MOSCOW, February 1 (AVN) - Major-General Alexander Gurov, chairman of the State Duma security committee, said on Tuesday the status of private security agencies should be improved in order to boost effectiveness of anti-criminal measures.
"In the 10 years of market economy in Russia, the state has failed to guarantee security of business," Gurov told reporters. As a result, businessmen have to hire criminal protection or work under criminals' pressure, he said.
Only private security agencies can change the situation, Gurov claimed. Their role should not be limited to protection of companies and individuals, they can play an important part in combating crime in general, the chairman said.
However "the legal status of private security agencies must be improved and their interaction with law-enforcement agencies should be moved to a higher level" in order to achieve these aims, Gurov stressed. According to him, about a million people are currently working in the private security system and another million in adjacent bodies.
"Private security companies are assistants, not obstacles to state law-enforcement agencies," Gurov noted.