Linear department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for water transport. Reform in action: water police

From an interview with an ATC officer on the IVT website The Village.

What is water police

Now I work in the linear department of water transport, we are called the water police. Although in fact there are no people in Russia who can be considered water police. There are ordinary police officers who simply arrive at the scene of an incident on a boat with a navigator, simply a mechanic. In fact, they don’t care where to deal with corpses and drunks - on land or on water.

The water police are a farce. Our police station has two mechanics on staff, and their territory covers more than 100 square kilometers. What can they do to ensure safety? No way. We have a catastrophic shortage of personnel, people are not doing their job, for example, I have to be on duty on land, like an ordinary PPS employee, due to the fact that one is on vacation, and the other has broken his arm.

In Russia there is a State Inspectorate for Small Vessels (the length of which is less than 20 meters and a capacity of less than 12 people) - a special service under the Ministry of Emergency Situations, which regulates the movement of water transport, checking documents and observing safety regulations - in a word, this is the water traffic police. The State River Shipping Inspectorate does the same thing, but with regards to large vessels (cruise ships, motor ships, barges, etc.).


The water police do not do this: we simply do not have such powers. And the stories that are broadcast on federal channels about the water police are window dressing. During each visit of journalists, our superiors arrange demonstrations with hostage-taking and other nonsense, but all this is just a picture for television. They said on Moskva24 that our boats reach speeds of up to 100 kilometers per hour - this is simply ridiculous. And in TV stories, all the structures are lumped together: GIMS, and the shippers, and us. This is why the image of the “cool water police” is created. Although in fact the water police are motorists.

Navigation begins at the end of April and ends at the beginning of November. Before the opening of the season, you need to prepare the boat, launch it and drive it from the parking lot to the base. The first half of May, as a rule, is spent on duty on the water - it is necessary to ensure safety during the holidays. Usually we stand on the boat near the embankment and make sure that no one jumps off. In June we work on final bells and graduations. Drunk schoolchildren fall into the water all the time. Several times we had to accompany the ships so that no one would row.

If there is an order, I go on the route. Most often you have to watch under bridges. And sometimes you can sit without work all day. When the top officials of the state travel along the highway, boats are always placed on the nearest river under the bridges on both sides of the bank. Each boat has one mechanic. Sometimes we need to completely block navigation, then we place two boats across the river. To be honest, I don’t understand what the point is in these watches under the bridges, because at the top all the embankments and ramps to the river are blocked - no one can get there. The most interesting thing is that we are never given instructions or explained anything. If some emergency happens, I don’t know what to do.

Sometimes we patrol the river. The patrol group consists of a mechanic and two or three security officers (employees of the patrol service - editor's note). Officially we are engaged in the protection of public order on the water, but I don’t know what that means. Our area of ​​​​responsibility is an imaginary straight line in the middle of the river, which is called a ship channel - ships are required to move along it. But the powers of the water police are extremely modest. We can neither check the documents of ships, nor fine the owners, nor deal with disturbances on the shore.

If a fight happens on the ship, we are obliged to intervene. However, the water police do not have the right to detain people, so we will have to wait until the investigative team arrives in a car. If we find a corpse in the river, then we also need to call the operatives. In general, visiting a corpse is one of the most popular tasks. On average, one body is found on our territory per month. By the way, I noticed that if the summer is hot, then the bodies emerge after three to four days, and if the summer is cold, then after five to seven.

Previously, before the department was reformed in 2011, it was more interesting to work. Our boss wasn't afraid to take the initiative and let us do the things that really mattered. For example, we caught the owners of a ship who were involved in the illegal transportation of people. We also regularly made control purchases of fuel at yacht ports. They drove up on a hydro scooter with empty cans and bought gasoline at gas stations that did not have a sales license.

I also remember that we checked dredgers (vessels of the technical fleet that extract construction materials - editor's note) that were illegally extracting sand from the shore. And in the last few years, under the new management, no one is doing such work.

Now the Ministry of Internal Affairs boat performs an exclusively preventive role. We go with beacons, so everyone sees us - they get scared and begin to follow the rules of navigation. Sometimes I tell violators over the radio: “Slow down, you can’t go like that here.” Some don't even listen because they know we have no rights.

What happens in winter

The word that can describe work in winter is wilderness. What to do if the boats are stationary? I'm either on duty at the post - guarding the territory, or preparing the boat for spring. Previously, the approach to boat maintenance was better: I was called several months before the start of navigation, I prepared the boat at a calm pace: removed old paint, made minor repairs, and so on.

