to cleaning teams or municipal authorities.

One officer described the persistence involved in getting problems addressed. "We're on top of things, we're always around."

Officers also worked with homelessness outreach services.

At one BID, however, a manager reported that only three people accepted offers of assistance during April 2015, while 658 declined.

A 2024 [scoping review](https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28885936-emily-moir-a-review-of-the-impacts-of-business-improvement-districts/?ref=dublininquirer.com) by Emily Moir and colleagues at the University of the Sunshine Coast in Australia, examined 13 evaluations of BIDs, mostly in the United States, alongside studies in Sweden and Canada.

Eight of the nine studies that quantitatively assessed crime found reductions in at least one category. All six that examined property crime found significant reductions in at least one type of offence, while findings on violent crime were mixed.

Research by Philip Cook and John MacDonald, [published in 2011](https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28887167-philip-j-cook-john-macdonald-public-safety-through-private-action/?ref=dublininquirer.com), examined 30 BIDs in Los Angeles and found that greater spending on private security was associated with reductions in crime and arrests. They estimated that the social benefits of the crime reductions were approximately 20 times the expenditure on security.

The findings suggest that BID security programmes can contribute to reducing crime. However, Moir and her colleagues noted that BIDs often combine security patrols with cleaning, environmental improvements and other services, making it difficult to isolate the effects of individual measures.

Consequently, such evidence that BIDs reduce crime does not establish that private wardens alone are responsible.

## What happens if force is used?

For Williams, the Policing and Justice Policy Officer at the ICCL, one of the most important questions about Dublin's proposal concerns what happens if a private security operative becomes involved in a physical confrontation.

Shortly after the [death of Yves Sakila](https://www.dublininquirer.com/still-hurt-by-bertie-ahern-singling-out-congolese-people-loss-of-a-community-member-opened-a-fresh-wound-they-say/), ICCL published a [briefing note](https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28885976-iccl-briefing-note-on-powers-of-private-security/?ref=dublininquirer.com#document/p1) raising concerns about whether security guards are adequately trained in the use of force. 

It examines the legal powers of private security personnel in Ireland and the mechanisms available to investigate and address alleged misconduct.

It notes that private security guards, although lacking general police powers, may lawfully use force in certain circumstances under legislation that also applies to other members of the public.

Sections 18 and 19 of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act 1997 provide legal grounds for the use of force, including preventing crime, protecting another person from injury and carrying out or assisting with a lawful arrest.

The ICCL stresses that force must satisfy requirements of legality, necessity, proportionality and non-discrimination.

The amount of force used must be reasonable in the circumstances.

This distinction matters because the council's assurance that proposed wardens would have no statutory powers does not mean they could never lawfully use force.

Williams said by phone last week that Ireland’s regulation of private security has improved, particularly in licensing and qualifications.

However, she identified a significant gap.

“One of the biggest problems is that the legal framework and the licensing framework governing private security doesn’t really cover the use of force and also things like duty of care,” she said.

The ICCL briefing points specifically to the licensing standard PSA 28:2013, referenced in the Private Security (Licensing and Standards) Regulations 2023.

According to the briefing, that standard does not specify when security guards may use force, the limits of such force or techniques that should be avoided because of their risks.

Nor does it set out a duty of care.

The ICCL briefing contrasts this with [guidance](https://www.gov.uk/guidance/reducing-risk-in-physical-intervention?ref=dublininquirer.com) issued by the UK's Security Industry Authority in 2024.

That guidance advises security personnel to use physical intervention only as a last resort, avoid excessive force and respect the dignity of the person being restrained.

It also addresses the risk of positional asphyxia, where restraint interferes with someone’s breathing.

The guidance warns against pressure on the chest, stomach or neck, and instructs security personnel to monitor breathing, circulation and signs of medical distress.

It advises them to challenge colleagues if it's felt they are using unnecessary or excessive force.

The ICCL recommends that Ireland introduce clear guidance and mandatory training on these matters, with robust enforcement by the regulator.

## Who would investigate complaints?

If a security guard breaks the law, a member of the public can go to Gardaí about that.

But there's also the Private Security Authority (PSA), which regulates the industry under the Private Security Services Act 2004\. 

The ICCL also raises questions about the powers of the PSA. Members of the public can complain to the authority, and it can initiate investigations.

If it finds misconduct or breaches of the legislation, it can issue warnings or reprimands, suspend or revoke licences, or take other regulatory action.

However, the ICCL briefing highlights limits to that system.

Unlike Fiosrú, the body responsible for investigating certain complaints involving gardaí, the Private Security Authority is not expressly empowered by its governing legislation to recommend a criminal investigation.

The briefing also says it’s unclear whether the authority is obliged to share its findings with Gardaí.

"There's this gap regarding accountability that we think is really key if we are going to be expanding private security in any further manner," Williams said.

In its official statement last week, the council said its [Project Management Unit](https://www.dublininquirer.com/robert-watts-not-going-to-be-tsar-of-dublin-city-councillors-say/) has been researching schemes in other jurisdictions and reviewing security arrangements used by Irish Rail and Luas.

Officials have also been liaising with An Garda Síochána, the Department of Justice and business representatives, “to develop concepts”, it says.

The proposal forms part of the Dublin City Taskforce's programme to rejuvenate the city centre, established by the government in May 2024.

Its recommendations include making security more visible and developing agreements with business groups and Gardaí for a safety warden scheme.

"A full report is being finalised, and its delivery will be on the agenda of the December City Council meeting as agreed with Lord Mayor and Group Leaders on 2 November 2026," the council said in a [statement](https://www.dublincity.ie/news/official-statement-re-dublin-city-taskforce-safety-operatives-proposal?ref=dublininquirer.com) on 4 November. "The final decision on this will respect all appropriate decision-making protocols."

*Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.*