Executive Protection Overview
June 20, 2014 – PSPA Editorial Staff
Executive protection (EP), also known as close personal protection, refers to security measures taken to ensure the safety of very important persons (VIPs) or other individuals who may be exposed to elevated personal risk because of their employment, celebrity status, wealth, associations, or geographical location.
Protective measures may include home security systems, bodyguards, armored vehicles and vehicle scramble plans, mail screening, private jet travel, background checks for other employees, and other precautions. Executive protection may also provide security for immediate and/or extended family members to prevent kidnapping and extortion.
Executive protection is its own highly specialized field within the private security industry. Elite executive protection professionals will have specialized training in a variety of areas, including but not limited to: executive protection, driving, first aid, and marksmanship.
The term executive protection was coined in the 1970s by the United States Secret Service when they created the Executive Protection Service to guard visiting foreign dignitaries.
In the United States, executive protection services are regulated at the state level and in most cases require licensing, insurance, training and, where applicable, require a separate concealed carry weapons permit. Also, The Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act of 2004 (aka HR-218) does not serve as a license for off-duty law enforcement officers to provide executive protective services. Hiring unlicensed, uninsured protection services, including those offered by off-duty law enforcement officers, may create direct liability for a client.
A professional executive protection firm should be able to provide a prospective client with their:
- State-issued Corporate Business License (HR-218 or status as a retired law enforcement officer does not replace this document)
- State-issued registration to provide protective services (HR-218 or status as a retired law enforcement officer does not replace this document)
- Copy of current liability insurance
- Personal certificates of initial and ongoing executive protection training for each agent
- State-issued registrations to provide protective services for each agent
- State-issued registrations allowing the agent to carry weapons for professional use. (HR-218 or status as a retired law enforcement officer does not replace this document)
- State-issued concealed carry permits for each agent (HR-218 may replace this document)
An executive protection team may have agents performing in a variety of roles to better protect the client, including:
- Detail Leader
- Assistant Detail Leader (Detail Manager)
- Tactical Commander
- Motorcade Lead
- Advance Lead
- Mobile Agent
- Static Agent
- Protective Intelligence Agent
Clients’ requiring the services of an executive protection expert or team of experts continues to grow. Being a high-powered executive may not be financially risky, but in wake of today’s economic climate, it can be dangerous. Or at least, that’s a reasonable conclusion based on the millions of dollars some companies spend protecting their top executives.
Executive compensation reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission reveal how much companies spend to protect their top executives. According to filings, corporations spend hundreds of thousands of dollars, even millions on an annual basis. Some firms take security very serious, outfitting executive level employees with cars, planes, and home alarm systems.
So what does a client of an executive protection expert pay for. The biggest cost is labor. Typically a top executive will contract with a company to provide guards at their home, both for screening visitors at a gatehouse and stationed around the perimeter of their property. Executives may also hire 24x7 bodyguards for their family, similar to those used by celebrities.
The perceived risks increase when clients travel outside the U.S. and so do the fees. Prominent clients hire additional labor when they travel to high-crime countries. The protection officer will travel with the client, search and secure vehicles, corporate jets, hotels, meeting rooms, etc., for potential security breaches.
Home security hardware is also a big part of the cost. Top-of-the-line alarm systems can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars or more depending on the size of the estate. The more expensive security programs feature reinforced perimeter fencing, ingress/egress control, upgraded lighting, high-resolution cameras and recording equipment, reinforced home windows/doors, motion detectors, and facial recognition scanners, to name just a few.
Safe rooms are a popular home security feature. The rooms are designed like upgraded bomb shelters, with air filters to screen out biological agents, dedicated phone lines, bathrooms and closed-circuit TV systems. Depending on the features, safe rooms can cost in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Many users of executive protection services would prefer to be left alone for privacy matters however their employers and/or business managers claim that prevailing risk cannot be left unattended. In the end, executive protection with its high-end security measures (people and equipment) must find a simple balance between protection and privacy.