And now everything is in vain: “Ah-ah, tomorrow there’s navigation, we’re urgently preparing the boat.” Last year, they didn’t do anything at all: the boat stood in the ship’s dock from autumn to spring (a structure for repairing and storing ships - editor’s note), then it was launched into the water, and it was done. You can’t do that, you have to take care of it, otherwise it will break. There is a certain algorithm of actions (drain the water from the boat and engine, drain the old oil, fill in new oil and other technical work) when preserving the boat during the non-navigation period. But in the last two years it has not been implemented. What do I care, this is a state boat, and the head of the department is responsible for it.

I’ll tell you about another case, also from last year. Usually the boat is driven to the parking lot in October, but the last time the management said this was only in November. November is very late: the ice has already risen. As a result, I spent four hours in a cold boat, it was snowing, and the stove, which I have been asking to be repaired for the fourth year, naturally did not work.

How to get to the water police

To obtain a specialty, you need to attend six-month training camps. I returned from the army at the beginning of the 2000s. There was not much work, and near my house there are many locks, where at that time a police battalion was working to protect hydraulic structures. I was satisfied with their schedule - every three days, and the work was quite stable. I successfully passed the medical examination, but a positive answer came to me only six months later, when I was already working in another place.

Preparation for the profession began at nine in the morning and ended at six in the evening, but there were no water specifics: we, like ordinary police officers, studied the tactics of maintaining public order, the criminal code, learned sambo, disassembling and assembling service weapons and shooting from them. I trained as a policeman in the battalion for the protection of hydraulic structures (dams, locks and hydroelectric power stations) of the Moscow Canal.

Four years later I trained as a navigator. The training proceeded as follows: I was given swimming rules, exam tickets and given three days to prepare. On the fourth day I already received my boat license. To my question: “What about practical classes?” - They told me that I would learn everything on the water.

My position is called a police motorist, but in fact I am not a policeman, but only a cab driver, that is, I stood at the helm and delivered police officers to the scene of the incident. I was not even given a firearm, only a rubber stick. This was the case until the restructuring in 2011, when motorists were equated with security officers and were allowed to carry service pistols.

Work schedule and salary

Previously, I worked every other day, and on weekends it was possible to earn extra money elsewhere. Now I’m working two days later, and I’m not at all up to a second job: my wife is already unhappy that I’m not at home. After all, I can be called to work absolutely any day. For example, if a unit conducts training exercises, all employees must be present. Almost the entire department works Monday through Friday, so I often have a day off when they have a working day. They can’t call another mechanic, because he’s on duty and can’t be pulled, then I have to work. I don't get paid a damn thing for this overtime. Not a damn thing.

The average salary of a police sergeant in Moscow is 47 thousand rubles. And with 15 years of service, I get 32 ​​thousand. Is this a normal salary? That’s why Muscovites, mostly visitors, haven’t been working for us for a long time. Nobody wants to take such a job, it’s a waste of time, many of our employees will retire soon, and I don’t know who will work.

Problems

The operating principle of the water police is as follows: “If there is gasoline, we work, if there is no gasoline, we don’t work.” Every month we are allocated a certain amount of gasoline, but due to constant trips, it often runs out ahead of time. In this case, the management writes a paper to allocate additional funds for the purchase. Money may or may not be sent. The second option happens quite often. As a result, the boat is idle, and the police approach the river from the shore in a car.

Until recently, my bosses stole money allocated for the purchase of fuel. Officially, we bought 95-grade gasoline, and management bought 80-grade or, at best, 92-grade gasoline, which are much cheaper and worse. Our boats have good imported engines, but due to poor fuel they often failed. In 2010, we switched to paying with special fuel cards, and this problem seems to have gone away. Although, maybe now bosses in higher positions are involved in fraud.

I'm currently working on a new Mercury boat. In his technical book it is written in black and white that every 100 engine hours, or once a year, the boat must undergo maintenance. Over the last season, the Mercury spent 130 hours, and it has been in operation for more than a year, but the boss doesn’t care, he is not going to take the boat for maintenance.

If a boat breaks down, I have no right to fix it, at most I can check the oil. This happens because we have signed an agreement with a service that repairs boats. But this service usually works poorly: they return the boat from repair to us, and the next day something falls off again.

They say that in 2018 the water police will be abolished. Soon the Confederations Cup will take place, then the World Cup, then we will elect Vovka, and then they will disperse us to hell. Still, the water police are of little use. I believe that it is necessary to create a unified water police service that will deal with everything at once: crimes, speed control, and document verification. This, by the way, was the case in the Soviet Union.

