Bodyguard services in London

Nowadays, close protection companies are becoming increasingly popular as factory of saviour of life and health of another individual.

In English action writing, one may frequently come across the term „muscle”. It is derogatory for a security guard to the same extent the term „cop” is harmful for a police officer. Proper guards are characterized by thinking logically and preventing dangerous situations from happening.
Factual actions are only 20% of the responsibilities of expert from bodyguard services, the remaining 80% consists of prevention and thinking ahead. What is more, satisfactory training is also the key. If the latter is not sufficient, offenders may succeed. In his work, a bodyguard should follow the principles enumerated below:

Golden rule principle – no deviations from the set operational paradigm should be made;

Chameleon principle – ability to adopt to and blend in with the crowd,

Poker face principle – a security guard cannot ever show his fear or shock;

Taciturnity principle – as little words should be uttered by the guard as possible, the VIP should be remarkably more talkative;

Confidentiality principle – not many pieces of information about his own identity should be disclosed by   the bodyguard;

Emotion suppression principle – the execution of the set task should be of the major importance;

Risk assessment principle – impossible tasks should be by all means avoided;

Longest road principle – related predominantly to VIP transportation;

Master and slave principle – the secured subject tells the bodyguard where he wants to go and what he wants to do, and the task of the latter is to make it possible with maintaining the maximal level of care and protection.
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Female Bodyguards

Female Bodyguards

If you want to hire bodyguard, please keep in mind that female bodyguards are a specific group of secured individuals. It is mainly because they may use rooms (such as toilets or wardrobes) that men are typically not allowed to, but they may be taken advantage of by killers.

Secondly, women are proficient in noticing details that males may overlook. They also have intuition that may be in many cases of significant use in terms of protection-oriented undertakings. Females tend to look gentler and weaker.

Thanks to the said fact, they are on many occasions disregarded by offenders, which in turn give them tremendous advantage and possibility of acting by surprise.

The exemplification of the above statement is the heroine of the “In the Line of Fire” movie, who was played by Rene Russo.

There are two main types of female bodyguards: firearms and melee combat experts – those are the short and inconspicuous ones; sexy ladies – highly attractive, elegant, and tall women.

Bodyguard’s outfit and equipment.

A security guard involved in protection-oriented tasks must be properly equipped and dressed. 
Exceptional skills and capabilities alone may not be enough while encountering an excellently fitted offender.

Jacket – preferably in a dark colour, without bright and easily noticeable elements. It should be relatively loose to hide all the pieces 
of equipment attached to the belt and mask a bulletproof vest underneath. It should be simple in order not to make drawing a gun problematic for the wearer;

Shirt – the discussed item of clothing should be bright but not white (too noticeable). It should also be a bit bigger than an usual shirt, in order to fit a protective vest underneath;

Tie – elegant, but also inconspicuous. It should be adjusted to the colour of the shirt. The tie should be attached with a rubber element that will easily break when an offender tries to choke the guard to death;

Trousers – without cuffs, loose, and capable of holding a belt with equipment;

Shoes and socks – they should be matched by colour. The shoes should have a rubber sole that prevents slipping;

Hooded jacket – any form of long jacket should be avoided, as it makes entering a vehicle and getting out of it challenging. The colour of the said piece of apparel should match the suit.

A bodyguard should not use a hat or gloves, but dark shades are virtually indispensable. For the first thing, they protect the wearer from direct sunlight. For the second, it is possible to equip them with miniature mirrors and scrutinize area behind the guard.

While taking into account less formal outfits, they should also comply with the principles provided above, meaning that they should not be too bright while at the same time being loose enough to cover all the necessary pieces of equipment. The latter are highly dependent on the location and safety of the subject. The elements any life saviour should be equipped with at all times are as follows:

Firearms – preferably a gun without elements that may impair the range of movements. A great solution to consider is the Glock 17 9 mm pistol. It is relatively flat, its magazine holds up to 17 bullets, and the polymer-based structure makes it exceptionally light. The pistol can be attached to a belt as it will not fire without releasing the safety lock.
The recommended piece of clothing to attach Glock to is the belt. The commonly followed rule in the industry is that it should be located at the same place at all times for the user to be able to take advantage of it. Sometimes, it should be additionally secured against falling intentionally out of the belt.
 
