Deputy Minister: private individuals can’t have over 3 bodyguards

PanARMENIAN.Net - Armen Mkrtchyan, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Armenia, announced during a discussion in the National Assembly on amendments to the Law on Private Security Activities that private individuals in Armenia cannot have more than three bodyguards.

He added that bodyguards must be in the same vehicle, without additional escort vehicles, according to Sputnik Armenia.

"We do not exclude the possibility that two or three vehicles can be used by friends or family members. We can consider this if we sense certain danger or suspicion of a violation or criminal activity. In that case, we will use other measures to counter the situation," Mkrtchyan said.

He noted that each family member may have a maximum of three bodyguards, as the family is considered a protected individual.

The Deputy Minister also mentioned that the Law on Private Security Activities was adopted in 2012, but has not been amended since.

Mkrtchyan explained that, according to their observations, many security companies are registered but are not actually performing their activities. According to him, there are about 200 registered security companies in Armenia, of which only 20-30 are operating steadily.

"There are companies that register a single guard, certify them, provide them with weapons, and are essentially pursuing private interests rather than carrying out specific activities," Mkrtchyan said.

The Deputy Minister also pointed out that the current law does not allow for proper supervision to determine whether the service is being performed correctly. He informed that the Ministry proposes to raise state fees when operations are subject to the disclosure of abuses. Previously, the state fee was only 500,000 dram.

Additionally, Mkrtchyan mentioned that the right to protect certain important objects has been transferred from the police to private companies starting from January 1.