Bodyguard
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A bodyguard (or close protection officer/operative) is a type of
Most important public figures, such as heads of state, heads of government, and governors are protected by several bodyguards or by a team of bodyguards from a government agency, security forces, or police forces (e.g., in the United States, the Secret Service or the Diplomatic Security Service of the State Department). In most countries where the head of state is also their military leader, the leader's bodyguards have traditionally been royal guards, republican guards and other military units. Less-important public figures, or those with lower risk profiles, may be accompanied by a single bodyguard who doubles as a driver.
A number of high-profile celebrities and CEOs also use bodyguards. In some countries or regions (e.g., in Latin America), wealthy people may have a bodyguard when they travel. In some cases, the security personnel use an armoured vehicle, which protects them and the VIP.
Roles
Popular misconceptions
The role of bodyguards is often misunderstood by the public, because the typical layperson's only exposure to body-guarding is usually in heavily dramatized action film depictions of the profession, such as the 2018 British TV series Bodyguard, in which bodyguards are depicted in firefights with attackers. In contrast to the exciting lifestyle depicted on the film screen, the role of a real-life bodyguard is much more mundane;[1] and would not fall so heavily on a single individual, nor would that individual be involved in dangerous firefights[2] Instead, a bodyguard's work consists mainly of planning routes, pre-searching rooms and buildings where the client will be visiting, researching the background of people that will have contact with the client, searching vehicles, and attentively escorting the client on their day-to-day activities.[3] In the event of an emergency, a bodyguard's priority will always be to evacuate their client, not engage with threats.[2]
Breakdown of responsibilities
The role of a bodyguard depends on several factors. First, it depends on the role of a given bodyguard in a close protection team. A bodyguard can be a driver-bodyguard, a close-protection officer (who escorts the client), or part of an ancillary unit that provides support such as electronic "bug" detection, counter-sniper monitoring, pre-searching facilities,
Driving
In some cases, bodyguards also drive their clients. Normally, it is not sufficient for a client to be protected by a single driver-bodyguard, because this would mean that the bodyguard would have to leave the car unattended when they escort the client on foot. If the car is left unattended, this can lead to several risks: an explosive device may be attached to the car; an electronic "bug" may be attached to the car; the car may be sabotaged; the car may be stolen; or city parking officials may simply tow away the vehicle or place a wheel clamp on the tire. If parking services tow away or disable the car, then the bodyguard cannot use the car to escape with the client in case there is a security threat while the client is at their meeting.
The driver should be trained in evasive driving techniques, such as executing short-radius turns to change the direction of the vehicle, high-speed cornering, and so on. The car used by the client will typically be a large sedan with a low center of gravity and a powerful engine. In some countries, large
The car may also be equipped with an additional battery; dual foot-pedal controls, such as those used by driving instruction companies (in case the driver is wounded or incapacitated), a
Weapons and weapon tactics
Depending on the laws in a bodyguard's
In addition to these weapons, a bodyguard team may also have more specialist weapons to aid them in maintaining the safety of their protectee, such as sniper rifles and anti-materiel rifles (for anti-sniper protection) or shotguns.
Bodyguards that protect high-risk clients may wear body armor such as kevlar or ceramic vests. The bodyguards may also have other ballistic shields, such as Kevlar-reinforced briefcases or clipboards which, while appearing innocuous, can be used to protect their client. The client may also wear body armor in high-risk situations.
Counter-sniper weapons and tactics
For a close protection officer, the primary tactic against sniper attacks is defensive: avoid exposing the client to the risk of being fired upon. This means that the client should ideally be within an
Daily tasks
A bodyguard team protecting a high-profile
Planning and assigning responsibilities
The day would begin with a meeting of the bodyguard team led by the team leader. The team would review the different activities that the client plans to do during the day, and discuss how the team would undertake the different transportation, escorting, and monitoring tasks. During the day, the client may have to travel by car, train, and plane and attend a variety of functions, including meetings and invitations for meals at restaurants, and do personal activities such as recreation and errands.
