At 4:10 PM +0000 on 1/16/03, RFE/RL List Manager wrote:
> AN ALTERNATIVE POLICE FORCE > > By Roman Kupchinsky > > Police formations in the states of the former Soviet Union are a > formidable force in those societies. In Russia, there is the Interior > Ministry (MVD) with its subunit, the State Automobile Inspectorate > (GAI), perhaps better described as the traffic police. There is also > the Tax Police, armed with Kalashnikovs and hand grenades instead of > law degrees and briefcases, collecting taxes from reluctant > businessmen who might have supported the wrong party during the last > election. There is the Military Police (mainly to protect soldiers > from each other), and there are armed units of the Federal Security > Service (FSB): the ALPHA units (special-operations units) and the > border troops. In all, the number of personnel among the police > forces of Russia is almost twice as high as the number of individuals > in the military armed forces. > In this respect, post-Soviet Russia is still far from > resembling the United States, where law-enforcement agencies > comprise: city and state police; the FBI; armed units of the Drug > Enforcement Agency (DEA); the Treasury Department; the Bureau of > Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms; the National Park Service (which even > has a SWAT team); the Customs Service; the Immigration and > Naturalization Service border patrol; and the military police > (serving the same function as the Russian military police). State > National Guard units are waiting in the wings and can be placed on > active duty in case of emergency (such as the Democratic National > Convention in Chicago in 1968) to augment the civilian police. Other > federal agencies employ police and special agents with the power to > make arrests and the authority to carry firearms. These agencies > include the U.S. Postal Service; the Bureau of Indian Affairs Office > of Law Enforcement and the under the U.S. Department of the Interior; > the U.S. Forest Service under the U.S. Department of Agriculture; > Federal Air Marshals under the U.S. Department of Transportation; and > the recently formed Airport Security Service. In all, police and > detectives held about 834,000 jobs in 2000, according to the U.S. > Department of Labor. About 80 percent were employed by local > governments. State police agencies employed another 13 percent, and > various federal agencies employed a further 6 percent. > In addition to the above-mentioned local and federal > formations, there are other well-armed security forces that > supplement government law enforcement in the United States (as in > Russia): private security forces. They are not only Pinkerton Guards > in armored cars or security guards at the gates of adult communities > in Florida -- there are hundreds of thousands of men and women who > guard federal prisons or buildings in Washington, D.C., or are used > by commercial entities for sundry guard and security duties. > In Russia, there are some 500,000 well-armed men, many of > them former members of elite Soviet Army units like the Spetznaz or > the former KGB, who were recruited into better-paid jobs after the > collapse of the Soviet Union. They were recruited to protect, among > other clients, companies with dubious reputations -- some of which > were subject to "hostile takeovers" by competitors. Today, the 15,000 > registered private-security companies in Russia employ more people > then the German Bundeswehr, the largest army in Europe. > In his presentation entitled "Security and Rule-Enforcement > in Russian Business: The Role of the 'Mafia' and the State" > and available on the Harvard University website > (http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~ponars/POLICY%20MEMOS/Volkov79.html), > Vadim Volkov explained the rise of these private protectors of the > new capitalist order in Russia: > "As the speed of liberalization was greater than that of > institution building, the emerging markets spontaneously developed > alternative mechanisms of protection and enforcement. These involved > various private groups and agencies that managed organized force: > criminal groups, private protection companies, informal groups of > state security employees, and various semi-autonomous armed > formations attached to the state "power" ministries. In the mid-1990s > up to 70% of all contracts were enforced without any participation > from state organs." > Volkov shows that after the adoption in March 1992 of the > "Law On Private Protection and Detective Activity in the Russian > Federation," "legal private protection companies -- set up by former > state security and enforcement employees -- entered into direct > competition with criminal groups in the market of private protection > and enforcement." > What had earlier been the realm of criminal gangs selling > protection to newly established companies was thus legalized, and > scores of private-detective and security firms were formed to perform > such duties. Among the new firms were former criminal gangs who now > had the opportunity to continue doing what they had always done but > without the dangers involved of breaking the law. The money they > earned was no less, and in some cases was more, than prior to the new > law. The new security firms offered the following services: > * Property-guarding services > * Transportation-security services > * Executive and VIP protection > * Physical-security personnel > * Investigative services > * Cash-in-transit services > * Operation and maintenance of facilities > * Protection of information and files administration > * Consulting services > * Correctional services > According to the U.S. Embassy in Moscow in a report issued in > 1999 (http://www.mac.doc.gov/BISNIS), the following prices were > considered average: > * "physical protection of locations: $3/hour per one post per > one licensed guard, unarmed > * physical protection of locations: $6/hour per one post per > one licensed guard, armed > * physical protection of locations from crime/terrorism > threat: $10/hour > * personal physical protection services: $10-15/hour per one > bodyguard > * VIP escort: $6-15/hour per one body guard; $9-20/hour per > driver-guard; and $20/hour per VIP vehicle > * transportation of valuables: $100/hour (complete range of > services) > * freight escort: $8/hour plus $2/hour for the guard's > commute > * vehicle escort with a driver: $16/hour > Discounts: In general, there are two types of discounts. One > is based on the number of guards hired (3 percent per guard) and > another is an advance-payment discount (15 percent for three-month > prepayment)." > The U.S. Embassy meanwhile provides the following advice for > prospective clients of these security firms: > "Examine the agency's licenses, and pay attention to the > license expiration date. Normally, licenses are granted for three > years, and after this period they are extended for another five > years. Find out if the agency is able to provide you with licensed > security guards. Russian licensing bodies require all private > security agencies' personnel to have individual licenses. > According to Moscow standards, a security agency with about 50 > licensed security guards is small, from 50 to 100 guards -- medium, > and over 100 guards -- large." > The seedy side of private security in Russia was recently > highlighted in an article in "Komsomolskaya pravda" on 10 December: > "The recently conducted police Operation Shield 2002 closed down 134 > private security firms. Administrative sanctions were applied to 959 > security guards and criminal sanctions to 89. During the operation, > 23,000 firearms were confiscated, of which 5,800 were taken from > private security firms. > The paper continued: "In general, somehow without noticing it > ourselves, we have created a well-armed and trained parallel army, > whose numbers exceed those of the Federal Security Service and the > Federal Border Guard Service taken together. We have raised it and > have finally got the wind up. And the private security firms are now > taking the enforcers themselves under guard." -- ----------------- R. A. Hettinga <mailto: [EMAIL PROTECTED]> The Internet Bearer Underwriting Corporation <http://www.ibuc.com/> 44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA "... however it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity, [predicting the end of the world] has not been found agreeable to experience." -- Edward Gibbon, 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'
