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covert executive protection
Whether inside the US or on the streets of Bangkok, while protection may be required, open bodyguards or close protection gear may not suit the purpose of the trip. Certain clientele want low-profile protection, not wanting the attention that comes from having an open computer nearby at all times. Sometimes having an open team can highlight status and make someone a target where they may not have been before. At some point there is a higher level of risk and additional protection is required. Whatever the reason, there are instances where covert executive protection can serve as a highly effective “close protection” tool that regularly provides and exceeds necessary and required security.
Covert executive protection is obtained through the use of a protective surveillance team. Protective surveillance is the creation of a discreet security team around an individual or group. Typically comprised of highly trained and experienced covert operators, this team covertly forms a protective bubble around the client.
The Protective Surveillance Team (PST) will focus on the following to ensure client safety.
1. Counter-surveillance
2. Protective intelligence
3. Protective security duties
4. Quick reaction force
5. Medical emergency
1.) Counter-surveillance
The Protective Surveillance Team (PST) would monitor those who may be monitoring the client. Their primary objective is to occupy or control areas that would be used by hostile individuals or groups. Through their skill set and experience, they would stay undercover, identifying and assessing any threats to the client.
What is counter surveillance? It is the process by which a third party performs actions in order to covertly identify if an individual is being persecuted and by whom.
Many people ask why people would put me under surveillance.
Hostile individuals or groups need to gather intelligence about their target. To increase the chances of a successful attack it is vital to know the comings and goings of a target, their habits and routines. What security do they have, their strengths and weaknesses. What are the opportunities and threats? A hostile surveillance team will try to respond to all of these things and more. It is with this information that they can formulate a plan to attack their target more effectively and with a greater chance of success.
Surveillance can range from the crude and brief that a random thief or attacker may use just prior to their hostile action, to the long-standing, professional, high-level surveillance that potential kidnappers may carry out.
Early threat identification is vital to ensuring time to react. If one has time to react, the chances of a favorable outcome increase dramatically. It’s just action vs. reaction. Any aggressive force with the advantage of surprise and tactical planning is more likely to succeed. Your action occurs at the time of your choice. Very few attackers will attack if they don’t feel they have the upper hand, they do so at a time of their choosing, this is probably the result of a planned operation.
If hostiles undertake pre-attack surveillance, the TSP will single them out, identify the risk, and then react accordingly by doing some or all of the following:
• If the threat is perceived to be imminent, the PST can react accordingly as trained close protection officers. Provide security to the client and keep him away from the threat.
• Approaching the client, informing him of the threat and extracting him to a safe place in a controlled and covert manner.
• Try to follow the hostile surveillance team to gather intelligence on them so that the necessary authorities can comprehensively deal with and extinguish the threat. All this guaranteeing total security and protection to the client.
2.) Protective Intelligence
Protection intelligence is the other vital tool in protecting an individual or group and is the process by which the TSP identifies, investigates and analyzes threats to the client.
This is a constant process that starts from the beginning of the task and flows to the end. Both before and during the trip, the PST will anticipate threats and analyze risk. Advance preparation and planning are vital to minimize and manage risk, it is through foresight and awareness that the TSP can prepare and react effectively.
It is through protection intelligence that the TSP’s protection security duties can be shaped and adapted to ensure that the highest level of security and protection is provided to the client.
3.) Protective Security Duties
Protective surveillance teams consist of highly trained personal protection officers. Though not in their usual ‘Bodyguard’ role, they still operate with the sole intention of keeping the client safe from harm. The very nature of protective surveillance requires the team to blend in with their surroundings without being noticed by any hostile surveillance. This, in turn, provides a greater chance for hostiles to let their guard down and show themselves through their actions or reactions. However, this means that the PST will be at a greater distance from the client than normal close protection equipment would be.
So they wouldn’t be walking next to a customer where the “relationship” could be easily identified, but very close. Close enough to react if a threat arises, but far enough away to remain low profile and allow the client to get on with life without the attention of a ‘bodyguard team’.
The protection security duties of a PST are exactly the same as those of a close protection team only without the close proximity and open nature. Their raison d’etre, their entire purpose and focus is to ensure the safety of the client (and if applicable, their family) at all times. The PST would be dedicated to this, using their skills and experience to ensure they come to no harm.
A precise definition of close protection is:
The role of close protection encompasses ALL aspects of protection measures working together: physical and technical combined with constant careful planning and sound operating procedures to deny/minimize the risk or threat of risk of killing/injuring/or harm another person in any way.
Richard J Aitch: Close Protection: A Closer Look at the Protection Equation. 2012
This definition mentions all aspects of protection measures that work together: Physical and technical. We have just touched on the physical side of things. What about the technique? There are certain technical security solutions that, when used effectively, can help in overall customer security.
Technical surveillance sweep and countermeasures they are vital to ensure that hostiles do not have access to sensitive and restricted information. Maps, routes, itineraries and meetings must be kept confidential. Mobile phones, hotel rooms, vehicles, meeting rooms, and computers must be kept safe from listening devices, covert cameras, and technical attacks. The client and her family may wish to be tracked and monitored using covert methods to assist in the event of a kidnapping or abduction. If a security team can react quickly and effectively to a threat, the chances of a favorable outcome are much more likely. Hotels can be more effectively secured with covert cameras, motion detectors, and panic alarms. There are a multitude of technical security solutions available and these can be tailored to specific requirements and situations to work symbiotically with physical security.
4.) Quick Reaction Force (QRF)
A QRF does exactly the same thing as its namesake; it is a force (in this case the Protective Surveillance Team) capable of reacting quickly in an emergency. The covert nature of the team would be ignored at extreme times to act as an emergency support team. Whether as a strike team, medical support team, or extraction team. The fact that they would be covert until the last moment provides an additional level of advantage that surprises any hostile individual or group, putting them in the rear.
5.) Medical emergency
A protective surveillance team should have at least one qualified and experienced physician with access to a comprehensive trauma medical kit. Thus allowing an effective and timely response to any emergency medical situation. In certain countries and areas, definitive prehospital care may not be readily available. In medical emergencies, the chances of a favorable outcome are dramatically increased if effective and timely medical care is provided.
Covert executive protection without the knowledge of the protector
Another form of covert protection can be used without the client knowing that they are being protected. It is usually used in cases of spouses or children who may be at risk of abduction or kidnapping but are unaware of the risk for whatever reason, or the guardians require a greater degree of peace of mind. High net worth individuals and celebrities, for example, may have close protective equipment, but their children or partners don’t and don’t want to. However, the risk still exists. Kidnappings and kidnappings are a significant risk for these people.
Although it does not provide the level of protection that a Close Protection Team perfectly meets this requirement, it does allow a spouse or parent the peace of mind that their loved one is being watched and protected by a highly professional team.
Executive protection, close protection, protective surveillance, bodyguard, whatever the terminology used, always remains a constant; that each client will have unique requirements and that each security detail must be adapted to them. As mentioned above, the sole focus, the raison d’être of any security detail, no matter how it is understood, is the health, safety and protection of the client as its highest priority.