Derzhavna Sluzhba Okhorony (DSO)
State Security Service
The state originally created a separate self-supporting and self-financing security department at the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Derzhavna Sluzhba Okhorony (DSO - in literal translation: State Security Service, but not to be mixed up with the secret agents' service a la the CIA or the KGB). Now the DSO is quite a powerful organization with many branches even in the smaller towns of Ukraine. It provides the security for about a hundred thousand offices, companies, stores, homes, etc., and pays almost 70 million hryvnyas in taxes to the state budget. DSO guards are officially allowed to carry firearms, and in the Ukraine of today, with the high crime rate, this can make all the difference. The DSO will pay an indemnity in a case where a customer suffers a loss in spite of their protection.
In addition to the state-run DOS there are hundreds of private security companies. Many private businesses do not want to have anything to do with the militsiya state police so they either set up their own security or turn to private security companies.
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
