Samenvatting

Safety and security are increasingly provided by public-private partnerships. In this respect, commentators claim that we are witnessing a shift from ‘government’ (a hierarchically organized state) to ‘governance’ (a hybrid network of organizations) in the fight against crime and disorder. Criminologist Clifford Shearing interprets interactions within hybrid - public and private - networks in terms of nodal governance, implying that state coordination of partnerships is not given a priori significance. The state is but one actor among many. Ian Loader and Neil Walker criticize his position, taking the diametrically opposed view that the state is indispensable for the democratic regulation of public-private networks (anchored pluralism). Despite this fundamental disagreement, the perspectives of Shearing and Loader and Walker share an appreciation of citizen participation in local safety networks. However, at least for the Netherlands, it is hardly imaginable how such participation could flourish without any state interference.