Dignitary Protection

Working in the shadows

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A professional close protection team isn’t limited to the close protection operator observed standing next to the VIP. There are often personal protection operators working and contributing to the VIP’s safety from a distance and who are never seen by either members of the public or the media. Their job is as equally important to the close protection mission as the team members who stand next to the VIP. They have to observe anything that appears suspicious, then investigate it, report it and take action on it.

Imagine this scenario: Your principal is going to take part in a charity event. As it is a high profile event, the guest list and other information have been released to the media in advance of the event. Since only a little information is needed in order to harm someone, (WHO they are, WHERE they are going to be and WHEN they will be there) any potential enemies of your client now have the time and information they need in order to make their plan and act against you. Given this scenario, what can you do to limit or eliminate any possibility of the threat against your client from being made a reality?

Your advance/protective intelligence team can investigate and gather information on the venue, the venue’s regular staff and any additional staff hired for the event, the other guests, allowing for the preparation of a contingency plan in case of any problems. They should also travel the client’s primary proposed route a short time before the client and observe for surveillance or anything that could prove problematic. It may also prove necessary to conduct a low profile security sweep of the premises prior to giving the OK to the close protection team to bring their principal in. It is unprofessional and dangerous to allow your principal’s entrance into a place that hasn’t been subjected to an advance security detail – the more thorough the advance the better however, if time doesn’t permit this then at least a cursory security sweep should be carried out first. Placement of undercover close protection operators inside the venue can prove extremely advantageous. Having them mingle with other guests is better still since a great deal of valuable information which could prove instrumental in ensuring the client’s safety can be obtained. Additionally, if anyone planning to harm your client is present at the venue, then they are unlikely to have accounted for the undercover operators, giving the undercover operators a distinct advantage. A female close protection operator can work very well in these circumstances, since most people will think she is just another guest. Being a part of the advance security/protective intelligence team isn’t easy, it requires patience, keen observation skills, the ability to blend in any social setting and the ability to move unobtrusively while being acutely aware of one’s surrounding environment. You have to be able to constantly scan and evaluate your surroundings and be able to observe anyone who could be a threat against your client. Persons ideally suited for this task would be military intelligence operators, police detectives, private investigators or others who have been trained and employed in an investigative role.

Denida Zinxhiria

Athena Academy Founder

http://www.athenaacademy.com

7 Basic Principles for a Female Bodyguard

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The 7 Basic Principles for a Female Bodyguard

We all in the security industry know that no one of us can offer 100% security to a client. For Athena Academy members it is necessary to follow and practise some simple basic principles in order to be able to reduce a potential attempt to a minimum percentage. Being well-trained, prepared and aware makes a female bodyguard able to carry out her duty.

1) Avoid  Routine

Routine can be deadly as a bullet. Many studies in attempted cases have proved that even the best team of bodyguards has failed when some of the team members have been vulnerable to routine. Someone who is following the same programme every day can be easily predictable from his enemies. We can mention Ronald Reagan’s assassination attempt on March 30, 1981, while he was leaving the hotel entrance, as one of the most well-known cases that failed cause the routine. (http://photosthatchangedtheworld.com/reagan-assassination/)

Someone who is planning to attempt an attack on your principal will study your team. He will note and study your daily programme. The routes you are following. Your reactions, even your escort techniques in order to find the weak points that will give him the opportunity to act against you.

So, what a female bodyguard can do in order to avoid routine? You can use different routes, entrances, and exits when you are in escort with your principal. Surprise your enemy by exiting from another entrance or using different routes. Change the techniques you are following when you control his car, office, home, and even people from time to time. Also when you are following different techniques not only is difficult for someone to study you but also gives him to understand that he is messing with a professional and he will have to think it twice.

2) Use Common Sense.

You don’t have to be an expert in physics or science or have a BSc degree in order to be succeeded as a bodyguard. What you always will need is to use common sense when dealing with situations.


3) Always Be On Alert

A principal’s safety is dependent upon his bodyguard’s professionalism. So although he is the target, you as his security team are the first who will be monitoring and the one that will accept any attack. By being always alert and having in your mind, you will be able to pay more attention to faces, facts and places. Do not ever allow yourself to believe that your job is safe. You have to take the necessary measures to protect yourself first and by extension your principal. You are there cause there is a risk factor. If you have to be in front of a bullet that means you have failed in your job, you haven’t predicted the incoming threat and avoided it.

4) Stay On Track

You have done this through your training and the necessary education of being a bodyguard. So, you are able to adopt your own way and technique of how you will work. Follow an orderly on how you work but also allow in some cases and situations new ideas and techniques. Remember we want to avoid falling into the trap of the routine.

5)Be Suspicious

As a security team member, you should have a higher level of suspicion toward people. When you are in a crowd everyone can be a potential threat. In order for your enemy to come closer to you and your principal he can adopt every ID that you can imagine. He can be a photographer, visitor, fan, waitress, etc. What you need to do is to pay attention and see if someone is behaving accordingly to his ID. If something doesn’t look normal to you take a moment to investigate the person. Is better to spend more time and effort and be sure to have a risk behind your back. Always trust your gut. We all know how women trust their 6th sense. As a female bodyguard use that sense of yours. If you don’t like something search it more.

We can mention here a very famous case in which the disaster was avoided because of the excellent job of the ElAl security officer at Heathrow Airport on April 17, 1986. He was on duty and has to check Anne Marie Murphy, a 32-year-old Irish woman who was six months pregnant and was carrying without her knowledge explosives under a double panel in her suitcase.

http://www.shabak.gov.il/english/history/affairs/pages/anne-mariemurphycase.aspx

If we think about it, how many would suspect a 32-year-old pregnant woman? The ElAl security officer did it, while he was interviewing her he found something suspicious, and his suspiciousness save the life of 395 passengers and crew.

6) Take Necessary Initiatives

Sometimes you will have to take over initiatives during your services that are outside of your duty in order to prevent any threats. Don’t be afraid to do it, just have in mind to act with responsibility, professionalism and respect toward your colleagues and people.

7) Maintain Good Communication

Remember as a female bodyguard you are not responsible only for your principal and your team’s safety but also responsible for your acts that may damage his image. Is very important to keep a respectful level of communication with people you are dealing with such as the paparazzi, media, fans and supporters. Who can forget cases like Nicole Kidman’s bodyguard beating a paparazzi almost near to death (http://www.theinsider.com/news/727571_Nicole_Kidmans_bodyguard_beats_photographer_black_and_blue), or when Barbra Streisand had to intervene and stop the fight between her bodyguard and a paparazzi in the streets of Paris (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3yuLmc_kP1g&feature=related). Although your primary is your principal’s safety that doesn’t mean that you can break the laws and use violence toward others in order to make your job easier for you.

And of course, we can’t forget the importance of good communication between you and your colleagues. You are in the same team offering services for one common achievement, your principal’s safety.

Denida Zinxhiria