Department security in Russia

Departmental security in Russia (Russian: Ведомственная охрана) is a type of specialized state and non-state industry and departmental armed units similar to security police, designed to protect buildings, structures, facilities, adjacent territories and water areas, vehicles, as well as cargo, including during their transportation, cash and other property from illegal encroachments and fires. They have the right to use combat and service firearms, as well as special means (service dogs, handcuffs, rubber truncheons, means of stopping vehicles). Officials of the state departmental security (created by federal government agencies) have the right to draw up protocols on administrative offenses, carry out personal searches, searches of things in the possession of an individual, searches of vehicles and other procedural actions established by the Code of the Russian Federation on Administrative Offenses. The main position of employees of the departmental security of federal government agencies is "Shooter" (Russian: Стрелок) and "Controller" (Russian: Контролёр). In the period from 1918 to 1999, in the Soviet Union and following its dissolution in Russia, a number of state ministries, organizations, institutions, industrial and transport enterprises, and military units had the right to independently protect property, for which purpose civilian employees were included in the staff who guarded important objects and cargo, including those with firearms, hence the name Departmental paramilitary security (VOKhR). Since 1999, in connection with the liquidation of the paramilitary security system and the publication of Federal Law No. 77-FZ of April 14, 1999 "On Departmental Security", the name "departmental security" has been used in the Russian Federation. Unlike paramilitary security, departmental security is not a paramilitary formation.