Security for sale in modern Britain: security provision, ensembles and cultures, 1785 - 1995
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Leeds
Department Name: Law
Abstract
Today, we are surrounded by security commodities: our shopping centres are patrolled by private guards, our town centres watched over by CCTV, our computers protected by anti-malware systems and firewalls, our homes fortified by locks and alarms. With the arrival of the 'internet of things', the security landscape is expanding further, as physical security devices are networked with other technologies to form 'smart' security systems. Almost everywhere, it seems, we navigate everyday risks through the purchase of security commodities - products and services which seek to safeguard property and information against risk - supplied by a vast global industry. Behind these developments is a revealing yet largely forgotten history. The last two hundred years have seen profound growth in commodified security: in Britain alone, a handful of specialist lock-making firms have morphed into a vast and powerful industry, which fed a market of over £1.2 billion by the 1990s. The social and cultural consequences of this development were profound. Not only has the commodification of security subtly shaped the way we imagine crime, fire and other risks - it has also underpinned and facilitated fundamental transformations in social life. Guaranteeing security for valuable property and information, security products and services have preserved museum and gallery collections, shielded the assets of the rich, maintained the records of modern bureaucracies, protected state and corporate secrets, safeguarded goods in transit and through customs, and enabled the mass circulation of paper currency. In short, security commodities - provided through the market - have helped stitch together the very fabric of modern economic, social and cultural life.
This fellowship will explore the development of commodified security in Britain, 1785-1995 - from the first production of Bramah's 'unpickable' lock to a key Parliamentary inquiry into the security industry. Focusing on five key security commodities - locks, safes, alarms, guarding and secure transit services - the research will illuminate the business history of the security trade, the social and technical history of security systems (or 'ensembles'), and the cultural history of attitudes towards risk and security. It will provide a holistic account of how security was commodified, analysing shifts in the design, production and consumption of products and services, and tracing them through society - into banks, warehouses, offices, public institutions and private homes. The research will provide a revealing insight into how security firms have shaped our understanding of risk, and how engagements with security refract wider attitudes towards privacy, trust and responsibility for protection. It will demonstrate the role security commodities have played in social change - how everyday products and services were implicated in the emergence of modern record systems, the preservation of historic and cultural artefacts, the formation of cultures of secrecy, and more besides. In these ways, the research will highlight the economic, social and cultural consequences of security commodification, reaching far beyond immediate problems of crime and fire into the heart of everyday social life. Furthermore, working with archives, museums and private security organisations, the fellowship will highlight the value of 'security heritage' - paper records, material artefacts and other fragments of security's pasts - and advocate for the preservation and utilisation of such historic resources. It will also engage with members of the public, harnessing creative uses of security heritage to illustrate the contemporary relevance and resonances of the research in an age of 'smart' security. In these ways, the fellowship will connect contemporary issues in security with a rich history, demonstrating the value of historical research in addressing concerns regarding how best to live with risk in our own time.
This fellowship will explore the development of commodified security in Britain, 1785-1995 - from the first production of Bramah's 'unpickable' lock to a key Parliamentary inquiry into the security industry. Focusing on five key security commodities - locks, safes, alarms, guarding and secure transit services - the research will illuminate the business history of the security trade, the social and technical history of security systems (or 'ensembles'), and the cultural history of attitudes towards risk and security. It will provide a holistic account of how security was commodified, analysing shifts in the design, production and consumption of products and services, and tracing them through society - into banks, warehouses, offices, public institutions and private homes. The research will provide a revealing insight into how security firms have shaped our understanding of risk, and how engagements with security refract wider attitudes towards privacy, trust and responsibility for protection. It will demonstrate the role security commodities have played in social change - how everyday products and services were implicated in the emergence of modern record systems, the preservation of historic and cultural artefacts, the formation of cultures of secrecy, and more besides. In these ways, the research will highlight the economic, social and cultural consequences of security commodification, reaching far beyond immediate problems of crime and fire into the heart of everyday social life. Furthermore, working with archives, museums and private security organisations, the fellowship will highlight the value of 'security heritage' - paper records, material artefacts and other fragments of security's pasts - and advocate for the preservation and utilisation of such historic resources. It will also engage with members of the public, harnessing creative uses of security heritage to illustrate the contemporary relevance and resonances of the research in an age of 'smart' security. In these ways, the fellowship will connect contemporary issues in security with a rich history, demonstrating the value of historical research in addressing concerns regarding how best to live with risk in our own time.
