Close Protection Training

Identifying Suspicious Behavior: Essential Pre-Attack Indicator Training for Executive Protection Agents

LeMareschal

An article by Bob Duggan, Founder & President, Executive Security International

Senior executive protection professionals will all agree that the number one goal when performing protective details is to prevent a threatening or embarrassing situation before it becomes a reality for your client. Now, we all know that the majority of EP schools are highly invested in the ‘’cool guy skills’’. They spend hundreds of hours training in martial arts, firearms, evasive driving, etc. While those skills are important for anyone involved in the executive protection industry, we should not forget that equally important are the skills that will provide these agents with the necessary knowledge and tools of how to prevent a threatening situation.

Identifying suspicious person in a crowd

After more than 6 decades in this profession and having taught thousands of students, I can never highlight enough how important it is to have the ability to identify suspicious behaviors and clues to dangerousness. It is safer for both the client and the security team if the agents have a more proactive mindset rather than a reactive one. We all know by experience,  and from the hundreds of case studies, that no matter how skilled you are in martial arts or how great of a sharpshooter you are, when the moment comes and you have to respond to an attack, it doesn’t matter how many bad guys you can fight or shoot, or how fast or skillful you can drive. Because at that moment, the result of the fight will be determined by many factors other than your skills in fighting or shooting. How an attack toward your client will end depends on numerous variables such as the method of attack, the number of attackers, how well equipped they are, what kind of weaponry they are using, the attack area or “The X”, and most importantly, each one of the EP team member’s mental preparations to respond. Remember, the bad guys have done their homework, and they know your weak spots, and how and when to attack. So, they do have the upper hand in the surprise. Always keep in mind…They only have to get it right once…You have to get it right all the time.

And let’s not forget that while you are fighting or shooting publicly in the open, your client is quite exposed, could be seriously harmed, and will undoubtedly be scared emotionally for life! The fact that you could not foresee and/or plan to prevent a situation that put them at such risk is considered a failure. So, wouldn’t it be safer for everyone, and your job, to be able to prevent a threat instead of merely reacting to it? Again, the senior executive protection professionals will say over and over that the best protective details are not those based on force, numbers, or use of firearms, but those based on foreseeing an upcoming threat or embarrassing situation and preventing it. In the highly demanding and fast-changing world of protective details, the difference between a secure environment and a potentially dangerous situation is purely based on the agents’ ability to preemptively recognize and respond to suspicious behavior.

For more than 4 decades, at Executive Security International (ESI) we have been teaching thousands of students behavioral intelligence and how to identify clues to dangerousness. In simple words, we have been educating them on how to understand an attacker’s behavior, what are pre-attack indicators, and how to identify clues to dangerousness and suspicious behaviors.

Pre-Attack Indicators – Clues to Dangerousness

Pre-attack indicators are specific behaviors or actions that precede an attack, or illegal/bad act, and can serve as a warning to the observant protection agent that something wrong is going to take place. These indicators can vary widely but often include unusual patterns of body movements, facial expressions, gaze, overt interest in security measures, or attempts to breach the personal boundaries of the protectee. In the milliseconds prior to an attack, human predators quite often assume the physical features of apex predator animals as they close in on their prey/target. Being able to identify and understand these indicators requires the proper training on behavioral clues and a psychological insight into the mindset of potential attackers.

“Reading suspicious behavior”

One may ask, “Is it possible and easy to read others? Especially when it comes down to suspicious behavior?” Based on scientific evidence and real-life incidents, we can testify that it is possible and if trained properly, it is easy to do so. As with all skills, being able to read others and the environment around you requires constant training and good observation skills. After all, we can’t process the information we don’t see, correct?

Humans are emotional creatures, and what they feel (anger, fear, stress, happiness, embarrassment, etc.) can be seen through their body language or facial expressions. We can all tell why a child who is confronted by his parents is hiding his hands behind his body, or why some people are pacing back and forth in a hospital waiting room. In the same way, you can learn to identify suspicious behaviors and stop an attack before it takes place by simply observing peoples’ behavior, like someone who is going to commit an attack, either a suicide bomber or an attacker. They will display either stress, fear that they may be caught and fail their mission, or be under the influence of drugs. Being taught how these emotions are expressed through body movements and facial expressions can help you identify clues to dangerousness.

After the Manchester Arena terrorist attack that shook British society and the whole world, one of the event security guards, Kyle Lawler, said that the terrorist was reported by a member of the public who, he himself thought the person looked ‘’dodgy’’, and one of Showcase’s stewards also had a look at the terrorist minutes before he detonated his bomb. As Lawler continued with his testimony to the police, and according to The Guardian article, we read that:

“As Ali (Showcase steward) turned to have a look he’s (the terrorist) clocked that we are looking at him. He’s become fidgety with his hands. No sudden movements. He was watching us, watching him.“He would kind of look, slightly look away and look back at us.”In his statement to police, Lawler said: “I just had a bad feeling about him but did not have anything to justify that.”He said Abedi was “fidgety and sweating” and he said he panicked slightly and was “conflicted” because he thought something was wrong but could not put his finger on it, the inquiry heard.”

What we see in this horrific incident is that at least three people were aware of a suspicious presence/behavior. A member of the public who saw “something wrong” reported it to a security guard and an event steward. According to the description, we see a very usual behavior by someone who is going to do something bad. “He’s become fidgety with his hands” because he was stressed, “He would kind of look, slightly look away and then look back at us” because he wanted to make sure he wasn’t caught or somebody had spotted him, and he was “fidgety and sweating”, because he was showing signs of stress.

Looking at the last statement made by the security guard, he found a specific behavior wrong, and he felt conflicted because he didn’t know how to interpret it. Here again we see the importance of training Executive Protection professionals (and anyone related to the security industry) behavioral intelligence and clues to dangerousness. The sad part of this situation is that three people, without training, spotted something they knew was wrong and if they had been trained properly, they would have known why something looks wrong and how to deal with it. Perhaps, in this particular case, the outcome would have been significantly different with quite a lower number of casualties.

Another incident, definitely worth mentioning and studying is that of the on-camera assassination of Russian ambassador to Tukey, Andrey Karlov, who was shot dead at an Ankara gallery by a Turkish policeman who wanted to protest Russia’s involvement in the Syrian war. By watching the video, one can see the clear pre-attack indicators of the assassin, minutes before he starts shooting. For those of you who have seen the video, we invite you to watch it again and this time pay attention to the following findings:

  • His pacing in the background shows signs of stress.
  • When he stands still his feet are planted wider than his shoulder’s width which shows a person who is ready to get physically engaged.
  • He has interlocked his fingers with his thumbs touching each other which shows an elevated level of stress.
  • He touches his jacket frequently, which is a sign of soothing movement.
  • He is also seen to be checking his firearm. And at one point, beginning to go for the firearm, he regrets it and seconds later he touches his face, which is another sign of stress. Blood is gathering around the mouth and nose area.
  • His face shows contempt, which is very frequent with terrorists.

A significant point to also consider is that he was an off-duty officer, showing up at an event he had no business attending, and being in close contact, was somehow allowed to place himself behind the victim in a live event. This in combination with the rest of the signs should have been a big red flag for what was about to unfold.

politician greeting crowd

The majority of the assassinations, terrorist attacks, and other physical attacks, could have been prevented if security personnel were trained in how to identify clues to dangerousness. Effective protective operations are those where the agents anticipate potential scenarios and prepare accordingly, rather than merely reacting to events as they unfold. The role of an executive protection agent is more about preventing incidents than it is about responding to them.

We started implementing our studies and experience, on behavioral intelligence and body language, into our Executive Security International’s executive protection courses since the mid 80’s. From the early days of my career, I have been fascinated by, and at the forefront of exploring how, someone’s body language and movements within a crowd can serve as crucial indicators of intent, in particular, nefarious intent to harm our clients. After years of protecting celebrities and high-net-worth families, both abroad and in the U.S., my observations led me to investigate and study further about body language and microexpression clues and how, by observing them, one can identify suspicious behavior.

In 1985, I came across the groundbreaking work and research of Dr. Paul Ekman, whose studies on facial expressions and emotions deepened my understanding of deception detection. Although Ekman’s research wasn’t directly linked to aggression, it convinced me that trained observers/executive protection agents could spot the pre-indicators of assault and guide these agents toward strategies of preemptive intervention and therefore, prevention.

