Employees of private security enterprises (PSE) may be permitted to engage in monitoring of territories and protection of a municipal property, and employees of the departmental security can be forbidden to carry out commercial activities. Deputy Andrei Lugovoi introduced to the State Duma bills № 500378-6 “On amending the Federal Law “On private detective and security activities in the Russian Federation” (hereinafter – the bill № 500378-6), № 500338-6 “On amending certain legislative acts of the Russian Federation on issues of organization of local self-government in the Russian Federation” (hereinafter – the bill № 500338-6) and № 500359-6 “On amending The Federal Law “On the departmental security” (hereinafter – the bill № 500359-6).
Currently, Art.12 of the Federal Law of March 11th, 1992 № 2487-1 “On private detective and security activities in the Russian Federation” (hereinafter – the law № 2487-1) states that employees of PSEs are forbidden to use methods of investigation. The bill № 500378-6 proposes to include a note in the article: the guards will be prohibited to use methods of investigation, except observing the entrusted territory (including the use of technical means). The explanatory note to the document states that it will allow protecting the guarded objects against terrorists effectively.
The Bill № 500338-6 states on amending the same law № 2487-1, and the Federal law of October 6th, 2003 № 131-FZ “On general principles of organizing local self-government in the Russian Federation”. According to the proposed amendments, employees of PSEs will get the right to protect the objects of a municipal property. According to the explanatory note to the bill, now the municipal authorities are not able to perform the function for protection of order (as the municipal policy is eliminated). Municipalities are forced to involve Cossacks and militias in this activity. According to Lugovoi, it would be better, if they could involve employees of PSEs.
According to the Bill № 500359-6, several references to the fact that the departmental security has the right to engage in commercial activities (i.e. for money to carry on duty at the facilities, unrelated to the head office) should be eliminated.
The explanatory note to the bill states that 13 authorities have the right to create the departmental security, 11 of them used that right. The total number of the departmental securities in the RF is now more than 212 thousand employees. According to Lugovoi, this kind of security in fact has lost its original meaning and become one of the subjects of the market of security services (of 46 176 objects, where the departmental security is on duty, only 10 834 objects are the state property). At the same time, departmental guards, with more powers, have advantages over competitors from PSEs.
Lugovoi thinks that because of the commercialization of the departmental security it is implemented unfair competition in the market of security services, and it creates the potential for corruption in the authorities, which have a deal with security.
On the necessity of reducing the share of the state participation in the market of security services was announced at the round table of the “Practice of application of the antimonopoly legislation in the field of security services”, held in the Public Chamber in December, 2013. However, some participants of the round table said that the police is also needed to take away the right of protecting private objects on a contractual basis (p.25 Art.12 of the Federal law of February 7th, 2011 № 3-FZ “On the police”). According to experts, police officers, as well as departmental guards, participate in unfair competition. The police representatives, who attended the event, rejected the accusations.