Planned Impact
This fellowship will benefit a range of stakeholders including archives and museums, private security organisations and wider publics. Collaborating with three project partners (London Metropolitan Archives (LMA), Corps Security and Chubb Fire & Security), I will demonstrate the value of security heritage to these stakeholder groups. This will lead onto a wider programme of knowledge exchange, drawing on the expertise of representative organisations (British Security Industry Association; Business Archives Council) to mutual benefit of the research and external organisations. Finally, the fellowship will use engagements with security heritage to explore ways of living with risk and insecurity in an age of 'smart' security.
Security heritage collections (archives, material artefacts, audio recordings, etc.) are highly fragmented, and seldom recognised in their own right. There is no dedicated effort to care for or utilise them. Most security companies - preoccupied with new threats and solutions - pay little regard to their heritage. Major industry collections have previously been lost, and many are presently at risk. I will counteract these difficulties through collaboration with industry partners, showcasing how security heritage can serve their articulated aims, and thus help to protect security's past for the future.
Collaboration with project partners will yield concrete impacts. Work with LMA to survey and list parts of the Chubb & Son archive will vitally extend their work on this collection, and pave the way for a complete catalogue. Work with Corps Security to develop listings for their archive will enhance the company's awareness of its heritage. Further work with Corps Security and with Chubb Fire & Security to develop heritage-based branding, marketing, communications and training materials will deliver commercial impacts, and more broadly showcase the application of heritage to security enterprise today.
These discrete work packages with partners will underpin a wider programme of knowledge exchange with archives, museums and private security organisations to preserve, make accessible and utilise security heritage collections. Archives and museums with relevant collections (e.g. Science Museum, Locksmith's House Museum) will benefit from the breadth of the research, which will enable them to locate security-related artefacts in broader historical contexts and pinpoint connections with wider historical themes. This will make it easier for curators to utilise ubiquitous but hitherto underexplored heritage assets, with knock-on impacts on public understanding. For security organisations (firms, trade associations and industry bodies), research indicates security consumption is often perceived as a 'grudge purchase' (Loader et al 2015), with resulting downward pressure on price and standards. Drawing on heritage resources provides untapped opportunities to alter the terms of engagement with consumers and hence fulfil a longstanding objective of the industry (Gill et al 2007). Drawing on heritage value also provides an alternative to techniques in security marketing which tend to exacerbate fear and insecurity (Zedner 2009). Hence, the fellowship will make an impact in security corporate practice, with potential for knock-on impacts on commercial performance.
By utilising security heritage for public engagement - through archives, museums and the media, making use of creative formats such as film and literature - the fellowship will benefit various wider publics, from security enthusiasts and collectors to lay audiences. The present moment is rich with both new (cyber)security threats and ('smart') techniques of prevention. Engaging audiences with previous waves of security innovation - via cultural representations in diverse media - will harness historical distance to establish more detached, nuanced and critical perspectives on our changing security landscape, helping to reframe public understandings.
Security heritage collections (archives, material artefacts, audio recordings, etc.) are highly fragmented, and seldom recognised in their own right. There is no dedicated effort to care for or utilise them. Most security companies - preoccupied with new threats and solutions - pay little regard to their heritage. Major industry collections have previously been lost, and many are presently at risk. I will counteract these difficulties through collaboration with industry partners, showcasing how security heritage can serve their articulated aims, and thus help to protect security's past for the future.