It’s important to highlight here that much of today what training institutions teach security personnel about situational awareness (SA) seems to be superficial. Five years ago, we realized that in practice, SA terminology often means the agent is merely waiting for something to happen. Still, many use ‘Situational Awareness’ as a reactive intervention strategy, which leads to late reactions, resulting in client harm or embarrassment. It is crucial for anyone interested in learning more about this field to understand that, while observing behavioral cues is critical, the key is to preemptively engage by confronting the Person of Interest (POI) through soft entry or hard contact. Preemptive Intervention now means engaging the POI, communicating with team members, and seeking a resolution before any actual contact with the client. Going back to our reference on the Manchester Arena terrorist attack, if the security guard was trained in how to engage with a suspicious person for that “first interview”, most likely he would have gotten a good idea that there was something wrong that needed to be reported and investigated further BEFORE that person/visitor could proceed further into the event facility. We will analyze this method in a topic that we will develop in depth in our next article.

Today, when we talk and teach about Behavioral Intelligence, Clues to Dangerousness and Predator Hunting/Preemptive Intervention in our ESI classes, we teach with knowledge that is backed up with both real-life experience and thorough research since the early 80’s. We are very passionate about this topic because we genuinely believe in its highly proactive approach. The skill to read behavioral clues has been tested and it has been proven that it works, and the ability to “read others and the environment around you” remains the cornerstone of effective security and protective measures.

Bob Duggan

Founder & President

For those interested in learning more about behavioral intelligence and clues to dangerousness, please visit www.esibodyguardschool.com 

The importance of educating Security Personnel and Intelligence Analysts about biases

LeMareschal

Bias is a topic that many industries like to avoid, and the security and intelligence industries are no exception. However, there is a profound need to discuss biases in regard to the security industry and when educating security practitioners and intelligence analysts. When the subject of biases has been raised in the past, the majority of commentators cannot seem to agree, in fact, they will often argue against the existence of biases and/or why there is a need to discuss them in the first place. In this article, we would like to address the topic of bias – what bias is, who has biases, whether are biases wrong, and what types of biases there are. Then, we will highlight WHY it is important for security professionals and intelligence analysts to be able to identify their biases and address them, and, then, we will share HOW one can identify his/her biases.

Now before we start, there is one thing on which we can all agree: As a security professional, you don’t only make assessments about incidents or places, but also about people. Keep this in mind as we proceed further, we will come back to it.

What is bias?

To answer this, we will use the definition according to the American Psychological Association

1. partiality: an inclination or predisposition for or against something. See also prejudice.

2. any tendency or preference, such as a response bias or test bias.

3. systematic error arising during sampling, data collection, or data analysis. See biased estimator; biased sampling.

4. any deviation of a measured or calculated quantity from its actual (true) value, such that the measurement or calculation is unrepresentative of the item of interest. —biased adj.

There are a few keywords from the definition — predisposition, against, tendency, preference”. Keep those words in mind when thinking about how they affect the threat assessment of a security professional. While you do that, think of a scenario when a security guard has to assess, either by observation or by interviews, any visitors in the area for which he/she is responsible. That security guard believes that women are less likely to commit a crime (bias) and, during his/her threat assessment, he/she misses the fine details that a woman is, in all actuality, a terrorist. You think perhaps this couldn’t occur? Well, it has actually happened. In July 2017 in Mosul, a female suicide bomber, holding her child in her arms, managed to walk by security guards and detonate her bomb.

The security guards, instead of being observant and watching her hands (in which she was holding the detonator), just saw a mother with her child. Many people see women as weak and incapable of committing acts of terror, especially one who is carrying her own child. This is not the only incident when the ‘’miscalculation of threat or of threat actors’’ was catastrophic.

(A woman suicide bomber walks past soldiers, the trigger in her right hand (Al-Mawsleya TV)

Photo by fauxels on Pexels.com

Do all people have biases?

Before we answer that, ask yourself, “Are there people, things, or ideas you like better than others? Are there places/events where you feel more comfortable than others?” We are sure your answer to these questions is “yes” and that is because all humans have biases. Some biases are passed to us through evolution and some are learned through socialization and/or direct experience. One must understand that biases serve a purpose. Simply put, because the human brain has the tendency to categorize information, people, events, experiences, etc. during his/her learning and development process, the brain will connect the new information and people to past experiences. Once that is done, the brain will respond to it in the same way it does to other things belonging to that same category. So, by putting people with similar traits into a specific category, one believes that everyone else in that category must be the same. Biases are not limited to race, gender, ethnicity, religion, social or political groups but many characteristics may be subjected to one’s biases such as physical appearance, sexual orientation, educational level, profession, etc.

Are biases wrong and racist?

When discussed, the majority of people tend to disregard biases, believing that even acknowledging those biases will label them as racists. The first mistake when talking about biases is when someone considers someone else good or bad based on his/her biases.

According to Matt Grawitch, PhD ‘’Biases make decision-making easier by giving us a starting point, an initial prediction, or a “leaning of the mind” regarding which choice to make. We anchor our original judgment in the biased conclusion and then adjust it based on supplemental information.’’

Having biases is not necessarily bad, wrong, or racist. In fact, we’ve discussed that biases improve the decision-making process and help the human brain to categorize new information. We could say that since biases help us simplify information processing, they basically function as rules of thumb that help us make sense of what is happening around us and make faster decisions.

However, biases can become bad and even dangerous when we treat or judge someone unfairly or when the accuracy of the decision is of the utmost importance, such as behaviour or threat assessment. In addition, what can make a bias shift from ok to “bad” is when an individual allows their biases to influence their decision-making process in such a way that they allow those biases to affect someone else in a negative fashion by either being unfair or causing a miscalculation in the threat level.

Not being able to recognize and address our biases can lead to neglecting or discounting information that would be valuable for our job functions. Information that we process and use to make decisions can directly affect a risk/threat and vulnerability assessment, an interview with a suspect, the analysis of intelligence and data, or the use of link analysis in putting together an intelligence report. In these situations, biases can become a systematic thinking error that can cloud our judgment, and, as a result, impact our decisions, thus rendering our final product limited or even useless. 

What types of biases do people have?

People can have conscious biases (biased attitudes toward specific ideologies, events, groups of people, etc. that we are aware of) or unconscious biases (biases we are not aware of, cannot control, are difficult to access, and can quite often influence our actions more than conscious biases).

In one of her articles, Kendra Cherry mentions that ‘’some of our cognitive biases are related to memory. The way you remember an event may be biased for a number of reasons and, that in turn, can lead to biased thinking and decision-making. Other cognitive biases might be related to problems with attention. Since attention is a limited resource, people have to be selective about what they pay attention to in the world around them.’’

If you are aware of a biased attitude, it is more likely and consciously possible for you to be able to address it during your decision-making process. However, unconscious biases are the most ‘’dangerous” ones since it often takes specific training and study of yourself to be able to identify that you have them. Here, Carly Hallman is listing 50 types of unconscious biases. Have a look and see how one or more of them can affect your decision-making process.