From time to time I have thoughts of quitting, but I still don’t want to leave the service to which I devoted 15 years. In addition, after 20 years of service in the police, you can retire, which means I only have five years left to endure. Then I can go to a normal job - for example, work as a captain's mate in shipping. I don’t think that at 40 years old it will be a problem for me to find a good job.

Every year at the end of April, the Department of Internal Affairs for Water Transport organizes a colorful show dedicated to the opening of navigation on the Moscow River. Traditions are generally great. I was at the same event two years ago, and now I can compare what has changed during this time. First of all - my photographs. Well, the police were renamed the police.

1. Of course, there are many more changes. First of all, there was the sun. And the water-jet boat Transal appeared on the pier; I would love to take a river trip on this from Tver to Astrakhan.

2. Secondly, the abandoned buildings of the Glavmosstroy village were demolished, all but one. From which they turned it into a training base for police officers.

3. Thirdly, there were so many journalists this time that everyone got in each other’s way. In 2009, almost no one came.

4. And everything was beautiful and wonderful.

5. First, a ceremonial formation of employees of the line department at Moscow water transport.

6. Congratulations and parting speeches from the ministry and from the management of the department.

7.

8. Old acquaintances also met.

9. Riot police officers prepared a short demonstration performance.

10. The plot is like this. Several gopniks with bats and pistols (in traditional tracksuits) captured this very pleasure boat Transal.

11. The scoundrels do not yet know that they have already been picked up.

12. Weapons, as always, are real. But loaded with blanks.

13. Bang! A flashbang explodes, the villains are confused. After two seconds, the criminals are neutralized. “Lie down, riot police are working!” Gopnik is lying down, although for some reason he didn’t throw the gun away.

14.

15. The show was interesting, I liked it. It's a pity, such things are always very dynamic and end quickly. By the way, “criminals” also serve in this department. Traditionally, the role of villains is always played by new recruits.

16. The police themselves enjoyed watching this mini-performance of their colleagues. Some of them, however, were embarrassed to be photographed.

17. The boat parade has begun. Colleagues from the Ministry of Emergency Situations, on the other side of Moscow, also came out to look.

18. Meanwhile, bloggers wrote something on Twitter.

19. Or looked at pictures that had already been shot.

20. All boats were prepared for the arrival of journalists and their stickers were changed.

21. I’ll be honest - if a boat with the inscription “police” is cool, then the UAZ “booze” with the inscription “POLICE” does not look at all. Mr. President, amend the law: Soviet cars - dead sixes, nines, tens and UAZs - need to be urgently thrown out and replaced with normal cars. At least for the same Focuses.

22.

23.

24. And then we took a little ride on a police boat.

25.

26.

27.

28.

29. People were sunbathing and rejoicing as we passed. The policemen smiled back at them. It would always be like this.

30. And I’m going to soon spend the whole day with the river police officers and prepare a detailed report on their service.

There's just one problem left. I have a LJ tag “Police”, where reports on the work of law enforcement agencies are collected. What should I do with it - leave it as it is, or rename it too?

By transporting industrial and agricultural products, as well as passengers, transport plays an extremely important socio-economic and defense role in the state. The existing order in transport, the safety of passengers, the safety of property, and ultimately the efficiency of the national economic complex largely depend on the quality of transport services. He, as a source of increased public danger, is subject to special requirements.

The conditions for the exclusivity of transport, the specifics of its functioning in different conditions, the unity of management and ensuring security and public order, as well as other factors, required the creation of a river police in 1918.

The characteristics of the activities of internal affairs bodies in transport (OVDT) are influenced by many factors and conditions (political, economic, socio-cultural, legal, demographic, technical, technological, etc.). A serious influence is exerted by: the specifics of the functioning of transport and its management system, the characteristics of operational service facilities, their geographical and other location, length; migration and population density in transport junction areas; proximity to large industrial and economic centers; level, state and dynamics of offenses and crimes and much more.

Since March 2004, OVDT has been servicing the facilities of the Federal Agencies of Air, Rail, Sea and River Transport of the Ministry of Transport and Communications of the Russian Federation. Until this moment, these types of transport were independent.

The police departments in maritime and river transport, similarly to the internal affairs bodies in railway and air transport, are subject to general tasks, responsibilities and rights of the police, which are detailed in relation to the specific conditions of their activities. In particular, this is the protection of fish stocks and the fight against poaching on the water; protection of hydraulic structures.

OVDT implement their tasks by analyzing and assessing the operational situation, prepare and make management decisions, issue reviews and guidance, develop methodological recommendations and other provisions for improving the activities of bodies, units and police units.

