Private security services are a tricky thing... In principle, the state has a monopoly on the use of force. Only a civil servant in the executive branch can legally detain, interrogate and prosecute a potential offender. As soon as this apparatus becomes overwhelmed (which it is!) and seeks help from the private sector, it enters a legal grey area. In Germany, attempts are made to keep this as clean as possible through mandatory qualifications and certificates, certificates of good conduct and the principle of multiple oversight – everyone is monitored by everyone else on duty. Of course, this is not without its flaws either.

In my view, there should be no private service providers performing sovereign tasks.