The Day Before the World Blew Up…
Most people know where this post is going. Twenty-five years ago, on September 10th is almost as important to me than 9/11. Here is my “why”…
On this day, 9-10-2001, I defended my doctoral dissertation dealing with a very unusual subject: Private Policing. My experience as a police officer and terrorism researcher caused me to think outside of the box about the realities of “policing” urban environments. I took this thinking into the Public Policy program at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Long story short, my dissertation had an appropriate academic title: Assessing the Functional & Constitutional Implications of Private Security Patrols on Public Streets. My research included doing ride-alongs with a security firm as it patrolled the Marquette Park neighborhood on Chicago’s south side. In the late 1990’s, I may have been the first “researcher” to ride with private security personnel as they patrolled public streets.
Here I was, an attorney whose “day job” was running a small law practice, seeking to understand the future of policing. Like most doctorate students in the ABD stage, I was often too busy to focus on the research. When my father died suddenly in early 2001, my commitment intensified to promptly complete this project.
On September 10, 2001, I defended the dissertation. Thereafter, my wife and I had an early celebratory dinner in Greek town overlooking the magnificent Chicago skyline.
Fast forward all these years, the dissertation was published in 2003 as The Privatization of Police in America: An Analysis & Case Study (see https://www.amazon.com/Privatization-Police-America-Analysis-Study/dp/0786415746). This book is still relevant today as one of most comprehensive treatments of private policing.
Together we share poignant memories of 9/11. Our lives changed on that day. Yet, my perspective will forever include what happened on this day…
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