The private security sector is a very topical issue in many ways. The industry and its role as a social actor is currently being discussed in several countries. Traditional security authority tasks are being outsourced around the world. Outsourcing has sparked a debate over whether state sovereignty is going to weaken as more and more public actors begin to perform public authority functions. The line between the private security sector and the security authorities has become blurred, leading to a debate on how the private security sector operates and how it should be supervised.

There has been lot of research into private security services in recent years. Several studies indicate that private security services actors exercise public authority in their work when they have a de facto legal right to interfere with people's fundamental rights. Once actors are given such broad legal competence, they must be aware of their own legal competence and status. For this reason, attention should be paid to the supervision of private security services and the actors performing the supervision, and the accuracy of supervision in this area should be reviewed. Indeed, some studies and at least one legal dissertation have been conducted on security supervision.

This study examines the structure, actors, and supervision of private security services. The accuracy of supervision has been clarified through interviews, which complement the information provided by various sources on supervision in the field. The information obtained from the literature and other sources does not provide very clear and concrete examples of the supervision measures carried out, so interviewing industry players is crucial for this study.

The study has been carried out as a qualitative study. The study has utilized the literature, legislation and regulations issued by the authorities in the field. The study has been supplemented by interviews aimed at producing empirical information on the supervision of private security services. The aim of the study is to produce qualitative information on the supervision of the private security services.

The purpose of this study is to clarify the supervision of private security services. The results of the study are freely available to sector, supervisors and authorities. It is desirable that the results will be of benefit to private security operators and especially those carrying out supervision.