Security is just as vital today as it has been for centuries past starting with the Pinkerton Security Company back in the early 1800’s to the powerful Blackwater security group of today. In the United States they have approximately 16,000 different security companies doing everything from guarding your local wall mart to performing detailed critical infrastructure threat assessment. With over $20 billion dollars spent on security services annually in the U.S.A, It’s no wonder they have so many specialized companies trying to get a piece of the wealth. Even though America has this abundance of security, I still hear about tragedies that occur that could have been avoided with even minimally staffed security details. I’m talking about the horrible incident that occurred in Tucson Arizona on January 8th 2011 that left 6 victims in its wake including U.S Representative Gabrielle Gifford who suffered a head trauma from a bullet. In this blog I want to discuss the overall psychological profile of the shooter, Jared Loughner, as well as the major security weaknesses that have received more than enough bad press.
For the most part, a re-evaluation of security has not been considered for this occurrence, the reason being is that such a security detail for 535 representatives and senators and more that 3,000 federal judges is much too big of a tab for the government to pay. Of course, each individual can hire their own security out of pocket, but seeing has how a typical bodyguard can cost anywhere from $60 to $200 is much too big of a bill for a single person to afford as well. Also, a common misconception is that a security detail will limit their accessibility and thus hinder their ability to do their job which is untrue; bodyguards are trained to provide protection without hindering a client’s daily duties both in high profile and low profile mode.
Having worked as a body guard and police officer for many years before founding LEOSEC Security Solutions, I can completely understand a client’s reservation about cost. But each client must realize that a bodyguard is not there to look pretty and eat money. Well trained guards perform threat assessments and counter surveillance, in summary, not only do these types of guards protect a client from danger, and they greatly reduce the chance of a violent encounter from ever happening. There have been a total of 20 assassination attempts on the president and a total of 5 assassination attempts on Representatives. In my opinion, those facts alone make security well worth the money you invest.
A fundamental of threat analysis is that an attacker is most vulnerable during the pre-operational surveillance; this makes countersurveillance one of the most crucial skills a bodyguard possesses. A victim will normally see the attacker before an attack occurs, thus, it’s important to have a trained team ready to take the attacker out. Awareness is 60% of security.
In the case of the Giffords attack, Jared Loughner was already known by the congresswoman’s campaign staff. He had come to a previous “Congress on Your Corner” event in 2007 and asked an odd question about semantics. Loughner’s presence at one of Giffords’ public appearances before, and possibly others, left him vulnerable to identification by anyone practicing protective intelligence. The problem here was that Loughner, as far as we know, was not acting illegally, only suspiciously. However, trained countersurveillance personnel can recognize suspicious behavior that may become a direct and immediate threat. They can also disguise themselves within a crowd rather than appear as overt security, which can bring them, much closer to potential perpetrators.
Analysis is the second part of protective intelligence, and anyone analyzing Giffords’ security would note that serious threats were present over the last two years. In August 2009, an unknown person dropped a gun that had been concealed in his pants pocket during a town hall meeting Giffords was holding with constituents. It is unclear who the man was and whether he represented a real threat or just accidentally dropped a gun he was legally carrying, but the incident raised concern about her security. Then on March 22, her congressional office in Tucson was vandalized after a heated debate over the U.S. health care bill, which Giffords voted to support. Giffords was not the only member of Congress to confront violence last year. At least nine other lawmakers faced death threats or vandalism the week after the health care bill passed. Obviously it’s a sad case of hindsight to evaluate all these security breaches now but it paints a rather grim moral that security analysis like this may have been valuable before Giffords attack, and there were plenty of breeches that should have been recognized in the past, More than likely this event could have been avoided.
A little known fact is that the U.S. Capitol Police is the agency in charge of protecting congressional official while in the Capitol and while travelling. This is a service given to all officials, they should utilize this as much as possible.
When seeking a bodyguard there are a few traits one should look for. Of course price is an important question. LEOSEC Security Solutions offers guards trained at one of the best bodyguard academies in the world, all for approximately $50 an hour depending on coverage and location, If we offer such great deals then I’m sure other companies do the same. As far as the training is concerned, verify if the guards a company offers are current or former military and police. Of course current police will be better for more dangerous assignments because they possess concealed firearm. Police and military trained guards are much more expensive than civilian bodyguards but well worth the cost. The training of the guards is obviously important because it determines their effectiveness. Make sure you get a detailed history about training received. Some great schools for bodyguarding are academies like The Executive Protection Institute, Executive Security International, and various others.
All our bodyguards at LEOSEC Security Solutions have received training in these schools, but if you want a list of other schools in the U.S.A please drop us an email at nferara@leosecss.com. Thanks for reading! I hope this proved useful.
By:
Nickolas Ferara
Founder/Owner of
LEOSEC Security Solutions