  1. Fundamental Attribution Error: We judge others on their personality or fundamental character, but we judge ourselves on the situation.
  2. Self-Serving Bias: Our failures are situational, but our successes are our responsibility.
  3. In-Group Favoritism: We favor people who are in our in-group as opposed to an out-group.
  4. Bandwagon Effect: Ideas, fads, and beliefs grow as more people adopt them.
  5. Groupthink: Due to a desire for conformity and harmony in the group, we make irrational decisions, often to minimize conflict.
  6. Halo Effect: If you see a person as having a positive trait, that positive impression will spill over into their other traits. (This also works for negative traits.)
  7. Moral Luck: Better moral standing happens due to a positive outcome; worse moral standing happens due to a negative outcome.
  8. False Consensus: We believe more people agree with us than is actually the case.
  9. Curse of Knowledge: Once we know something, we assume everyone else knows it, too.
  10. Spotlight Effect: We overestimate how much people are paying attention to our behavior and appearance.
  11. Availability Heuristic: We rely on immediate examples that come to mind while making judgments.
  12. Defensive Attribution: As a witness who secretly fears being vulnerable to a serious mishap, we will blame the victim less if we relate to the victim.
  13. Just-World Hypothesis: We tend to believe the world is just; therefore, we assume acts of injustice are deserved.
  14. Naïve Realism: We believe that we observe objective reality and that other people are irrational, uninformed, or biased.
  15. Naïve Cynicism: We believe that we observe objective reality and that other people have a higher egocentric bias than they actually do in their intentions/actions.
  16. Forer Effect (aka Barnum Effect): We easily attribute our personalities to vague statements, even if they can apply to a wide range of people.
  17. Dunning-Kruger Effect: The less you know, the more confident you are. The more you know, the less confident you are.
  18. Anchoring: We rely heavily on the first piece of information introduced when making decisions.
  19. Automation Bias: We rely on automated systems, sometimes trusting too much in the automated correction of actually correct decisions.
  20. Google Effect (aka Digital Amnesia): We tend to forget information that’s easily looked up in search engines.
  21. Reactance: We do the opposite of what we’re told, especially when we perceive threats to personal freedoms.
  22. Confirmation Bias: We tend to find and remember information that confirms our perceptions.
  23. Backfire Effect: Disproving evidence sometimes has the unwarranted effect of confirming our beliefs.
  24. Third-Person Effect: We believe that others are more affected by mass media consumption than we ourselves are.
  25. Belief Bias: We judge an argument’s strength not by how strongly it supports the conclusion but how plausible the conclusion is in our own minds.
  26. Availability Cascade: Tied to our need for social acceptance, collective beliefs gain more plausibility through public repetition.
  27. Declinism: We tend to romanticize the past and view the future negatively, believing that societies/institutions are by and large in decline.
  28. Status Quo Bias: We tend to prefer things to stay the same; changes from the baseline are considered to be a loss.
  29. Sunk Cost Fallacy (aka Escalation of Commitment): We invest more in things that have cost us something rather than altering our investments, even if we face negative outcomes.
  30. Gambler’s Fallacy: We think future possibilities are affected by past events.
  31. Zero-Risk Bias: We prefer to reduce small risks to zero, even if we can reduce more risk overall with another option.
  32. Framing Effect: We often draw different conclusions from the same information depending on how it’s presented.
  33. Stereotyping: We adopt generalized beliefs that members of a group will have certain characteristics, despite not having information about the individual.
  34. Outgroup Homogeneity Bias: We perceive out-group members as homogeneous and our own in-groups as more diverse.
  35. Authority Bias: We trust and are more often influenced by the opinions of authority figures.
  36. Placebo Effect: If we believe a treatment will work, it often will have a small physiological effect.
  37. Survivorship Bias: We tend to focus on those things that survived a process and overlook ones that failed.
  38. Tachypsychia: Our perceptions of time shift depending on trauma, drug use, and physical exertion.
  39. Law of Triviality (aka “Bike-Shedding”): We give disproportionate weight to trivial issues, often while avoiding more complex issues.
  40. Zeigarnik Effect: We remember incomplete tasks more than completed ones.
  41. IKEA Effect: We place higher value on things we partially created ourselves.
  42. Ben Franklin Effect: We like doing favors; we are more likely to do another favor for someone if we’ve already done a favor for them than if we had received a favor from that person.
  43. Bystander Effect: The more other people are around, the less likely we are to help a victim.
  44. Suggestibility: We, especially children, sometimes mistake ideas suggested by a questioner for memories.
  45. False Memory: We mistake imagination for real memories.
  46. Cryptomnesia: We mistake real memories for imagination.
  47. Clustering Illusion: We find patterns and “clusters” in random data.
  48. Pessimism Bias: We sometimes overestimate the likelihood of bad outcomes.
  49. Optimism Bias: We sometimes are over-optimistic about good outcomes.
  50. Blind Spot Bias: We don’t think we have bias, and we see it on others more than ourselves.

WHY must security professionals and intelligence analysts address bias training?

As a security professional or intelligence analyst, seeing what biases are and how they can significantly affect us, do you see how important it is to recognize and address them during the decision-making process? Do you see how biases can affect your risk and threat assessment, information gathering and analysis as well as behavioral assessment while you are conducting a first interview with a visitor, suspicious person, etc.?

We will give you an example. During the Manchester arena attack investigation, one of the security guards claimed that he did feel something was “off” with one of the terrorists but he was uncertain of how to approach and ask questions (first interview of a suspect) because he was afraid he was going to be labeled a “racist’’.

Being trained in how to recognize and address your biases will not only help you to make a better decision but will also give you peace of mind and confidence knowing that you are approaching and properly interviewing a person whose presence seems to be unjustified and/or suspicious. You will be able to clearly gather more information and assess the risk without feeling that you are merely racially profiling that person. You will also build more awareness of the subjects with which you hold biases and that awareness will lead to more choices. More choices will lead to a more ‘’open mind’’ and allow you to seek further information before you make a decision.

In connection to why biases and the training on them are important and related to the security industry, we must mention here Richard Gasaway, Ph.D, the creator of the Center for the Advancement of Situational Awareness and Decision making, has highlighted the fact that ‘’Confirmation bias is particularly challenging to situational awareness because it can prohibit the uptake of critical clues and cues that can foretell impending doom.’’

Now that we have discussed the many aspects of biases, what they are, and how they can affect your decision-making process do you want to test yourself and find out what biases you have? You can use one of the many online tests available, the Implicit Association Test (IAT) created by Harvard.

This will help you assess and better identify all that biases you or your staff may have that can affect risk and threat assessments as well as intelligence gathering and analysis. In addition, your staff’s performance and how they interact with others to make sure their decision-making will be as accurate as can be ascertained from the information provided and not just from their own personal biases.

If you are an individual interested in receiving training in biases or you represent an organization looking to train your employees in this very much needed and important topic, please reach out to us.

Chris Grow

AUS Global Special Services Travel Team

Managing Partner LeMareschal LLC

Denida Zinxhiria Grow

Founder & CEO

Athena Worldwide & Nannyguards

Managing Partner LeMareschal LLC

Mentoring Security Professionals

LeMareschal

We will be launching a series of educational webinars that are absolutely free to attend. The aim of the webinars won’t be to present people and their past stories, but to have specific guests who will combine their experience and training in the industry in order to teach you something new, to help your professional development and to provide consultation for you. They will share their opinions, the “do and don’ts” of the industry and answer your questions.

And the best part? The content of each webinar will be developed by you! While we are working on our next webinars, let us know either by a comment here or via email at info@lemareschal.com what topics would you be interested in having discussed, answered and/or receive consultation on? This is a webinar created for you, by you!

Interpersonal skills for security professionals

LeMareschal

You paid thousands of dollars for training and thousands more on equipment, firearms and clothing. Add in the cost of travel, hotels, meals, time off of work and other expenses and you are finally qualified for work, according to you. But what does the Client value in a protector? It may be no surprise that interpersonal skills top the list. Good manners, eye contact, a firm handshake, a timely smile, and an expansive vocabulary are just the tip of the iceberg. Knowing how to negotiate, and more, knowing when to remain silent are also key to a Client choosing you over an ex-WPPS Private Military Contractor.

After decades in the protection industry, it is continually apparent that while “fieldcraft“ is absolutely valuable and indeed essential to a Client’s required prerequisites, it is the “intellectual” skillset with which the Client has the greatest exposure, (and hardest time finding).

Many laugh when first hearing about interpersonal skills in the personal protection industry. They believe that as long the client is safe, nothing else matters. We all know that we are getting paid for that 0,1% chance that may require us to respond to a threat and “save the client”, but the rest of our time will be spent interacting with the client, their family members, employees, domestic staff, and our own colleagues. And just as important are the paparazzi and the public, both of whom have cameras in hand. One wrong comment or gesture and the Client’s embarrassment results in your termination, and possibly a civil action.

Social interaction requires specific interpersonal skills. Your ability to react or reply appropriately is crucial. Using the wrong words with the wrong person and your years in the sand box or skill with firearms won’t save you. You will be fired within seconds.  It happens every day and some of you won’t even know why.

Below we will try to give you some tips from ours as well as our colleagues experience and mistakes and even included some comments from past clients.

