ANAHEIM : Soviets Looking for Crime-Fighting Tips

A delegation from the Soviet Union’s Ministry of Internal Affairs was on a special mission here this week: to find out from the American security industry how to reduce crime.

Three members from the ministry’s policing branch, Ohrana, were on hand Thursday at the 25th annual International Security Conference and Exposition West at the Anaheim Convention Center to examine security systems developed by more than 300 American companies.

“We want to get acquainted with and examine the different products available to see if they’re suitable,” Joseph Golubev, the chief deputy of Ohrana, said through an interpreter.

According to Golubev, the Soviet crime rate has more than doubled since the granting of more freedom under President Mikhail Gorbachev’s policy of perestroika. Last year Ohrana arrested more than 25,000 people in burglary attempts, Golubev said.

“ Perestroika lets us make money, but it also increases crimes on properties,” he said.

Installation of security systems has helped to alleviate some of the problem, Golubev said, but his country is not producing enough systems to keep up with the rising crime rate, nor is Soviet technology advanced enough.

“As of now, there are over 40,000 people on the waiting list to have an alarm system” placed in their homes or businesses, he said.

For the U.S. security industry, contracts with the Soviet Union could mean a boom in business.

Drew Mearns with American Security Products Corp., a Cleveland-based consortium of U.S. security system manufacturers, said the Soviets have already placed “hundreds of thousands of dollars of orders since last November.”

Morse Security Group, based in Sylmar, will be among the companies to profit from the business venture between the two countries, said Ron Spiller, the company’s vice president and general manager.

The conference ends today.