Collaboration with project partners will yield concrete impacts. Work with LMA to survey and list parts of the Chubb & Son archive will vitally extend their work on this collection, and pave the way for a complete catalogue. Work with Corps Security to develop listings for their archive will enhance the company's awareness of its heritage. Further work with Corps Security and with Chubb Fire & Security to develop heritage-based branding, marketing, communications and training materials will deliver commercial impacts, and more broadly showcase the application of heritage to security enterprise today.
These discrete work packages with partners will underpin a wider programme of knowledge exchange with archives, museums and private security organisations to preserve, make accessible and utilise security heritage collections. Archives and museums with relevant collections (e.g. Science Museum, Locksmith's House Museum) will benefit from the breadth of the research, which will enable them to locate security-related artefacts in broader historical contexts and pinpoint connections with wider historical themes. This will make it easier for curators to utilise ubiquitous but hitherto underexplored heritage assets, with knock-on impacts on public understanding. For security organisations (firms, trade associations and industry bodies), research indicates security consumption is often perceived as a 'grudge purchase' (Loader et al 2015), with resulting downward pressure on price and standards. Drawing on heritage resources provides untapped opportunities to alter the terms of engagement with consumers and hence fulfil a longstanding objective of the industry (Gill et al 2007). Drawing on heritage value also provides an alternative to techniques in security marketing which tend to exacerbate fear and insecurity (Zedner 2009). Hence, the fellowship will make an impact in security corporate practice, with potential for knock-on impacts on commercial performance.
By utilising security heritage for public engagement - through archives, museums and the media, making use of creative formats such as film and literature - the fellowship will benefit various wider publics, from security enthusiasts and collectors to lay audiences. The present moment is rich with both new (cyber)security threats and ('smart') techniques of prevention. Engaging audiences with previous waves of security innovation - via cultural representations in diverse media - will harness historical distance to establish more detached, nuanced and critical perspectives on our changing security landscape, helping to reframe public understandings.
People |
ORCID iD |
David Churchill (Principal Investigator / Fellow) |
Publications
Description | This project has explored in unprecedented detail the evolving landscape of security commodities and the security industry in nineteenth- and twentieth-century Britain. It has traced the activities of various security companies, the design, marketing and consumption of key security products and services (including locks, safes and strong rooms, alarms, guarding and secure transport services) and how these commodities were used in a variety of organisational contexts to protect wealth, cash, information and precious collections. The research has connected the history of security with wider themes in modern history, including crime, fire, risk, safety, responsibility, trust, and the role of civil society and the state. Four key achievements of the project merit highlighting: 1. The project has helped cast the contemporary literature on private security and the commodification of security in longer-term perspective. Where the development of the security industry and the buying and selling of protective security are often taken to be late-twentieth century developments, the project has established that they are basic patterns of modern social development, with their origins best located in the late eighteenth century. This has major implications for our understanding of the essence of crime control in the modern era, and the deep roots of commodified forms of security in contemporary society. 2. The project has challenged the common connection between neoliberalism and the growth of private involvement in the governance of crime and other risks. Through work on safe manufacturers and alarm companies in particular, the project has documented concrete and meaningful connections and relationships between the security industry and public authorities (notably police forces and the Home Office) dating back much earlier than usually recognised. Early connections were made in the mid-nineteenth century, but there were well-established relationships by the mid-twentieth century. 3. The project has opened up new research questions and directions for enquiry in modern history. For example, by exposing the development of security commodities in the twentieth century and their connection with efforts by police and the insurance industry to manage criminal risk, they invite dedicated study of the origin and development of crime prevention as a twentieth-century governmental project. Equally, by showcasing the use of security commodities in particular organisations, the project invites purposeful research into the role of business, public institutions, trade unions and other organisations in responding to diverse forms of risk (including crime, terrorism and fire) in the Postwar era. 4. The project has made available significant new archival materials for research on diverse themes in twentieth-century British history. Through box-listing uncatalogued records in the Chubb & Son collection at London Metropolitan Archives, the project has made accessible to researchers rich collections concerning Chubb's various subsidiary companies and divisions, including Pyrene, Minimax and Chubb Fire. These records provide a rich new resource for historians of business and marketing, but also for social and cultural historians interested in fire, crime, risk and related themes. |