Your relationship with the client:

If you have any understanding of the industry at all, you know that you are with a client because someone within the client’s entourage has a fear that you have convinced them you can quash. In a combat zone, there is real fear of capture or death. In a large city in America, spy photos of the client out in public, drinking with friends, and in Mexico, Kidnapping. In many instances, you may be with the client 10 to 16 hours a day. So how do you spend that much time with them or their family, under that kind of stress without getting emotionally connected to them? Stick to the old adage: “Be seen and not heard”.

First of all keep in mind that the client is the one paying you, no matter how unrealistic his requests may be, you must adapt to his ‘’wants’’ and ‘’security needs’’. You may not be allowed to do what the job requires or have the manpower or equipment needed but you will have to adapt and do your job with what you have. You may be asked to be in position X and not Y because the client doesn’t feel comfortable otherwise. Consider too that it is also difficult for someone to get used to the idea of having strangers around them with every step they take and with every person they meet. Consider what you are doing that might be adding to or reducing their tension. Talking, staring, where you are standing, your cologne, or your actions can all add to a client’s frustrations.

The professional is one who can work with the difficult client, not the other way around. If you are lucky enough to work for that easy going client good for you, but most of the time you will have to deal with people that will test your limits. Have you ever had a client ask you to protect him but not to be within sight of him?

New professionals usually ask how they would deal with different challenges, like “what if the client asks me to have a drink with him”? What if the client asks you to do things that are out of your area of responsibility?

If you are a Close Protection Operative of the opposite sex of your client, then be prepared to deal with even more difficult situations. Traditionally mixing stress and fear with the comfort a protector can bring and the power and wealth of a client, (or his wife), and an opportunity……

Every one of us, client or Close Protection Operative (CPO), have different, social backgrounds and if you add to that different cultures then be ready to deal with more difficulties.

 

Boundaries

For many of us who have spent years in this business, (If we are successful enough to still be in this business), we have learned where our boundaries lie. If you are new in the business consider that boundaries exist for all of us. The client has them and so do you. When we are hired to protect a person, we are actually being allowed to step far inside their boundaries but they should not be allowed to step too far into ours. We will see a client in their most private and vulnerable moments, but what happens to our persona as “protector” if they see our weaknesses and vulnerabilities? And what happens if someone outside the client’s circle identifies our weaknesses or vulnerabilities?

How do we identify a client’s boundaries, and how do we educate them on ours? It’s really very simple; we ask. We should consider their social and moral code, their habits, vices and health issues and their fears. Sitting down with the client and discussing their needs and simply asking them where their boundaries are and letting them know ours is crucial to the success of a long term assignment. It may be no big deal for a client to ask you to enter a room where they are using drugs in a party setting or where he and his wife are in bed, but this may be beyond your comfort zone, (your boundary).

What is the difference between professionalism and friendship? Here is a simple rule: “You can’t buy friendship”. If you are being paid, you can’t be friends. If you want to be friends, stop taking the client’s money. Crossing the boundary between Professional and Friend is never successful.

From my personal experience I have found that when I was acting strictly professional the client was uncomfortable. Our task is to make them feel safe but when we appear ‘’untouchable’’ they believe we don’t understand their fears or what they’re going through. It is very important for them to feel we understand them. It is not easy to be the client….Sometimes they will open up and talk to us and we must show them we are listening. This is not friendship. This is part of our job.

If you get too friendly, then automatically your professionalism will suffer in your client’s eyes.  Not because he doesn’t trust you anymore but because your laps in professionalism suggests to him that you won’t be taking your job as serious as is needed.

Consider how Psychologists work. They cannot offer professional counseling to people who are in their family or with whom they are friends. They certainly cannot start dating a client.

It is understood that you may share many hours with the client. Talk to him only when he talks to you or when you have to say something that affects his safety. Avoid starting a conversation but always be friendly if the client decides to speak to you. If you are asked a question, try to answer it with a single sentence.

Your relationship with the client’s family members will have to be the same. Don’t be too friendly with them or other staff or guests. Remember who hired you and why. Remember who cuts your check and who ultimately you serve. You should answer to only one person. If you assist or serve anyone else, it must be with the approval of the client and then only at no cost to them.

If you appear too unapproachable or “hard”, you will intimidate those you are serving. Too approachable and the family and everyone else will feel comfortable approaching you. And it will always happen when you need to be focused. Take a middle position with your client which is addressed with professionalism. Again, prior to accepting your contract you must clarify from whom you will be given orders and directions regarding your work.

As a CPO your job is to protect you client’s life and image. You are not there to carry their briefcase or shopping bags, etc. You also should not be carrying the client’s child on your hip, or holding doors open or performing domestic chores. Remember to keep your hands free.

Don’t be afraid to say “no” when you are asked to perform duties which are outside of your role. The client is hiring a CPO not a maître ’de or a butler. It is professional to politely refuse to perform a task outside of your agreed responsibilities instead of accepting it and putting in danger a client or your life. He has hired you to provide security services and nothing else.

The client must see you as an educated, well trained, experienced and professional person, and it is up to you alone to earn his respect. If your client respects you then any of your suggestions concerning his safety will be accepted by him positively.

Alcohol? NO, NEVER, EVER…..while working. But……

What if your client calls you for a drink or coffee while you’re not on duty? In this case you have to ask why he is calling you. Does he see you as a friend or do you think he wants something unrelated to work or to talk about your work? First, remain professional. If your client calls, you respond. Then avoid alcohol at all cost. Consider that in many countries and especially in the United States, if you are in possession of a firearm and you are questioned by police with alcohol in your system, you will be arrested.

Physical Relationships

Sometimes the most dangerous trap a CPO may fall into is to have a physical relationship with his client or the client’s spouse. Remember that movie where the bodyguard was sleeping with his client? Art sometimes copies life. Being emotionally involved with your client, (or anyone in their circle), no matter how unprofessional we see it, has happened with some colleagues. Understand that if this occurs, the CPO is always at fault. Because the client is dependent on you, they may be more likely to share raw emotion with you or let you all the way in to that last boundary, the personal physical boundary. Take advantage of this vulnerability and you are solely to blame. And if you think you found the love of your life, you will be replaced by the next person the client sees power or an emotional investment in. And who is going to write you that professional referral letter then?

Sexual Harassment is rampant in our profession. Male CPOs are approached by everyone who is attracted to the perceived power of the protector or by anyone trying to get to the client or get into the client’s circle. But if you are a female CPO it is much worse. You will get barraged from both males and females, clients, their family members, friends and then your colleagues. Additionally, sometimes due to culture, there are those who believe that because they hired you to protect them you are there also for ‘’extra services’’. There have been cases like these which have been unreported to authorities but are a common problem within the female CPO industry. Again, that sit down meeting with the client prior to taking the job is strongly suggested.

 

Your relationship with colleagues:

During our career we will have to work along with people who don’t share the same work ethic, qualifications, training and experience, background, morals or values with us. So whether we like or dislike someone, we shouldn’t allow it to affect our professionalism. Our first loyalty is the client’s safety and the study and mastering of the art and skill toward this goal. Our second loyalty is to the industry to which we have dedicated our lives. Loyalty to our colleagues falls within this, not the other way around.

As we all know, Close Protection is a profession that is unfortunately void of professional standards and requirements. Each country, and even each State has its own licensing or training requirements and in many cases no training is required at all. In light of this, you realize that you have to work to solidify a team with people who bring with them different experience, skills, training disciplines, standards, professionalism, culture, and ethics in the same way a sports team or elite military unit has to work through individual differences to become a uniquely cohesive team.

It is very important that each one on the team promote and maintain a strong working relationship  with the others as well as the client, and of course other people who we may be in contact with (house personnel, office staff etc).

Some of the people you are working with may have more or less skill and may be younger or older. So in each situation you must address your issues with them with respect. Never offend anyone no matter the reason, never correct someone while anyone else in present. If you believe they made a mistake you can ask if he would mind a tip or advice. Not many people are open to advice from coworkers. If they refuse your help, respect it and leave it alone. If a colleague makes a sexual advance or even a comment that you are not comfortable with, address it quickly.

In our work it is very important when an issue occurs, to take immediate action to address it. Later you can do your research and as a team and correct it. As in any team, constructive criticism is meant to eliminate future problems.

