Documents, interviews, and onsite observations involved local police departments; municipal agencies; and Business Improvement Districts (BIDs), which are coalitions of businesses and property owners that have established their own public safety programs. Anonymous surveys and interviews with just over 80 security officers, security directors, law enforcement representatives, corporate leaders, and retailers were conducted. Some have criticized BIDs as a detriment to the public interest due to the claim that they create a private crime-fighting force intended to defend their employers' special interests. Many BIDs do have security officers who wear police-like uniforms that suggest authentic police officers and create confusion among the public about their role. As symbolic as their appearance may be, this study failed to provide measurable evidence that BIDs want to use security personnel as full-fledged police forces. Instead, BIDs have focused on eliminating signs of physical and behavioral disorders in order to prevent crime and reassure the public of their safety. In pursuing this philosophy, BIDs have implemented the principles of the "broken windows" theory, which holds that symbols of disorder visible to the public stimulate fear of crime and even encourage disorderly behavior. This innovative and nonconfrontational approach of the BIDs explains why public police departments and municipalities have tolerated and even encouraged the use of private security in public spaces. 2 tables, 11 notes, and 31 references