Executive Protection Best Practices: Part 2
Picking up where we left off last week, a major factor to determine the positive outcome of an executive protection operation is the knowledge of the risks inherent to the location in which the task will take place.
Beyond knowing the area that an individual is in or traveling to, it’s important to know the risks that the area presents. Whether it is political unrest, criminal activity, health outbreaks or other issues, understanding potential threats and the possibility for them to materialize will help the team provide effective protection as well as to be prepared to handle any critical situation.
Each threat will bring unique responses based on the situation and the potential risks. If a known and credible threat targets an event, it is the duty of the experienced executive protection professional to not only assess the risk posed by the threat based on their capability and intent, but to increase the response force or add other mitigation steps to counter the threat. An EP team might redeploy its positioning or bring in additional technical surveillance to expand their situational awareness and act as a force multiplier to enable a swift response to any threat manifestation.
Perhaps an international traveler is abroad, and is under imminent threat. When properly set up, executive protection offers real time mitigation from many risky situations, whether on travel or in a fixed location, to ensure safety, protection and peace of mind.
Sometimes the threats faced are not physical threats. It is also important to understand the business espionage threats in every location. Principals should know if communications and conversations might be intercepted, monitored or recorded. And they should have countermeasures available, such as Technical Surveillance Countermeasures (TSCM), if that is warranted by the threats.
Or, perhaps a former employee reacts violently to being left without a job. Whether it involves placing an armed undercover agent at the front entrance of the employer’s office, or some other preventive technique, it is the responsibility of the executive protection professional to prepare, assess and respond to any potentially threatening situation that might arise.
The situations vary from day to day, but one thing remains the same: the team must be prepared for the various types of threats that they may face.
Many global locations have unique risks to that specific area. Knowing the threats that a team or individual may face is imperative to providing effective executive protection. Threats will continue to evolve and adapt to countermeasures in place; therefore, it is critical for protection professionals to study and stay up to date of threat capabilities and dynamics. Having strong intelligence networks and support is vital to support Executive Protection risk mitigation.