Exploitation Route | The research findings might be used by a range of scholars across history and the social sciences. Historians of modern Britain might take forward themes connected with the security industry in work on the history of crime, policing, fire, insurance and risk. Findings concerning the uses and applications of security might suggest new directions more broadly in the history of work, management, property, information, material culture and the built environment. Scholars in sociology and criminology might take from the research a more focused analytical concern with the security industry (as distinct from private security) as a social institution with deep historical roots. The research findings might be used outside the academy by a range of stakeholders. Professionals and industry leaders in the security sector might draw from the project a greater appreciation of the history of their sector, including an understanding of certain recurrent or perennial issues in security and a familiarity with past modes of delivering, marketing and advocating for security. Professionals in archives, museums and the wider heritage sector might also draw on the findings to appreciate the value of security-related collections and better to contextualise individual collections or objects in terms of wider developments in the social history of security. |
Sectors | Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software) Government Democracy and Justice Culture Heritage Museums and Collections Other |
URL | https://essl.leeds.ac.uk/law-research-expertise/doc/security-heritage-hub |
Description | The project's research has begun to be used beyond academia. This impact falls into two categories: 1. The project's findings have been used by industry leaders and professionals in the security sector. Through a range of knowledge exchange activities, prominent individuals and organisations in the security industry were apprised of major themes in the history of security and the potential uses of security heritage in their organisations. Thus far, this has led to new initiatives in some security organisations to integrate a concern for heritage, or to revisit their work with heritage, in terms of management processes and external communications, with potential for economic and cultural impacts to arise therefrom. 2. The project has been used by archivists to make their security-related collections accessible and to engage the public with such collections. Specifically, work with the London Metropolitan Archives to enhance access to the Chubb & Son collection and to deliver public engagement events concerned with security has had a cultural impact upon that organisation and its users. There is potential for further such cultural impacts to arise as these archive materials are used by researchers and others in future. |
First Year Of Impact | 2022 |
Sector | Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections,Other |
Impact Types | Cultural Economic |
Description | Men of Service: The Corps of Commissionaires and Transitions from Military to Civilian Life in Twentieth-Century Britain |
Amount | £70,840 (GBP) |
Funding ID | 2610568 |
Organisation | Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 08/2021 |
End | 01/2025 |
Title | Chubb & Son box-listing |
Description | A comprehensive box-listing of uncatalogued records in the Chubb & Son archive, held by the London Metropolitan Archives (LMA). This listing provides details of over 360 boxes/volumes of uncatalogued archive materials. The listing itself is extensive, comprising around 2200 rows of data. |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2022 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
Impact | The listing makes over 70 linear metres of records accessible to the public for the first time. The listing was completed in 2022 and put on file at the LMA. The LMA makes the listing available to their service users in response to queries/access to catalogued sections of the Chubb & Son archive. This material was also used in public and industry engagement events in 2022 and was reported in a blog post on the LMA website. |
Description | Chubb archive listing |
Organisation | London Metropolitan Archives |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
PI Contribution | The research team conducted a full box-listing of uncatalogued records in the Chubb & Son archive. This listing is on file with LMA and is made available to prospective researchers, making accessible over 70 linear metres of records previously inaccessible. |
Collaborator Contribution | Archivists at LMA provided access to the relevant records, trained a member of the research team to undertake the listing, and supervised the listing process over several months. LMA and research team collaborated to construct and finalise the listing, which is now on file at LMA. |
Impact | Chubb & Son box-listing. |
Start Year | 2021 |
Description | Comparative history of security |
Organisation | German Historical Institute London |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Engagement by the PI in collaborative discussions with Marcus Boick (Ruhr University Bochum, then visiting fellow at GHIL) and Pieter Leloup (Ghent University), resulting in co-convened conference hosted by University College London/GHIL on comparative historical perspectives on private security. |
Collaborator Contribution | GHIL provided room hire, administrative and technical support, catering, travel and accommodation expenses to support a two-day international workshop (3-4 March 2022), co-convened by Marcus Boick, Pieter Leloup and the PI, arising from shared research interests of the co-convenors. |