Try to avoid conversations with your colleagues that include topics which trigger emotional responses like sports, religion, sex or politics. No conversation on these topics can contribute to your client’s safety.

Avoid discussion about family and do not share details about your family, spouse, kids or home life. You don’t know how the information may be used against you or your client later. Can you be blackmailed? Could this affect your client or team?

The only conversation you should entertain is the one that adds to your client’s safety.

Your relationship with fellow citizens and Law Enforcement:

In most countries your authority or legal ability to act is no more than any other citizen.  Trying to get a free pass at the club or disturbing the peace will give you and your client a bad image. No you can’t stop the traffic, park whenever you want, stop people from entering in public places or ask to search them.

Many of our colleagues come from a Law Enforcement or Military background, they use to have their own language with their former colleagues and may work along with them or ask for their help. Remember that active Law Enforcement personnel have their own agendas. They are not part of our industry any more than we are part of theirs. Do not ask them to help you do your job. Some may abuse their authority and use it to get close to your client, and may even try to replace you. Be respectful and keep your distance.

Your networking activities

It is common and we see it almost every day in online networks or forums, people who hide behind a “screen” or “nickname” and make negative comments about other colleagues. It is seen by most as cowardly at best to make public comments about someone while hiding behind a false identity and further, without allowing the victim or viewing audience to verify the experience or credentials of the accuser.

Industry forums serve a couple of purposes. The first is to inform and the second is to allow comments and feedback for the purpose of informing. Unfortunately, they have become a place for the unimpressive to gain their 15 minutes of fame. These chronic complainers, seemingly have plenty of free time, (possibly due to their unemployment), and repair their egos by blaming or criticizing others. Yes, there are non-professionals and there are professionals, but a forum is not the right place to show who is who.

For those who like to comment on different articles or posts online (…that includes many of us…) before you hit “send” be sure you:

1) Read the article/post carefully. It is very disappointing to see colleagues who post a negative comment on an article when it is clear that they neither completely read nor completely understood it.

2) Offer a solid answer/opinion based on logical thoughts or facts (or evidence/search results). Recently, someone tried to show their disagreement with an author. Their only approach to a counter-point was insulting the author which actually proved the author’s point.  Someone else tried to answer him by copying and pasting parts from the article and offering negative comments on the excerpts, which further proved the subject of the article; that some people in our industry can’t adapt their soldier mentality and behavior to the more polished corporate environment.

3) Answer in a manner that does not insult the writer or others.

4) Re-read and understand the article. Stating a disagreement is fine but following up with information that goes off topic and writing anything other than what is pertinent to the subject will only make you look stupid.

5) Read the article again,

6) Read your answer again from the perspective of your colleagues,

7) Read it once again from the perspective of someone who knows you,

8) If it doesn’t look professional/logical/in good taste or relative to the article provided, DO NOT hit that “send” button or “publish now” ….otherwise again, you will only end up looking stupid.

If you think companies and recruiting agents don’t look at a candidate’s networking profiles? Think again!

The bottom line is this:

If you lack professionalism on any level or lack interpersonal skills in dealing with people you work for, with or around, you will not be able to hide behind your experience, education or other skillsets.

Denida Zinxhiria

Founder & Worldwide Director

Athena Academy 

Nannyguards

http://www.athenaacademy.com

http://www.nannyguards.com

Is the warrior mindset right for our profession?

LeMareschal2 Comments

 

We know what the Term “Warrior Mindset” is supposed to mean.

It is having the emotional drive and mental preparedness to think through the problem, fight through the problem and then not stopping until you are satisfied with the solution. While this works well on the battlefield, can we assume that this “mindset” will work in the Executive Protection Industry?

Who hasn’t heard the term “Warrior Mindset”? It brings to mind a soldier on a battlefield, covered in blood and dirt, with either a sword or a battle rifle, surrounded by the bodies of his fallen enemies.

It also brings to mind a person who wakes up at 5 a.m. and runs 5 miles, before he does 100 push-ups and then still hits the speed bag, all before 6 a.m., then calmly walks into the board room at 9 a.m. and conquers the world with the confidence of a 5 star General.

The negative of this vision however, is the tanned muscular former soldier that still has his mustache and goatee left over from Afghanistan, standing around in his name-brand tactical pants, with his eyes covered by his name-brand sunglasses and his finger indexed over his name-brand rifle.  Let’s not forget his name-brand hat that he doesn’t have the decency to remove when he enters a room, or the name-brand chewing tobacco he won’t spit out before he speaks. And the battlefield language and military vernaculars he uses to insure that everyone around him knows he is (or was) a soldier.

So the question really isn’t whether the Warrior Mindset will work, or has a place in our profession of Executive Protection, it is whether the person hired for the job can adapt the warrior mindset to our profession with the appropriate amount of finesse, etiquette, good manners, consideration and common decency, all of which are ignored in combat training.

It is possible to take children who were raised with good manners and turn them into foot soldiers, or take soldiers with no social polish and train them as officers, (understanding that officers are taught civility, manners and etiquette as part of their training and operating protocols), but it is almost impossible to convince a billionaire businessman that a Neanderthal can fly jet fighters or that an infantry soldier can wear a suit and blend in with a group of world class business leaders.

So the question has to be answered with another question:

Is it possible to hire a person with the “Warrior Mindset” who also possesses the other qualities desired by the client?

To answer that question, you have to ask the client what they expect.

Since every client is different and each of their needs and risk scenarios is different, an extensive client questionnaire must be completed and analyzed in order to interview, handpick and if needed, train the right individual for the job.

In preparation for this article, I contacted several past clients for whom I no longer provide service and reviewed about 40 questionnaires files. Here are comments from the majority of the clients questioned along with the most desired qualifications:

  • Minimum of a high school diploma
  • Have 10 client references and 10 personal references
  • Speak, read and write in the language of the country you operate in.
  • Height not over 6 feet 2 inches (188 cm) for men
  • Height not over 5 feet 9 inches (175.26 cm) for women
  • Weight not over 220 lbs men, 160 lbs women for max height.
  • 35 to 50 years of age
  • Manicured or at least well groomed nails. (men and women)
  • Know how to tell time and ALWAYS be 15 minutes early.
  • Be fiscally responsible with the client’s money
  • Don’t talk too much but always have an answer to any question
  • Smile, be polite, speak quietly but with authority
  • Don’t get too friendly or too comfortable with the client
  • Be both typing and computer literate
  • No visible tattoos. (This means outside of a bathing suit line)
  • No piercings other than ladies earlobes (None for men)
  • No habits.(smoking, drinking, chewing tobacco, chewing gum, biting nails, picking nose, sniffing…….)
  • No facial hair. (this includes mustaches, beards, and sideburns)
  • No strong perfumes or colognes
  • Must wear antiperspirant and deodorant
  • Never out-dress the client (no jewelry or expensive watches, no cuff-links, no bright scarves or ties, no designer suits or shoes, no three-piece or double-breasted suites, and ladies…. No dresses……ever).
  • Men, no hair on the collar. Women, hair tied back in a bun. No ponytails for women or men.
  • Only one button undone below the collar when a tie is not worn
  • If you carry it, know how to use it. (this includes weapons of any kind, electronic devices including cell phones and counter-surveillance equipment)
  • Know how to drive and how to prepare the car for the client
  • Know business and dining etiquette
  • Know how to lose an argument gracefully.
  • Know how to say please, thank you, good night and good-bye.
One thing to consider is that if a person won’t shave and cut their hair in order to get hired, how difficult is it going to be to manage them?
Notice on this list that Shooting and martial arts was not even referenced or mentioned.  So before you agree to work for your next client, ask yourself if you or your team members fit the client’s overall needs and if the Warrior Mindset fits the client’s needs? Regardless of the answer, you are the one that has to adapt.
John Lehman
Vice President
Athena Academy & Athena Worldwide

After the training what? Gaining Employment in the Security Industry

LeMareschal3 Comments

So you got retired from military, had your time serving overseas, got your experience within a hostile environment, paid a thousand of dollars to training courses in order to gain the skills and knowledge to operate in security industry  and now you are wondering what will be the next step that will give you a job.

