How private detectives work in Ukraine.

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How private detectives work in Ukraine
Ukraine is one of the few countries in Europe where the activities of private detectives are illegal. Focus figured out how the market works with an annual turnover of millions of dollars.

Private investigators in our country work under the guise of security or information-analytical agencies. For investigations, they often hide behind journalist IDs. In general, they use the principle of "what is not prohibited is allowed."

“People have complete distrust of the law enforcement system,” says Oleg Malofeev, detective of Sheriff Security Holding. - When they turn to the authorities and see inaction and lack of professionalism, they come to us. Big businessmen often rely on themselves, but do not understand that the head of their security service works only within the framework of their authority. We have to deal with non-standard cases.

Most often, customers are asked to monitor people, find fraudsters, check a polygraph, track down missing persons, and investigate the thefts at enterprises. Prices for such services vary greatly: from several thousand hryvnias per file and verification of a person on a lie detector when hiring up to tens of thousands of dollars for an investigation.

One of the most popular services is outdoor surveillance. Her order is straightforward. "We allocate a crew (a car and two people), we conduct observation to the door," Focus in one of the capital's detective agencies. “Only in court, you won’t be able to use these data, unless someone from your acquaintances claims to have seen and removed it.” Private detectives require about $ 30-50 per hour for surveillance.

Where the private investigator lacks authority, communications are used. The fact is that most detectives previously worked in law enforcement agencies, therefore, for the client’s money, they easily agree with the current police officers on the provision of specific services. So, at the request Focus to find a stolen car in one of the capital's detective agencies, they said that they themselves do not deal with such things, but for a fee they will drive up to the police station, where they will convince the search to find the loss.

- Private detectives use corrupt links in mid-level police. There they pour the necessary information, - Alexander Krasnoperov, chief editor of the specialized magazine Security UA, tells about the specifics of such work. - It can be anything: from personal information about a person to serious things like taking information from communication channels. So the money ultimately goes to the police anyway.

I believe - I do not believe. Polygraph testing is the most popular service of private detectives when hiring people

Black services
The use of miniature voice recorders, video cameras, bugs, network traffic interceptors by private detectives is strictly prohibited in Ukraine. However, they still provide such services. Having come up with a legend that a delicate accounting information leaked in the company, correspondent Focus disguised as a businessman, he turned to several detective agencies for help. The task is to find the one who merges information to competitors. Most agencies suggested checking the office for bugs at a price of $ 10–20 per square meter. But only a few agreed to establish a wiretap, immediately declaring that it was illegal. However, money works wonders.

“We’ll organize a check by phone number of everyone the person has contacted over the past six months,” said private Kiev detective Vladimir. - We will find out the identity of subscribers, up to photos, dossiers, locations. It will cost $ 1 thousand - $ 1.5 thousand. But wiretapping of the phone - plus $ 700 per day.

Private detectives also have a discount system. If the wiretap lasts for five days or more, the price of the issue is almost halved, to $ 400 per day.

“You understand that it’s illegal, because the price is the same,” Vladimir explains.

Dealers work according to several well-established schemes. For example, they install special software on the telephone of the object or, in the office where it works, place a miniature mobile communication base station, within the radius of which all phones are automatically connected to it. So attackers gain access to everything that is transmitted through the smartphones of subscribers. It is not without corruption in the security services. Through them, private detectives receive all the subscriber’s metadata: call duration, time, location of subscribers, IMEI phones that the object was connected to. In law enforcement, detectives buy such bases for $ 350–500, and they sell to customers several times more expensive. To do this in the conditions of a permanent ATO in the east of the country has become much easier.

- Operatives in the anti-terrorist operation zone have the authority to request logs of phone numbers for the fight against terrorism, - discloses Focus subtleties of a private investigation one of the detectives. - They need to quickly work out the ties of the suspects, because the involvement in the essence of the matter of all the requested numbers is not always checked. As a result, he sends not only the phone numbers that he needs at work, but adds several numbers from the detective to the list.

Such black schemes are also used to protect against wiretapping. In one of the capital's detective agencies Focus told the story of a businessman who suspected his own partner of surveillance. He was sure that all his meetings were recorded, but several special visual checks did not give results. To finally verify the security of the office, the businessman, through a private detective, ordered access to the smartphone of his business partner in the Ukrainian special services. Suspicions were justified, and detectives found a camouflaged camera from the images transmitted to the smartphone from the office.

Out of the shadows

Attempts to regulate the work of private detectives in Ukraine have been undertaken for a decade. In April of this year, parliament still passed the Law on Private Detective Activity. However, he was vetoed by the president. According to Sergey Senik, vice president of the All-Ukrainian Association of Private Detectives, two points have become a stumbling block: what should be the formation of a private detective and who will regulate his activities.

“The deputies insisted on compulsory legal education,” he says. “This puts many private detectives in the shadow who have been working in the private security market for a long time and pay considerable taxes to the state budget.” Basically, these are former law enforcement officers or talented self-taught who have specialized education, but do not have a legal education. After such a law comes into force, they will be forced to go underground.

One of the most active participants in the discussion of this law, MP Andrei Teteruk believes that a person with any background can work as a private investigator. But even without this norm, he says, the law is necessary.

“It may not be perfect,” Teteruk explains, “but now it’s important to legalize the industry.” She works in the shadow sector. There is no conflict between operational-search activity and private detective activity; they operate in different fields. But the new law will only increase security. For example, if a citizen is in jail, how can he collect evidence of his innocence? It is here that detectives can come to the rescue.

With one eye. The customer will have to pay a private detective $ 30-50 per hour for outdoor surveillance
An important innovation of the law vetted by the head of state is that the information collected by detectives can be used in courts. As for the agency that should regulate the activities of private detectives, detectives are categorical here: they don’t want to be under the hood at the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Otherwise, corruption cannot be avoided.

“The practice of public control of such specialists is widespread throughout the world,” says Sergey Senik. - For example, in Los Angeles, the Department of Agriculture issues licenses for detective work, the police have nothing to do with them.

In the Ministry of Internal Affairs itself, they do not see the fundamental difference who will be given the authority to control private detectives. "Our ministry is not opposed to the Ministry of Justice doing this. Which law will be adopted will be implemented," he said. Focus Interior Ministry Speaker Artyom Shevchenko.

Now the parliamentarians have two options: to give 300 votes for the law already voted, thereby overcoming the veto of the president, or to take into account the proposals of the head of state. In any case, the legalization of private detectives is needed, because Ukrainians should be able to choose who to trust their security. The main thing is that in an effort to regulate this already gray industry, the state did not push it completely beyond the bounds of the law.

Search in gray. How private detectives work in Ukraine - FOCUS

 

[Арсен]

In no republic of the former Soviet space do detectives work normally !!!

 

[Детектив-Молдова]

Everywhere they look at this activity with apprehension. In detective activity they see "espionage activity", therefore they will never be given wide powers.
Only within, like, find out what I did yesterday, if I let you do this ...

 

[Симферополь]

By the way, a pretty good draft law if someone read.