Impact | Comparative history of private security conference |
Start Year | 2021 |
Description | Corps heritage |
Organisation | London Metropolitan Archives |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
PI Contribution | Collaboration between research team, LMA archivists and Corps archive custodian to support production of a report on the corporate heritage of Corps Security. |
Collaborator Contribution | The work was led by a member of the research team, in collaboration with the archive custodian at Corps Security and an archivist at LMA. The archive custodian provided a briefing to the meeting on corporate heritage at Corps and the shape of the Corps archive, as well as follow-on meetings to advise on aspects of the work. She also read and provided feedback on a draft report. The archivist at LMA held meetings with the research team to guide their navigation of the Corps archive and provided general advice on the work of preparing the report. |
Impact | Private report: 'The Corporate Heritage of Corps Security'. Discussions around maximising the impact of this report remain ongoing. |
Start Year | 2022 |
Description | Business Archives Council workshop: Recent research in business history |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Presentation on research into the security and collaboration with archival partners to an audience of business archivists. Prompted discussion on the benefits and experience of collaboration between business archives and academics. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
Description | Chubb archive blog |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Extended blog post for London Metropolitan Archives website offering research guide to Chubb & Son archive and detail on listing work undertaken through present project. Distributed through LMA newsletter. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
URL | https://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/things-to-do/history-and-heritage/london-metropolitan-archives/colle... |
Description | LMA public engagement activities |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Series of three public engagement events designed to connect a wider range of participants to the source materials utilised in the project. Events were delivered in collaboration with London Metropolitan Archives. A range of attendees from London region attended events on 'Security in print' (a session of LMA's Book Club analysing security in Ian Fleming's Goldfinger), 'Security on screen' (film screening event featuring films from Chubb & Son archive) and 'Security on show' (document exhibition of Chubb and Corps Security archives). Events sparked interesting questions and discussion on security related themes in materials examined and more widely in everyday life. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
Description | Patented podcast: Locks and the Great Lock Controversy |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Feature interview for an episode of Patented: History of Inventions Podcast (History Hit), focused on the history of locks and the 'Great Lock Controversy' of the 1850s. Engagement on social media and several email enquiries from members of the public followed. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
URL | https://shows.acast.com/patented-history-of-inventions/episodes/locks-and-the-great-lock-controversy |
Description | Quantum Sauce talk |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | One of three invited speakers at the regular 'Quantum Sauce' public engagement event in Farsley, Leeds. Informal talk and light-hearted talk followed by questions and discussion with audience members. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
URL | https://twitter.com/Quantum_Sauce/status/1497112020180779010 |
Description | Security Heritage Workshop |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
Results and Impact | Industry-facing workshop designed to initiate a discussion with leaders in the private security sector concerning the uses of history and heritage in private security organisations. It featured a programme of presentations, with speakers drawn from academic and practitioner contexts, and an exhibition of corporate security archives held at LMA. The event was well attended by representatives of major security companies and trade associations, including the British Security Industry Association and the International Professional Security Association. Attendees took away a copy of a richly illustrated brochure on Security Heritage (produced by research team). |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
URL | https://essl.leeds.ac.uk/law-research-centre-criminal-justice-studies/doc/security-heritage-workshop... |
Description | Security heritage hub webpage |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Webpage showcasing history and heritage of security and security industry to a general audience as well as to security organisations/professionals. A source of information in itself and a channel for promoting other outputs of the research. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021,2022,2023 |
URL | https://essl.leeds.ac.uk/law-research-expertise/doc/security-heritage-hub |
Description | Security heritage workshop blog |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
Results and Impact | Blog post reporting the Security heritage workshop, which was held September 2022, to a wider audience primarily within the security industry. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022,2023 |
URL | https://essl.leeds.ac.uk/law-research-centre-criminal-justice-studies/doc/security-heritage-workshop... |