The territories of operational service of ATS in river transport are characterized by their discrepancy with the administrative-territorial division, the passage of borders across the territory of several constituent entities of the Russian Federation and many local governments. Therefore, unlike territorial police departments, internal affairs bodies in transport are not directly subordinate to the corresponding heads of administration (mayors, prefects) at the local level; The public security police, financed from the federal budget, includes units of the police patrol service and units for juvenile affairs of internal affairs bodies in railway, water and air transport. For the transport police, office premises, equipment, communications, and information necessary to fight crime are provided free of charge by the relevant transport authorities. At the same time, the heads of territorial police departments are senior operational commanders in relation to the corresponding heads of transport police departments. The latter are part of the boards of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Main Internal Affairs Directorate, and the Internal Affairs Directorate of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation.

Servicing facilities for sea and river transport have their differences. Thus, as a general rule, the objects of air traffic control services in maritime transport include:

seaports (within the boundaries of protected areas intended for the processing of ships and cargo), carrying out passenger and cargo transportation, all enterprises and institutions located on their territory

Denia, organizations, as well as the shipping part of seaports;

stations and berths for servicing cargo and passenger ships within land allotments;

hydraulic structures with land allotments and navigation aids within the navigable part of seaports;

ships and other vessels, regardless of their home ports, located at the berths and water areas of ports (within the boundaries of the most remote hydraulic structures of the closed part of seaports), stations and other hydraulic structures located in the roadsteads of the water areas of sea ports;

places for storing and processing cargo in the territory of ports, stations, berths, regardless of departmental affiliation and form of ownership.

For individual UVDT, for example, the field of operational services of the Azov-Black Sea UVDT (according to the Charter), its subordinate bodies and divisions include in all areas of operational activities:

– the territories of the seaports of Anapa, Gelendzhik, Yeisk, Kavkaz, Novorossiysk, Sochi, Taganrog, Temryuk, Tuapse, port points and piers within the boundaries established by the legislation of the Russian Federation;

– water areas of the specified ports and port points (waters of seaports, including canals, internal and external roadsteads, shipping routes on the approaches to ports, included in the waters of the state and allocated to seaports), hydraulic structures of ports (berths and fences);

– enterprises, institutions and organizations, regardless of departmental affiliation and form of ownership, and their facilities located on the territory of the named ports;

– Russian ships and port vessels, regardless of their departmental affiliation, located at berths, in port waters, as well as in the area of ​​activity and responsibility of the maritime administrations of the ports of Novorossiysk, Taganrog, Temryuk and Tuapse.

On river transport - these are: river ports, berths and piers within land allotments, except for recreation centers and boat stations; territory of locks and other hydraulic structures protected by OVDT; points for specialized laying and repair of ships, shipbuilding and ship repair plants, protected by OVDT; the main navigation channel of the water area of ​​rivers and canals (the water space on the inland waterway, intended for the movement of ships and marked on the ground (map) - in relation to other ship passages in the given area, it is the main one), without taking into account the side tributaries on the main fairway; ships and other vessels intended for the transportation of passengers and cargo, except small ones (with an engine power of up to 75 hp or rowing vessels, regardless of their size); floating signs of ship's situation.

The extent and volume of operational service facilities for air traffic control can be seen in the example of the Moscow Air Traffic Control Department for air and water transport. Thus, the Linear Directorate of Internal Affairs for River Transport carries out the tasks of ensuring the protection of public order and public safety, as well as the fight against crime at river transport facilities of all forms of ownership located in the service area and in the water areas of the rivers: Moscow, Oka, Volga, Canal named after . Moscow.

The service section passes through the territory of Moscow, Moscow, Tver, Ryazan, Tula and Kaluga regions and has a total length of waterways of more than 1,400 km: the Moscow rivers (237 km), Oka (750 km), Volga (290 km), the Canal named after . Moscow (128 km – ten locks, five dams with 4 hydroelectric power stations, emergency gates ).

In the operational service area of ​​the Moscow Regional Department of Internal Affairs on river transport (RT) there are: 18 large objects with various forms of ownership; 10 river ports; 1000 passenger and cargo fleet units; 49 piers and moorings; 3 river stations; located 300 commercial organizations interacting with river transport enterprises; employed in the main production sector of river transport – 8000 people, in auxiliary – 2300 people

The protection of public order in the service area of ​​the local police department in the Republic of Tatarstan is provided by: the Line Management apparatus with three subordinate line police stations; 4 linear departments of internal affairs in river ports with 7 linear police stations subordinate to them; two separate battalions for the protection of hydraulic structures.