Looking for a job can be a challenging procedure and it can be probably considered as a ‘full time job’ by itself. You have to be ready to spend many hours online finding the right job posts and apply to each one of them, some companies will require you submit your resume and some will require your fill their online questionnaire and fill the resume (in this case be ready to spend more than 30 min online per company). Statistically we can say that you have to send out 100 e-mails with your resume to companies in order to get an answer from 5 of them, and the answer doesn’t always mean it will be positive. So that by saying, you have to understand applying for a job it will take a lot of time and you mustn’t give up quickly.

Security Industry it is still considered a well paying industry and that’s why it is a ‘’cut throat’’ industry to operate within. There are many people with great qualifications that you will have to let’s say compete.

We will try to address to you some points in order to help you understand how the procedure chasing a job can work.

-How the job market currently look for security contractors, would you get any job after your PSD/CPO/Maritime Security Training?

In order to answer this, you have to think that attending PSD/CPO/Maritime Security Training etc what you are getting is, professional skills and education like attending a College degree. Before you spend your time and your money, make sure this is the profession suit you and also study well the current professional market. No training course or training provider can guaranty you will find a job after the training is over (if some do so consider it as a red flag), can anyone guaranty you a job after your College Bachelor degree or Master degree achievement? No…it is up to you to do your homework and market yourself and your skills accordingly.

As we already stated, security industry it is still considered as a well paying industry, a thousand of dollars are spend yearly to contracts in USA and overseas. However, until you make it up there and get those well paying contracts you have to be willing to start from lower and work your steps up every time.

-Present yourself professionally

If you want to be considered a professional then you have to start looking and behaving like one. Just because you don’t own a company that doesn’t mean you can’t print some business cards. You never know who you can meet, people that can be potential clients for you or can forward your contact details to other people. So why not be prepared and have printed simple-professional looking business cards that you can handle to people? I have heard many stories of colleagues that ended talking with important people and when they had to give their contact details they had to find a pen and a paper….and I have done the same mistake by myself when I started working in security industry and I still remember the embarrassing situation when I met in a event an ambassador (female) who looked thrilled about the female close protection services and when she asked my contact details I ended writing those on a napkin…..(I am not more experienced on those issues than my colleagues. I am just consulting on using my own past mistakes and my experience in chasing a work in security industry). It is also very important to keep your business card appearance simple and professional, avoid light colors or strong words. Use an email address that you use it only for business matter and keep it with your name and last name (avoid an e-mail address that looks like: afghanfighter@gmail.com…….etc. Remember keep it professional.

When it comes to your appearance, try to have a clean cut look, if someone is going to hire you to be close to important clients and dignitaries then he/she must be sure you can blend with the environment well. If you use to have a beard or mustache its ok as long as you takes care of it. Be aware of personal hygiene, yes no matter we are saying goodbye to 2012, it is sad how some people thinks it’s acceptable to have a specific scent or dirty shoes. If you are operating overseas it will be logical and acceptable but not if you are operating in Corporate Security or EP in the western world. And in this case make sure you invest some money to buy yourself some professional and comfort suit and shoes. Those will be your work tools along with your firearm.

Something to pay attention as well is your network appearance and activities. It is sad but people in security industry are also affected by personal issues and sometimes can act unprofessionally and like crying babies. Try not to take part in forums ‘’fights’’ or talking bad about other colleagues or companies, nowadays hiring companies and clients are monitoring network places and if they see you talking bad or unprofessionally for other people or companies what makes you think they would trust you and accept you to join their team? No matter how unfair you were treated by a colleague, a client or a company you must always act and talk professionally about them even after your resignation or dismissal. Your personal opinion can be left for your friends or family, in other cases you have to offer it as a professional opinion, so make sure you stick to that.

 

-Networking, Continuum Education and Attending Conferences

When you get into security industry what you will see is that also very important is the connections you make with other professionals, people that could refer you to other people and maybe clients. Make your contact area as wide as you can, there are a lot of jobs out there for everybody. It is very important to have a corporative, respectful and team spirit when dealing with other professionals. Just because you are already into an assignment and you get a job offer that doesn’t mean you can’t suggest someone else that is currently unemployed and have the skills for the job. Or if you know a company or a client is looking to hire someone with specific background and qualifications which you don’t have, you can always pass it to a colleague who can be suitable for the job. Bottom line, if you want to be helped by others colleagues you must be willing as well to help and not have a single player attitude.

Conferences, seminars and workshops can be the perfect place for you to network with other professionals or hiring companies, always try to save some time to attend in some and deal it as a very constructive opportunity for you to attend. Another important part is for you to understand the importance of continuum education. As there are many skilled and well trained professionals out there you have to train yourself up to date and add more skills in your resume. Have a better knowledge will add to your skills and ability to perform no matter the job position you currently have. Make sure you invest on your education and find time every year to attend a short training.

 

-The very important LICENSE and Certificate issue.

This is one of my favorite part from an article written by Athena Academy ex CEO, Mrs Rainey Shane.

There seems to be some confusion around the topics of Executive Protection certifications and licenses. I think this is a result of prospective students trying to break into the industry and trying to sift through the multitude of training schools, associations and the “puffery” being perpetuated by misleading marketing language.

There are multiple ASSOCIATIONS for Executive Protection Professionals, most of which charge a fee to be a member. Some are better than others as far as what benefits they offer their members. An Association is nothing more than a business created by someone who thinks they can provide a service and tries to make the security industry better. They usually have experience in the field and would like to further the industry as a whole. Some do a good job of that and some doesn’t. Either way, there is nothing special needed to create an Association other than the desire, willingness and a business license. They are not usually “sanctioned” by an overarching authority. They intend to BE the authority. For the moment we can say they are a couple of associations that are truly doing a great job.

-The Certificate Issue

Most Associations are trying to “standardize” the industry by offering their own CERTIFICATION. Their Certification is a set of knowledge, skills and abilities that they think a bodyguard should have to be successful. There again, the association chooses what to include in the Certification, there is not one set of standards. They are trying to create that set of standards. There are many differing opinions in this industry so you have to weigh how much credibility each one has. A Certification is NOTHING MORE than a piece of paper proving you attended a course that you can put on your CV to show to a prospective employer. Some Certifications will make you look better than others because of the school’s credibility. Depending the country those schools are operating, their Certificate may offer you much more cause the training providers, instructors and training manual is monitored by governmental bodies, such as Australia or UK. The fact there are standards that a training provider must met in order to teach you can add a value on your certificate and resume.

A LICENSE is what the governmental unit of your area grants to individuals that allow them to work as a bodyguard legally within their jurisdiction (area). Certifications are not Licenses. Every governmental unit has different requirements to get a license. Some may not even require you to have a Certification because it doesn’t mean anything to them. Depending the State you are looking to operate within you must do all the necessary actions to receive the licence. For example for the State of California someone must apply for a Guard Card in order to work as an Executive Protection Agent, in some States it will be required to attend a two days class and give a test (Now you are going to ask me why attend a 2 days classroom when you spend weeks attending a EP or PSD class?, well the law is the law and you have to fulfil the minimum required qualifications set by the State. Some States recognizes and accept a license that has been issued from another State, so that by its own give you a wider area to operate within. From the moment you decided to join this industry then I would suggest you do things properly and apply for licenses in those States you are interested to operate and willing to relocate and work there. For that, be ready to spend some money in fees, criminal records and fingerprints checks.

Another very important thing someone should be aware of is the CCW permit. Although I’m not a big supporter of firearms use, there is a difference between I know how to operate a firearm and I have the license to carry one and use one, from the part I just know how to operate a firearm. Yes you did your firearms training during your PSD/CPO/Maritime Security Training but that doesn’t mean you got the license to carry one. As 90% of people entering security industry are from military or law enforcement, the common sense says they already know how to operate a firearm, however what hiring companies are asking to see is that certificate specifically from firearms training organization (just to mention one here NRA) that prove you can use one, then you can go to the license part of carrying one.

When companies thinks you have a good enough resume to fill one of their positions but you are missing a license and a CCW permit, don’t think they will give you the time to apply and go through all that process. So think in advance and make sure you have those required qualifications.