Communication devices – a mobile phone and a radio-telephone allowing for an instant communication with other members of the escort. The latter should not be excessively big not to take too much space underneath the jacket. It should be additionally connected to a transmitter and receptor set.

Bodyguard who works as a private security should also remember about first aid kit – the said component should incorporate a bandage, disposable gloves, and disposable breathing apparatus wrapped in foil.

Flashlight – a tactical one (for example, the one offered by the American Surefire Company) should be chosen. It size should be remarkably small and combined with high power of the device making it possible to illuminate a small room or open area. Bulletproof vest – light, made of Kevlar, to be hidden under the shirt.
Bodyguard's outfit and equipment
Auxiliary equipment

Auxiliary equipment

Auxiliary equipment that may be chosen depending on the situation include:
- handheld battle gas in a can;
- electric Tasers (for example, those made by the American TASER Company);
- handcuffs (metal or disposable, plastic ones);
- multifunctional batons; - battery flashlights and long range light;
- suitcase with a ceramic or Kevlar mat rolled out in the case of attack held by the security guard accompanying the VIP directly;
- observation-oriented devices such as binoculars and night-vision equipment;
- wiretapping prevention devices;
- gas masks;
- properly equipped med kit with medications that have to be taken by a chronically ill subject;
- explosives detection devices (mirrors with handles, stethoscopes, professional flashlights, etc.)

Threat identification and analysis – the basic ability in the case of close protection is the skill of accurately assessing threat. The acknowledgement of its types and degrees facilitates providing the secured person with the level of protection he or she needs.

VIPs cannot be secured against everything everywhere, as it would be overly costly and, what is even more important, would totally devoid the former of their freedom. The aim of security as such is not to isolate the subject from the outside world.

Best defence oriented operations are those allowing for the maintenance of the highest possible security level while at the same time barely interfering with the everyday life of the VIP.

While assessing threat, one must evaluate its extent, as well as divide it into dangers that can and cannot be avoided. Direct attack is not the only issue. Such problematic situations as an illness, road accident, or fire must be taken into consideration as well.

At this point, it must be also pointed out that prevention is one of the key concepts that should be followed in the case of all the executed operations as it is much easier and better to prevent than to fix damages caused by the overlooked threat.

Major elements of threat evaluation procedure are:
- creation of a list of possible threats. With time, the said index may be expanded, shortened, or altered in any other way; 
- ordering the threats in relation to the danger they pose to the VIP; 
- choice of proper prevention and counteracting measures;
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VIP profile identification

Subject profiling is the last point of the threat assessment process. However, considerations on his or her nature may notably impact the list of specified dangers or methods that should be taken advantage of to minimize their severity. In fact, security guards should know virtually everything about the protected individuals.

The more comprehensive the data, the easier it is to assess dangers. Each piece of information, even if it seems trivial, may be of immense importance for further actions and their effectiveness.

Therefore, the “Seven P’s” principle should be followed. It refers to:
- people; places; personality; prejudices; personal history; political and religious views, and private life.

People
The protected individual is connected to other people, by means of family bonds, workplace relations, or otherwise. Such a relationship may be non-engaging in character. Some of them may, however, pose an additional threat. Those are dangerous lovers, jealous wives, heartless co-workers, etc. The security guard must check individuals the VIP contacts with.

Places
It should be established where the VIP was born, where he currently works, and how he spends his free time. Places that are considered safe by some may not be like that in fact. If you hire bodyguard, you have to keep in mind, that he must remember about the relation of the secured subject to the place and about the impact of the latter on the threat level.