The structure of crime in the service area is mainly dominated by: violations of fishing rules ~ 30%; theft ~ 20%; assignment ~ 10%. Among the crimes within the competence of the MoB, Art. Art. 158, 160, 228, 256 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Among the administrative offenses are violations under Articles 20.1, 20.20, 20.21, 18.1, 19.15 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation.

In the economic sphere, in the fight against organized crime and crimes related to drug trafficking, registration and investigation are carried out according to other criteria.

Crew companies that hire sailors on foreign ships if they are located outside the territory of seaports are not objects of operational services for ATS in water transport (VT); islands located in the waters of ports, rivers and coastal waters; embankments in populated areas and cultural and social facilities located on them; beaches; shore signs of ship's situation; floating recreation centers; landing stages; small vessels; residential buildings, regardless of their location.

§ 2. System and structure of internal affairs bodies
on water transport

Of interest is the Azov-Black Sea Department of Internal Affairs for Transport of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, which was created in accordance with the Civil Code of the Russian Federation on the basis of an order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation.

The activities of this state institution are regulated by the Charter, which establishes the legal status, organization and procedure of its activities. In its organizational and legal form, it is a non-profit organization, a state institution created to exercise, within its powers, public administration in the field of ensuring the protection of life, health, rights and freedoms of citizens, property, interests of society and the state from criminal attacks.

It heads the system of internal affairs bodies in maritime transport on the coast of the Azov and Black Seas, which includes: linear departments and departments of internal affairs; other divisions, enterprises, institutions and organizations created in the prescribed manner to carry out the tasks facing the internal affairs bodies; staffing and regulations on structural units, enterprises, institutions and organizations subordinate to the Institution are developed on the basis of standards and staffing limits, approximate models established by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, and are approved by the head of the Institution. To achieve its goals and objectives, this institution carries out 29 types of activities.

§ 3. Features of organizing the protection of public order
at water transport facilities

The large length of OVDT service areas causes dispersal of forces and means of maintaining public order and ensuring transport safety. The remoteness of the detachments from each other, services and public order units makes it difficult to manage them and provide assistance.

The constant change of people using transport, their residence outside the operational service areas of the OVDT requires a quick response, urgent identification and communication with witnesses and other eyewitnesses, immediate adoption of measures to detain offenders who, using transport, can quickly hide and never appear in these places again . In such cases, decisions are made, as a rule, in very difficult situations in the absence of complete and reliable information. Persons without a fixed place of residence and minors visit transport facilities, as a rule, for the purpose of “travel” and to commit offenses. These and other circumstances are taken into account when organizing the protection of public order and ensuring public safety in water transport, which in the field of passenger transportation is somewhat similar to railway transport and is ensured by:

deployment of police squads in the buildings of sea and river terminals, at piers and other water transport transportation facilities;

escort of ships by police squads;

strengthening security on the approaches to large populated areas through barriers and other operational maneuver groups.

In water transport, passengers are transported by sea and river vessels of various speeds and capacities. As practice shows, in the summer, in water transport, the problem of organizing the fight against crime and maintaining public order on pleasure boats of suburban lines comes to the fore. The high efficiency of the work of squads at large transport hubs is facilitated by the organization of the work of special combat units to escort such vessels through their appropriate use, differentiated placement and operational management. For this reason, each OVDT carefully and comprehensively analyzes the situation, where and in what places violations of public order are most often committed. Then, taking into account the ship traffic schedule and the flow of passengers in each direction of the suburban area, options for escort routes are developed and permanent numbers are assigned to them, which makes it possible to quickly respond to changes in the operational situation. One copy of the route card is issued to the senior police officer, the second is located in the duty station to organize the work, and the third is kept in the public order department to monitor the work of the squads and the duty station.

The method of zonal shuttle escort of vessels is often used, ensuring the maximum involvement of employees of the services of these bodies and their periodic concentration in certain areas - zones that can be served by several OVDT and the provision of practical assistance to riot police and the patrol service of the UVDT. The priority of zone maintenance is determined by the corresponding work schedule.

The need for the rational use of forces and means of air traffic control and maneuvering them caused the use of this form of public order protection during peak hours of passenger transportation, on weekends and holidays, in places of mass public celebrations, as the work of “boarding groups”, which include transport workers , members of the voluntary people's squad and enterprise security services.