-Resume writing and Applying for a job position

Many security operators will spend thousands of dollars on a close protection training course and education in technical qualifications to enable themselves to work in the protective services industry. However, many fall short when it comes to gaining employment because they have a poorly written CV which doesn’t highlight their key experiences, skills and attributes.

In order to be successful in gaining employment it is important that an employer when reading a CV gains an accurate picture of the person they are reading about. The CV should highlight operator’s key skills, if ex Forces then maybe operational experience or if not then transferable skills from the workplace such as leadership and management.

The work history should detail tasks conducted within each job. It should be easy for the person viewing the CV to read, for example not having to look up technical terms or abbreviations. It is really important to make sure that all the information on the CV is relevant to gaining a role in protection as information that isn’t relevant makes it harder for the reader to pick out the key information in the CV. The CV once written in general must then be tailored to fit the job description for which you are applying for.

 The job search and application process can be a challenging, long and tedious one, consisting of many phases of recruitment, civil and criminal background checks, physical and psychological testing, and meeting each specific companies standards as a prerequisite of employment. Make sure you do all the necessary steps from your side and the most important, the best time to look for a job is when you currently have a job. 

Denida Zinxhiria

Athena Academy Founder

http://www.athenaacademy.com

femalebodyguards.info

Can you foresee and prevent threats?

LeMareschal

As security professionals we all know that the number one responsibility in providing security details is the ability to prevent a threat before it endangers you and your client. No matter how adept you are in close combat skills or the use of firearms when that horrific Moment of Commitment comes (the aggressor pulls a weapon and begins shooting), your skills are not enough, this has been proven to be the fact in studies and in practice. How a gunshot or a physical combat will end depends on different factors such as the environment, the number of enemies, the number of rounds each party has, what kind of, if any support you have and most importantly your psychological response during an attack. Believe it or not we have seen security professionals ‘’freeze’’ during a gun battle. Were they trained in firearms? Yes!  Were they trained in close combat? Yes!  So, what went wrong? The most important question is, can we risk engaging ourselves in a situation that will most likely end violently for us and our clients? How many ‘’clients’’ or security operatives have come through a gun battle completely safe after having engaged in one? I am still searching to find that one case……

It is safer to prevent a threat instead of reacting to it! The best security details are not those based in force or use of firearms, but those based on foreseeing the upcoming threat and preventing it. We should also not forget that in some countries our colleagues are not permitted to carry or use firearms, so they must use their brains and intel.

Can we get training to foresee and prevent a threat? Yes we can!

I had the opportunity to attend one of ESI’s classes (28-DAY Corporate Security & Threat Management Program) this weekend and meet Mr. John D. Byrnes. Mr. Byrnes is the founder of the Center for Aggression Management. The Center provides training and systems for use in avoiding and preventing violence in areas such as the workplace, campuses  or in the school environment to provide more effective, lower impact methods for confronting aggressors and de-escalating aggression.

Most importantly this training can be taught to a wide area of professionals and organizations. I would personally and highly recommend this training to EVERYONE who would like to feel safe regardless his or her professional background.

No matter what our profession, age, sex, culture or country we live in, we all have to deal at some point in our lives with aggressive individuals, either as criminals, colleagues or family members. As a woman I can see multiple uses of Mr. Byrnes’ Critical Aggression Prevention System (CAPS).

As a security professional I can assure you that this training will change the way you have been looking at things and suspects. At some point we all have been trained in how to identify suspects and how to deal with them. Most schools still teach profiling, mostly when it comes to terrorists and suicide bombers.

Personally I was never  be a believer in using profiling. Why? Simply because there has not been an accurate “terrorist profile!” All profile assessments that have studied terrorists have been done  after they were captured. In psychology it is well known that you cannot obtain real research facts from a subject who (study object-terrorist) is not a willing participant ….

What about those situations when you are dealing with the occasional threat of aggression? Imagine being with your client in a pub where people get intoxicated and become aggressive, or at a football stadium? Being able to understand and ‘’read’’ aggression escalation is essential  to maintain a safe environment for your client, you and others who could otherwise be injured.  Identifying emerging aggression, engaging and preventing a possible attack offers a much better solution than pulling your firearm and pointing it at prospective aggressor.

Remember, we are security professionals, we are not Law Enforcement or Federal Agents, depending upon our country of operations, our duties and actions can be so limited by the law and have no more authority than any other professional such as bus driver.

In cases that you cannot restrain, handcuff or point a firearm against an aggressive suspect you must have other tools to defend yourself and your client. Critical Aggression Prevention System will not only teach you how to identify and respond in those situations, but will also teach you how to identify aggressive levels in yourself and how to control them. We are humans too and when an aggressor, whose adrenaline is already surging, it is a natural response for our adrenaline to rise as it prepares us for attack!  We can get aggressive as well when we are offended, threaten or our interests are limited. So by learning how to control our aggression brings us to a much higher professional level. The one who control his or her temper and calmness is the professional one. The one that can maintain their calm will make better decisions, and when it comes to our professional area, the one who will make the safest decisions.

Soon we will be hosting an interview with Mr. Byrnes, until then you can find out more about his work and the Center for Aggression Management  .

***To find out more about the  CORPORATE SECURITY and THREAT MANAGEMENT Program and next training dates contact Executive Security International at 800-874-0888***

Denida Zinxhiria

Athena Academy Founder

http://www.athenaacademy.com

Director of Placement

& Services at Executive Security International 

http://www.esi-lifeforce.com/

Train to Protect? What you need to know

LeMareschal

Lately we are getting some questions from prospective students and we would like to answer to those questions and give to those who are interested to join the industry  more information about our profession and what to expect.

– How fit you need to be to manage the CPO-training?

Being in security industry you have to be in good health condition, have good resistance and ability to react fast. There is no specific height or weight scale that you must fit in in order to become a Close Protection Agent. Some security service companies when they want to hire may ask for specific height and weight, although this have been very rarely. What you have to have in mind is that you need to be ”in shape”, our job is very demanding not only physically when it comes to conflicts and maybe hand to hand combat but also being many hours standing up out of a door or a vehicle waiting for the client.

Some training providers also use to put specific standards on their application like push ups, sprint etc in order to be accepted to their training course. Personally, i don’t agree with the idea. As i believe the majority of our profession is based on mental awareness and brain skills than physical skills (of course you need also physical skills, but you don’t have to be the best weightlifter or sprinter!). Neither you can make a student in 8 or 12 training days during CPO course super fit or change his shape maze. That is something that every CPO has to be responsible and work hard day by day to achieve it.

– How the job market currently lo0k for bodyguards, would you get any jobs/job chanses after the CPO-training?

In order to answer to this, you have to think that attending a CPO course you are getting professional skills and education like attending in a College. Before you spend your time and money you have to think it well if this profession suit to you and also study the market. No training provider can guaranty you will find a job after the training or when…(if some do so consider it as a red flag), can anyone guaranty you a job position after your BSc achievement? No.. it is up to you to do your homework and market yourself accordingly.

Security industry is considered as a ”well paying industry”, but until you make it up there you need to start from down steps and work every time.

 

-Why the CPO-training is “so expensive”?

Actually, CPO training’s are not expensive at all if you consider the fact that by attending one you will receive the skills and knowledge to do a job that is well paying. Maybe it seems expensive because people see the short term educational program in combination with cost, so an 8 or 12 days courses for $2000-$3000 may look expensive for some prospective students.

Having gone through University education and Security Related courses the last eleven years of my life i can definitely say my University education cost me much much more.

You have to have in mind as well the fact that in our profession we need to go under more training courses all the time to develop our skills and be prepared better. Don’t think just because you attended a CPO course you are ready to go, that’s only a course to start. But would be more easy to you when you are already working and making some money to attend in more courses later.

 

-Why some training providers don’t run trainings in their (prospective students)  city/hometown, as some think its a long way to different training facilities.

Running a CPO training requires specific training facilities, something that has costs a lot for the training provider to built. In some states and countries you even need a specific license from the government to run a training facility like that, so as you understand it is not easy to ”move all equipment” in another part of the country that would be closer to some students.

If you are interested to become a bodyguard your first step is to be willing to travel a bit/long way to get a good CPO-training. If you´re not ready to travel to a new city, or perhaps a new country to take this kind of training, then you are probably not ready to be a bodyguard and travel with a client either, cause traveling is a big part of beeing somebodys protective shadow. You as a BG/CPO always follow your client whereever he/she goes, and it can continue for hours, weeks, months and even years, depending on the contract.

