Comparing OSAC and the Private Sector Liaison Committee (IACP), briefly discuss the similarities and differences in addressing public and private sector security and safety issues, including emergency planning and response. What points could be used by local communities in planning and preparation for critical incidents or disasters?

Author: Jonathan B. Smith
Date: May 25, 2005

Michigan State University 's School of Criminal Justice
Online Certificate in Homeland Security
US05 Public Private Partnerships for Emergency Preparedness
Professor Rad Jones.
Module 2: Historical Background of Public-Private Partnerships

In an effort to abide by the guidelines provided in the syllabus encouraging weekly assignments to be produced in an executive summary format of approximately one page in length; I have chosen to utilize a table to help highlight the similarities and differences between the Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC) and the Private Sector Liaison Committee (PSLC) of the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP).

Compare and Contrast

There are some fundamental similarities and differences between the OSAC from the PSLC.

1. Both organizations missions are focused upon encouraging cooperation, between public and private security officials in the public interest.
2. The OSAC is a federally supported initiative sponsored by the US Department of State, while the PSLC is a committee of the IACP, a nonprofit US 501(c)(3) corporation with no official government mandate or support.
3. the OSAC is exclusively focused upon international security issues while the PSLC is mainly focused upon a local and domestic security agenda.

Below is a table that highlights some additional features about OSAC and PSLC:

Opportunities for Local Communities

I believe that the most interesting posts that I have read in my pursuit of the Online Certificate in Homeland Security Studies are those that were written from personal experience. When I worked at Arthur Andersen & Co., way before their Enron debacle, I got an opportunity to work on their original Global Best Practices® CD-ROM series. At the time I was just out of school and could not grasp the importance of best practices.

Reading through the materials in this module reminded me of my experience and Arthur Anderson & Co. and the importance of establishing and sharing standards, metrics and procedures that the Global Best Practices® product was designed to facilitate. It appears that the Global Best Practices® intellectual property has since been acquired by PricewaterhouseCoopers and is currently available via the internet.

I believe that the most important points that local communities can learn from OSAC and PSLC lie in the "best practices" that are created by these organizations through the research, debate, and cooperation of their dedicated members. These "best practices" may be disseminated through published materials, formal training, joint exercises, word-of-mouth or increasingly more common via the internet. Regardless how the methods are proliferated, they need to be shared, critiqued, implemented and improved.

My hope is that OSAC and PSLC continue to act in a "think tank" like capacity, encouraging collaboration and cooperation among public and private sector security professionals alike. The power of the OSAC and PSLC resides in the diversity of their network of willing and creative collaborators.

Works Cited

Jones, R. (2005) Historical Background and Development of Public and Private Partnerships – Module 2: Class Handout.

IACP. (2005) Private Sector Liaison Committee .Retrieved May 26, 2004 from
http://www.theiacp.org/div_sec_com/committees/pslc.htm

OSAC. (2005) OSAC Home Page. Retrieved May 26, 2004 from
http://www.ds-osac.org/

PricewaterhouseCoopers. (2005) Global Best Practices. Retrieved May 26, 2004 from
http://www.globalbestpractices.com/Home/

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