The tactics of the work of squads to escort ships differs significantly from serving at stations and piers, since it requires skills and abilities, as well as ensuring personal safety along the ship’s route, without the help of other police squads. Such a squad must be able to identify offenses and draw up materials about an administrative offense (take correct explanations, draw up a report, identify and provide facts with evidence, witnesses, victims); take measures to preserve traces, and, if necessary, confiscate things and objects on which they are found; identify transport security threats associated with the carriage of flammable, flammable, poisonous, explosive and noxious substances, objects and materials in hand luggage. Therefore, court escort squads are assigned to their most experienced police officers (if necessary, criminal police officers) consisting of at least 2 people. As with escorting trains and aircraft, they have schedules and route cards indicating the features of the security of the facility.

After receiving service weapons and special equipment, travel (travel) and other official documents, instructions, the squad upon arrival on the ship establishes contact with its captain, clarifies the situation and determines the procedure for its work at the berth when boarding passengers and during the departure of the ship. In the future, the work of the squad is structured in such a way that the escorted vessel is under constant surveillance at anchorages and during departure. In addition, the squad must select from among the passengers citizens who can and are capable of providing assistance in the event of a difficult operational situation. Moreover, the prevention of drunkenness, hooliganism and other offenses is impossible without close communication and reliance on the public, voluntary people's squads and other formations.

The search for persons hiding from court and investigation, those who have escaped, and also after committing a crime becomes much more difficult if it is not known from which ship and when the criminal got off (got off). At the same time, a long time passes until the moment when the OVDT becomes aware of the crime and the search for the criminals begins. Therefore, employees accompanying ships must have the ability to identify offenses and be able to work according to the signs of criminals.

Frequent crimes on ships include the taking of property, money, and other valuables of passengers, for which the criminals make acquaintances, choose the passengers' sleep time, or when the latter leave them unattended. Criminals often keep an eye on passengers on deck, in a buffet, in a restaurant, communicate and make acquaintances with transport workers and, at a convenient place and time, commit crimes, especially when there is a crowd of people during boarding and disembarking.

Along the route, the squad inspects possible hiding places for offenders (toilets, holds, etc.), establishes contact with the deck crew and other personnel of the ship and explains to them the tasks of maintaining public order, and, if necessary, monitoring individuals who raise suspicion by your behavior. The squad moves in such a way as to be able to maintain public order, prevent and suppress crime. At stops, he interacts with transport workers and employees of territorial police departments.

The effectiveness of the escort squad is ensured by timely, legal, bold and decisive actions, excluding the possibility of resistance by the criminal, concealment or destruction of objects and other material evidence. After such actions, the squad, together with the detainee, witnesses (if possible) and seized evidence, arrives at the nearest police department, if this is not possible, then to the territorial police department with an immediate report about this to their duty officer and superior.

The escort squad can leave the ship only in strictly defined cases: at the direction of the chief or duty officer, while suppressing crimes on the piers, when pursuing hiding criminals, when providing assistance to other police officers, when protecting the life and health of citizens, when security threats are identified in order to warnings (liquidation), according to the duty schedule and vessel escort, etc.

There are often special tasks of a ship escort squad (travel of special categories of citizens and government officials, escort of cargo, luggage, etc.), during which he is prohibited from leaving the ship until it arrives or is replaced by another squad. In such cases, the work schedule of the squad, the route of its escort, the composition of the squad and other conditions may change.

In the event of epidemics or epizootics, escort squads perform the functions of assisting sanitary and epidemiological authorities, veterinary and other inspections in carrying out measures to ensure the quarantine regime in certain zones and sections of transport.

During civil defense and emergency situations, the unit performs special functions of alerting personnel using various signals.

Detachment employees, being located at considerable distances from the location of the OVDT, require continuous monitoring of their work by the duty unit and the management of the unit. They are required to periodically report on their location, the state of public order protection and the progress of work to escort the ship, carry out preventive and investigative measures, using telephone or radio communications. Proceeding through intermediate ports and marinas where there are air traffic control departments, the senior squad leader informs the operational duty officer about the state of affairs along the escort route.

An important task today is to equip OVDT duty units and transport information services with means of identifying the telephone numbers of calling subscribers and with sound recording equipment. It is advisable to equip places where passengers gather in large numbers with surveillance systems, detectors and other technical means for detecting illegally transported items and substances, and inspecting baggage and hand luggage.

SECTION VII

State Security Inspectorate
traffic

As the weather gets warmer, people are drawn to the water: some go on a boat ride, others go fishing, and still others simply swim in the right and wrong places. The water police are responsible for order on the water, but little is known about their work. The Village spoke with a water police officer and found out what this structure actually does, how long it takes for a corpse to float up, what to do when the boat runs out of gas, and why the water police are a farce.

What is water police

Now I work in the linear department of water transport, we are called the water police. Although in fact there are no people in Russia who can be considered water police. There are ordinary police officers who simply arrive at the scene of an incident on a boat with a navigator, simply a mechanic. In fact, they don’t care where to deal with corpses and drunks - on land or on water.

