Personal security – a unique and individual service
Personal security is a unique and sensitive service. It requires highly trained officers and a level of flexibility that allows clients to live their normal lives while feeling completely safe. Those that need personal security often face constant threats to their privacy, finances and physical safety.
Each client’s personal security service, however, should be moulded around their specific needs, from workplace to home, travel and cybersecurity. Close protection also requires specialists since no two assignments are the same. Highly trained security specialists will operate in high-profile environments, catering to specific security threats.
Service providers need to work with individuals to assess their own threats and concerns. Every situation requires a slightly different response, so an in-depth risk assessment should be central to the process. And this will encompass more than what most think of as a traditional bodyguard service – there are protective and counter-surveillance measures that provide a high degree of security without any noticeable changes to life.
Of course, the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown has added another layer of complexity to all security services.
Security providers and personnel are having their innovation and skills put to the test like never before. Extra considerations include how to balance social distancing by implementing procedures to minimise the risk of contamination and infection, and placing an even greater focus on conflict resolution skills, all whilst still delivering an effective service to protect clients’ people and assets.
Knowledge is power
Security, in all forms, starts with experience and expertise in intelligence. Nowhere is this more obvious than in protection when travelling – a detailed scoping of the landscape can vastly increase preparedness, allowing you to put in place the measures which help to overcome possible threats.
Having security professionals in place at your destination can provide rich, on-the-ground knowledge of the threats across a locale which allows travellers to make the best decisions for their personal safety: from the basics of where to stay and how to travel, to the local culture and customs, political concerns and upcoming events which may impact upon travel plans.
The personal security provider would be on hand to provide clients with a full brief of the destination before travelling, so as to offer the highest possible level of safety and comfort throughout their travel.
Knowledge, experience and intelligence sit at the heart of effective personal security.
The adage ‘knowledge is power’ holds true and, whilst access to a high degree of intelligence might be designed to ensure security, it may well have lessons that clients can apply in their life more broadly, from their travel to and within local cities and events, to helping to increase their situational awareness at home and within their personal interactions with others.
Naturally, effective intelligence sits alongside the strategic use of technology. Simple technological security solutions can add a layer of protection that enables clients to go about their daily activities with virtually no intervention while maintaining complete peace of mind. This may be as simple as a phone app which provides location details so that security professionals can attend to a client as soon as they are needed, even in low-pressure situations where surveillance is not otherwise required.
Technology is also playing a part in minimising unnecessary contact between security teams and clients. For example, video calls can sometimes be used to supplant or supplement face-to-face meetings, such as security briefings, as well as reducing the need to travel and physically interact with colleagues and clients.
Rapid temperature-testing technology, in the hands of trained security professionals, can identify those at risk of infection, providing the necessary intervention with compassion and decisiveness to keep clients secure.
In-built security
Consulting with security experts will ensure a client’s long-term security. Moving to a new house or redesigning a home is a stressful process for anyone, but working with security experts can take a huge weight off anyone’s mind. These experts can provide intelligence about security and risk factors in the local area and will be able to provide guidance on the most effective means through which to create a home that is as secure as possible.
These measures, based upon the key tenets of Secured By Design, work to create ‘defence in depth’, layering measure upon measure to deter and deny assailants entry into a property without the impression of a ‘fortress’. Oftentimes these measures can be small or medium-sized – perhaps bolstering security conscientiousness or increasing the layers of soft-contact required before being able to gain entry – but are incremental. Not only can this physically stop or delay threats against the target, but it displays an outward impression of dignified but strong security which can deter opportunistic criminal attacks.
Carrying out a home security assessment remotely may prove particularly challenging and it may be considered that a physical review remains the only real viable option. In these cases, security professionals can employ the required measures to keep themselves and their clients safe, including the use of PPE, exemplary hygiene measures, and social distancing measures employed throughout the assessment.
Advice and guidance can also be given on more technical aspects such as cybersecurity. The cost and sophistication of cybercrimes are increasing year on year and people-based attacks have seen the greatest rise in numbers.
Spending on cybersecurity is also increasing. Cybercriminals will target personal computer systems, smartphones and digitally encrypted physical security defences, such as gates and home alarm systems. Consultations on what interventions are the most effective can be invaluable.
Peace of mind
It is important to understand that personal security is totally unique. Businesses will implement security measures according to their cost-benefit risk analysis. Many will accept a certain degree of loss due to the difficulty of preventing it. However, this is not the case with personal security, where even a low level of risk may be intolerable. Personal security is not only about safety but also ensuring peace of mind, and this is what highly professional and experienced officers are trained to do.
Ultimately, personal security solutions must be highly tailored to the individual. These services should begin with a consultation with the client and an in-depth risk assessment to understand the objective risks and the client’s own needs. Security should provide peace of mind so that clients can go about their lives as normal, without fear or other worries.
Darren Read
Managing Director, Amulet
