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In a new effort to crack down on crime in the capital, the Moscow police have begun using agents from private agencies to patrol the streets together with regular police, a spokesman for the city police said Wednesday.
Vladimir Golubev, head of the department in charge of the private detective agencies, said the move was caused by a "tense criminal situation in the city" and an urgent necessity to strengthen regular squads with qualified officers.
"Everybody knows how dangerous it became to appear on the streets in some parts of the city. Police now have no help from the people. In Soviet times there were special "druzhinniki" squads, that is volunteers from factories and plants.
"They were not very skillful, but in any case it was at least some help for the police from people. After this system collapsed nothing was left. So the idea to use private detectives arose quite in time," he said. The majority of the private agents are former police or army officers and were very enthusiastic about the proposal to help their former colleagues, according to Golubev.
In the first 24-hour operation, carried out all over Moscow at the beginning of December, 458 private detectives took part. According to the official results, 2,870 suspects were detained during the operation, 71 crimes were prevented and 200 firearms confiscated.
A similar operation will be carried out in January, Golubev said.
"This cooperation is profitable for both sides. All private detective agencies are interested in having a good businesslike relationship with the police and the police are happy to have qualified officers. This cooperation is regulated by special contracts between private agencies and the local police stations. "The local police either pay the agencies directly or help them with taxes or other advantages," said Golubev.
He said beyond the checks when they are licensed, no regular checks arecarried out on the firms involved.
Even if some were connected with gangs they wouldn't be interested in this. "It is a thankless job," he added.
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