The water police are a farce. Our police station has two mechanics on staff, and their territory covers more than 100 square kilometers. What can they do to ensure safety? No way. We are sorely short of personnel; people are minding their own business. For example, I have to be on duty on land, like an ordinary PPS employee, due to the fact that one is on vacation and the other has a broken arm.

In Russia there is a State Inspectorate for Small Vessels (the length of which is less than 20 meters and a capacity of less than 12 people) - a special service under the Ministry of Emergency Situations, which regulates the movement of water transport, checking documents and observing safety regulations - in a word, this is the water traffic police. The State River Shipping Inspectorate does the same thing, but with regards to large vessels (cruise ships, motor ships, barges, etc.).

The water police do not do this: we simply do not have such powers. And the stories that are broadcast on federal channels about the water police are window dressing. During each visit of journalists, our superiors arrange demonstrations with hostage-taking and other nonsense, but all this is just a picture for television. On Moscow 24 they said that our boats reach speeds of up to 100 kilometers per hour - this is simply ridiculous. And in the stories on TV, all the structures are lumped together: GIMS, and the shippers, and us. This is why the image of the “cool water police” is created. Although in fact the water police are motorists.

What does the water police do?

Navigation begins at the end of April and ends at the beginning of November. Before the opening of the season, you need to prepare the boat, launch it and drive it from the parking lot to the base. The first half of May, as a rule, is spent on duty on the water - it is necessary to ensure safety during the holidays. Usually we stand on the boat near the embankment and make sure that no one jumps off. In June we work on final bells and graduations. Drunk schoolchildren fall into the water all the time. Several times we had to accompany the ships so that no one would row.

If there is an order, I go on the route. Most often you have to watch under bridges. And sometimes you can sit without work all day. When the top officials of the state travel along the highway, boats are always placed on the nearest river under the bridges on both sides of the bank. Each boat has one mechanic. Sometimes we need to completely block navigation, then we place two boats across the river. To be honest, I don’t understand what the point is in these watches under the bridges, because at the top all the embankments and ramps to the river are blocked - no one can get there. The most interesting thing is that we are never given instructions or explained anything. If some emergency happens, I don’t know what to do.

Sometimes we patrol the river. The patrol group consists of a mechanic and two or three security officers (employees of the patrol service. - Ed.). Officially we are engaged in the protection of public order on the water, but I don’t know what that means. Our area of ​​​​responsibility is an imaginary straight line in the middle of the river, which is called a ship channel - ships are required to move along it. But the powers of the water police are extremely modest. We can neither check the documents of ships, nor fine the owners, nor deal with disturbances on the shore.

If there is a fight on the ship, we are obliged to intervene. However, the water police do not have the right to detain people, so we will have to wait until the investigative team arrives in a car. If we find a corpse in the river, then we also need to call the operatives. In general, visiting a corpse is one of the most popular tasks. On average, one body is found on our territory per month. By the way, I noticed that if the summer is hot, then the bodies emerge after three to four days, and if the summer is cold, then after five to seven.

Previously, before the department was reformed in 2011, it was more interesting to work. Our boss wasn't afraid to take the initiative and let us do the things that really mattered. For example, we caught the owners of a ship who were involved in the illegal transportation of people. We also regularly made control purchases of fuel at yacht ports. They drove up on a hydro scooter with empty cans and bought gasoline at gas stations that did not have a sales license.

I also remember we checked the dredgers (vessels of the technical fleet that are engaged in the extraction of construction materials. - Ed.) who illegally mined sand from the shore. And in the last few years, under the new management, no one is doing such work.

Now the Ministry of Internal Affairs boat performs an exclusively preventive role. We go with beacons, so everyone sees us - they get scared and begin to follow the rules of navigation. Sometimes I tell violators over the radio: “Slow down, you can’t go like that here.” Some don't even listen because they know we have no rights.

What happens in winter

The word that can describe work in winter is wilderness. What to do if the boats are stationary? I'm either on duty at the post - protecting the territory, or preparing the boat for spring. Previously, the approach to boat maintenance was better: I was called several months before the start of navigation, I prepared the boat at a calm pace: removed old paint, made minor repairs, and so on.

And now everything is in vain: “Ah-ah, tomorrow there’s navigation, we’re urgently preparing the boat.” Last year they did nothing at all: the boat sat in the ship's dock from autumn to spring (a structure for the repair and storage of ships. - Ed.), then they launched it into the water, and it was done. You can’t do that, you have to take care of it, otherwise it will break. There is a certain algorithm of actions (drain the water from the boat and engine, drain the old oil, fill in new oil and other technical work) when preserving the boat during the non-navigation period. But in the last two years it has not been implemented. What do I care, this is a state boat, and the head of the department is responsible for it.