Personality
Certain personality types are inseparably connected with problems. It especially holds true for individuals that are rough, likely to argue, bold, and intelligent. The said characteristics are frequently identifiable in entrepreneurs and company owners. A bodyguard does not need to like and tolerate the person he works with, but the knowledge about his or her personality traits may come in handy and facilitate nullifying threats.

Prejudices
Ones deeply rooted in human nature are exceptionally dangerous. They are likely to provoke a chain relation. For example, if someone detests black race, he or she may be prejudiced against Afro-Americans. The safety expert should be familiarized with such problems and be capable of reacting to them quickly.

Personal history
It should cover the names of all the individuals that have known the VIP, his former relations, marital history, military service, and professional career-related data. Such pieces of information should be afterwards juxtaposed with the ones available in other sources, such as the press, books, and encyclopaedias. The bodyguard should know VIP’s illness history, his blood type, allergies, and frequently taken medications.

Political and religious views
The protection professional should also familiarize himself with political views and affiliation of the VIP. His attitude towards certain political parties and religious organizations may be of importance in terms of danger level.

Private life
Most controversial profiling related stage. It is highly recommended to know whether or not the secured individual overuses certain substances, visits prostitutes, has lovers, as well as what he eats and where he stays. The list should be made by the saviours from bodyguard companies by themselves and the answers to the questions must be provided truthfully. After assessing threat level, data can be finally collected and compiled to create an accurate VIP protection plan.

Close protection tactics and techniques

Elements (sections) of the protection team, as well as their roles. Protective undertakings are performed by highly skilled and trained units that are sometimes referred to as sections. A single member cannot execute all the tasks and be fully versatile.

Each of them has certain predispositions that may be of use while taking care about VIP’s safety. It must be stated that modern training assumes the usefulness of every guard in every section, but individuals with unusual talents and skilfulness in one field are typically assigned to a specific group.

The aim of a coordinator (or a leader) is to properly choose appropriate people for each of the section. The latter may be further subdivided into three basic groups:

Escort section – consisting of individuals constantly being in a close proximity to the VIP. They are especially trained in shooting and melee combat. This section is the last barrier between the attacked and the secured person. Its aim is to protect the subject not only against any form of physical assault, but also  against ridiculing and insulting.

If need be, its representatives have to evacuate the VIP to a safe spot or transport them somewhere else using a vehicle. If such a threat arises, guards are required to protect the subject with their own bodies in order to prevent the attack of the wrongdoer.

The escort team must constantly shift between two major tasks. The first of them is observation (taking approximately 80% of time) and intervention (approximately 20% of the time). To limit the risk of attack, effective observation on all possible plains is vital. Building windows, roofs, doors, and other elements of the environment have to be scrutinized in a throughout fashion.

The escort always accompanies the VIP. Depending on the severity of the situation, a stronger or a more relaxed formation may be used, for example:

Solo formation
Consists of only one security guard. If you want to hire bodyguard as a single person to secure the whole area around the VIP, remember, that this formation is rather ineffective. It is used for prestigious reasons or when the danger level is negligible.

Deuce formation 
Includes two personal security experts. Each of them is responsible for covering area within the scope of 180 degrees. The said formation is used while entering building or a vehicle due to its increased effectiveness. The leader of the escort from bodyguard companies is the person on the left to the VIP (wearing a yellow vest).

Triangle formation
Incorporates three bodyguards. Especially effective in crowded areas as every individual is responsible for the area within the scope of 120 degrees.

Quartet formation
Four experienced bodyguards. It is the first of closed formations, completely covering the area around the VIP. All of the previous ones are considered open formations. Star of Texas formation - 5 security guards involved. The discussed scheme allows for the full flexibility of the members.

Despite its complexity, it ensures 90 degree coverage for each of the members. Star of David formation - 6 security workers. This formation is the most comprehensive one. Bodyguards are located within 1 to 3 meters from the subject, granting full protection and identification of the area.

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