Sometimes you may even need to move into another area, state, city that can offer you more job vacancies than the one you are living in.

 

-And last but very important the LICENSE issue….

There seems to be some confusion around the topics of bodyguard certifications and licenses. I think this is a result of prospective female bodyguards trying to break into the industry and trying to sift through the multitude of training schools, associations and the “puffery” being perpetuated by misleading marketing language. I seem to answer this question a lot from prospective students. So I would like to put this out to all those who haven’t asked for some reason or another, but want to know.

There are multiple ASSOCIATIONS for bodyguards, most of which charge a fee to be a member. Some are better than others as far as what benefits they offer their members. An Association is nothing more than a business created by someone who thinks they can provide a service and try to make the bodyguard industry better. They usually have experience in the field and would like to further the industry as a whole. Some do a good job of that and some don’t. Either way, there is nothing special needed to create an Association other than the desire, willingness and a business license. They are not usually “sanctioned” by an overarching authority. They intend to BE the authority.

Most Associations are trying to “standardize” the industry by offering their own CERTIFICATION. Their Certification is a set of knowledge, skills and abilities that they think a bodyguard should have to be successful. There again, the association chooses what to include in the Certification, there is not one set of standards. They are trying to create that set of standards. There are many differing opinions in this industry so you have to weigh how much credibility each one has. A Certification is NOTHING MORE than a piece of paper proving you attended a course that you can put on your CV to show to a prospective employer. Some Certifications will make you look better than others because of the school’s credibility.

A LICENSE is what the governmental unit of your area grants to individuals that allow them to work as a bodyguard legally within their jurisdiction (area). Certifications are not Licenses. Every governmental unit has different requirements to get a license. Some may not even require you to have a Certification because it doesn’t mean anything to them.

There are some students that are coming to us saying that they want an international bodyguard course because they want to work internationally. Keep in mind though that just because the course is called an International Bodyguard course, it does not give you any more privileges than a course called Bodyguard Training. They might give you instruction slanted towards how to operate across country lines but there is no international license. There is no authority that could grant such a license because there is not a governmental unit that governs the whole earth. You still have to get a license in every country, state, area, province, etc that you want to work in.

Some of prospective students have been led to believe that they will be trained by US Federal Agencies. This is not true. US federal law enforcement agencies do not train bodyguards. If a school makes that claim, it should be a red flag. Pay careful attention to the language. It may be that one of the instructors used to teach at a US federal law enforcement academy prior to training bodyguards, but the curriculum you will learn is not sanctioned by that agency. There are companies that have contracts with the federal government to provide training, but again, if you are not part of the agency they are training, you won’t get that training material. You will get a civilian version or a close protection version, but not a military or law enforcement version.

So, as far as associations and schools go, no one can tell you which one to join or which school to attend. Only you can decide what’s in your best interest for your career. You should get as much knowledge as you can from many different sources. Just make sure the source isn’t making you think it is more than it really is.

Denida Zinxhiria

Athena Academy Founder

http://www.athenaacademy.com

Section: Professional Advises from Experienced Close Protection Operatives around the world.

LeMareschal

By Dan Toon 

CONFLICT AREA MANAGEMENT

“PREVENTING BAD THINGS FROM HAPPENING TO GOOD PEOPLE”

OPS@CONFLICTAREAMANAGEMENT.COM

DUNS Number: 797878209
CAGE Code: 4R8R9

          The job search and application process can be a challenging, long and tedious one, consisting of many phases of recruitment, civil and criminal background checks, physical and psychological testing, and meeting each specific companies standards as a prerequisite of employment.

An individual contemplating how to start in the security, defense and protective services field, must ensure they are taking the proper actions before they apply for and begin the process of obtaining any position

These steps include having a clean civil and criminal record, having specialized training that is standard in the industry, being physically fit, and ability to adapt to rapidly changing conditions.

Once a prospective applicant has received the training, credentials and qualifications in their specialty, the search for employment begins.

Hundreds of private companies exist around the world supporting contracts awarded them by their respective nations and the international community.

Most companies are using computer based applications, requiring numerous hours of time to submit personal and professional information to company recruitment databases (for larger multinational companies) that utilize computer aided search programs to begin to match up prospective applicants to their needs.

Once this information is sorted, a recruiter begins their process of screening each applicant.  This includes verification of past background, employment history and thorough review of the candidates resume or CV.

Each position opening can generate many applicants to sort. Since the CV is the first document the recruiter receives from the applicant,  a professionally formatted CV begins to stand out from hundreds of poorly written CVs that come across a recruiters desk.

A CV / resume should be tailored to the specific position advertised by a company.  This may require an individual to possess a number of resumes representing the different specialties of the applicant.

The debate over cover letters continues, a cover letter enables an applicant to go into depth regarding their career aspirations and goals.  A brief strengths summary at the beginning of the CV is recommended as a means to gain the attention of the reader, in this case, a recruiter or project manager that is conducting the review.  Applicants should write a cover letter if it gives the option. Listing their qualifications and how they meet/exceed them due to past training and experience.

After a cover letter or summary, a chronological list of employment experience, with the most recent position first, and depending on employment history, previous positions held.

Employment summaries should include company name, position title, dates, and responsibilities summary as concisely as possible. Many potential applicants do not take the time to clearly explain to the employer what their skills and qualifications are.  An applicant may feel they do not need to list these skill sets on the application. Many recruiters  have not worked in the defense or protection services field. Make sure that each job description on the CV explains in detail how it pertains to the job being applied to.

Once previous experiences have been listed, an applicant may choose to list any other education, training, awards, qualifications and certifications received or held. This should also be in a chronological format with most recent listed first.

Separate from the CV should be an up-to-date list of professional references with name, job title, current address and / or contact information.  Some companies request references with the initial application, while others may wait until initiating a background investigation.

Many applicants become disappointed after going through the process of submitting their information to a company for a position, they never receive acknowledgment or updates on the status of their application.  Most apply to a few positions and are discouraged when not immediately contacted by the company.    With so many companies in the industry, an applicant during their initial employment search and application phase, should submit their information to each company that has current advertised positions and on-going recruitment efforts.          Each company may offer multiple positions within a specific field, applicants should apply to each position that fits their skills and qualifications.

Even with a strong, marketable resume, this process may have to be completed a number of times before a company recruiter contacts the applicant.

Every email, reply, and phone call from a company should be documented, to gradually build a personal database of recruiters, human resource professionals, program and project managers, with as much detail as possible keeping the  information current.

When able to obtain a company recruiters contact information, phone number or email address, then contact can be made from time to time as to the status of the applicants processing.  Applicants should be as helpful as possible to the contact, this will keep ones name and information on the mind of the recruiter, who may have hundreds of names and personal information from other potential job seekers, circulating around them at any given time.

If at this time there are still no potential leads or resources generated from the application process, electronic applications that have been submitted to companies should be updated and resubmitted every six to eight weeks.  This may require entering every piece of information again, phrased properly to be resorted to the top of the recruiters list.

Applicants should never expect immediate contact from companies, sometimes the process of screening can take up to a year from initial submission.       A job search can never rest on its laurels, even when gainfully employed, the best time to look for work is when one already has a job.

Networking through personal and professional contacts who may be able to assist or advise, seeking to keep diverse skill sets, training and qualifications, a strong marketable CV or resume, being friendly, helpful, and respectful to every company contact made will allow the job seeker to achieve success .

Are you a woman interested to join security industry?

LeMareschal

If you are a woman aspiring to become a certified Close Protection Operative, Nannyguard or join Security Industry and you have questions contact Athena Academy at http://athenaacademy.com/ and ask Charla!

Charla Blomberg handles Athena’s Customer Relationship Management & Recruitment Consultation Services. Has been one of Athena Academy first graduated students. She is currently a Close Protection Operative in Europe with 12 years of experience in the security industry including working at the Swedish Parliament Security Unit. She also has a solid background in the Swedish Army and 3 UN peacekeeping missions during wars in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo.

Whatever your questions are regardless joining security industry Charla has the experience and knowledge to answer you.

Athena Academy