I’ll tell you about another case, also from last year. Usually the boat is driven to the parking lot in October, but the last time the management said this was only in November. November is very late: the ice has already risen. As a result, I spent four hours in a cold boat, it was snowing, and the stove, which I have been asking to be repaired for the fourth year, naturally did not work.

How to get to the water police

To obtain a specialty, you need to attend six-month training camps. I returned from the army at the beginning of the 2000s. There was not much work, and near my house there are many locks, where at that time a police battalion was working to protect hydraulic structures. I was satisfied with their schedule - every three days, and the work was quite stable. I successfully passed the medical examination, but a positive answer came to me only six months later, when I was already working in another place.

Preparation for the profession began at nine in the morning and ended at six in the evening, but there were no water specifics: we, like ordinary police officers, studied the tactics of maintaining public order, the Criminal Code, learned sambo, disassembling and assembling service weapons and shooting from them. I trained as a policeman in a battalion for the protection of hydraulic structures (dams, locks and hydroelectric power stations) on the Moscow Canal.

Four years later I trained as a navigator. The training proceeded as follows: I was given swimming rules, exam tickets and given three days to prepare. On the fourth day I already received my boat license. To my question: “What about practical classes?” - They told me that I would learn everything on the water.

My position is called a police motorist, but in fact I am not a policeman, but only a cab driver, that is, I stood at the helm and delivered police officers to the scene of the incident. I was not even given a firearm, only a rubber stick. This was the case until the restructuring in 2011, when motorists were equated with security officers and were allowed to carry service pistols.

Work schedule and salary

Previously, I worked every other day, and on weekends it was possible to earn extra money elsewhere. Now I’m working two days later, and I’m not at all up to a second job: my wife is already unhappy that I’m not at home. After all, I can be called to work absolutely any day. For example, if a unit conducts training exercises, all employees must be present. Almost the entire department works Monday through Friday, so I often have a day off when they have a working day. They can’t call another mechanic, because he’s on duty and can’t be pulled, then I have to work. I don't get paid a damn thing for this overtime. Not a damn thing.

The average salary of a police sergeant in Moscow is 47 thousand rubles. And with 15 years of service, I get 32 ​​thousand. Is this a normal salary? That’s why Muscovites, mostly visitors, haven’t been working for us for a long time. Nobody wants to take such a job, it’s a waste of time, many of our employees will retire soon, and I don’t know who will work.

Problems

The operating principle of the water police is as follows: “If there is gasoline, we work, if there is no gasoline, we don’t work.” Every month we are allocated a certain amount of gasoline, but due to constant trips, it often runs out ahead of time. In this case, the management writes a paper to allocate additional funds for the purchase. Money may or may not be sent. The second option happens quite often. As a result, the boat is idle, and the police approach the river from the shore in a car.

Until recently, my bosses stole money allocated for the purchase of fuel. Officially, we bought 95-grade gasoline, and management bought 80-grade or, at best, 92-grade gasoline, which are much cheaper and worse. Our boats have good imported engines, but due to poor fuel they often failed. In 2010, we switched to paying with special fuel cards, and this problem seems to have gone away. Although, maybe now bosses in higher positions are involved in fraud.

I'm currently working on a new Mercury boat. In his technical book it is written in black and white that every 100 engine hours, or once a year, the boat must undergo maintenance. Over the last season, the Mercury spent 130 hours, and it has been in operation for more than a year, but the boss doesn’t care, he is not going to take the boat for maintenance.

If a boat breaks down, I have no right to fix it, at most I can check the oil. This happens because we have signed an agreement with a service that repairs boats. But this service usually works poorly: they return the boat from repair to us, and the next day something falls off again.

They say that in 2018 the water police will be abolished. Soon the Confederations Cup will take place, then the World Cup, then we will elect Vovka, and then they will disperse us to hell. Still, the water police are of little use. I believe that it is necessary to create a unified water police service that will deal with everything at once: crimes, speed control, and document verification. This, by the way, was the case in the Soviet Union.

From time to time I have thoughts of quitting, but I still don’t want to leave the service to which I devoted 15 years. In addition, after 20 years of service in the police, you can retire, which means I only have five years left to endure. Then I can go to a normal job - for example, work as a captain's mate in shipping. I don’t think that at 40 years old it will be a problem for me to find a good job.