Over the day, the client will be exposed to a range of risk levels, ranging from higher risk (meeting and greeting members of the public at an outdoor rally) to low risk (dining at an exclusive, gated country club with high security).
Some planning for the day would have begun on previous days. Once the itinerary is known, one or more bodyguards would travel the route to the venues, to check the roads for unexpected changes (road work, detours, closed lanes) and to check the venue. The venue needs to be checked for bugs and the security of the facility (exits, entrances) needs to be inspected. As well, the bodyguards will want to know the names of the staff who will have contact with the client, so that a simple electronic background check can be run on these individuals. Bodyguards often have training in firearms tactics,
Bodyguards learn how to examine a premises or venue before their clients arrive, to determine where the exits and entrances are, find potential security weaknesses, and meet the staff (so that a would-be attacker cannot pose as a staff member). As well, some bodyguards learn how to do research to be aware of potential threats to their client, by doing a thorough assessment of the threats facing the client, such as a protest by a radical group or the release from custody of a person who is a known threat. Close protection officers also learn how to escort a client in potentially threatening situations such as crowds that become unruly.
The military forces in many countries offer close protection training for the members of their own armed forces who have been selected to work as bodyguards to officers or heads of state (for example, the British 22nd Special Air Service Regiment). As well, there are a number of private bodyguards training programs, which offer training in all aspects of close protection and including the legal aspects of body-guarding (e.g., use of force, use of deadly force); how to escort clients; driving; searching facilities and vehicles, and so on.
Searching vehicles
An hour prior to leaving with the client to their first appointment, the driver-bodyguard and another bodyguard remove the cars that will be used to transport the client from the locked garage and inspect them. There may be only one car for a lower-risk client. A higher-risk client will have additional cars to form a protective convoy of vehicles that can flank the client's vehicle. The vehicles are inspected before leaving.
Transferring client to vehicle
Once the cars have been inspected and they are deemed to be ready for use, they are brought into position near the exit door where the client will leave the secure building. At least one driver-bodyguard stays with the cars while waiting because the now-searched cars cannot be left unattended. If the convoy is left unattended, an attacker could attach an IED or sabotage one or more of the cars. Then the bodyguard team flanks the client as they move from the secure residence to the car. This moment is considered critical, as 60% of such attacks happen when the protected person is in or around the vehicle. Once this sort of attack is perpetrated, 75% of them are successful.[7]
Travelling
The convoy then moves out towards the destination. The team will have chosen a route or two and in some cases, it may involve three routes that are designated for travel along, which avoids the most dangerous "choke points", such as one-lane bridges or tunnels, because these routes have no way of escape and they are more vulnerable to ambush. In some cases, if the client has to travel by train, the bodyguards will inspect the rail car they are traveling in and the other cars they will use. Traveling on foot to a destination is very dangerous because of the lack of cover and control over the environment.
Arrival at destination
When the convoy arrives at the location, one or more bodyguards will exit first to confirm that the location is secure and that the staff who were booked to work that day are the ones who are present. If the location is secure, these bodyguards signal that it is safe to bring in the client. The client is escorted into the building using a flanking procedure. If the client is attending a private meeting inside the building, and the building itself is secure (controlled entrances) the client will not need to have a bodyguard escort in the building. The bodyguards can then pull back to monitor the client's safety from a further distance. Bodyguards could monitor entrances and exits and the driver-bodyguard watches the cars.
If the client is moving about in a fairly controlled environment such as a private golf course, which has limited entrances and exits, the security detail may drop down to one or two bodyguards, with the other bodyguards monitoring the entrances to the facility, the cars, and remaining in contact with the bodyguards escorting the client. Throughout the day, as the client goes about their activities, the number of bodyguards escorting the client will increase or decrease according to the level of risk.
Return to secure location
After the day's activities, the client will be brought back to the secure residence location. Exiting from the vehicle and walking to the door exposes the client to risk, so the distance is kept as short as possible to cut down the time it takes to reach the door. Once the client is inside, the bodyguards assigned to the overnight detail will take up their positions outside or inside the residence. The vehicles are then parked in a locked garage (to prevent tampering, sabotage, or IED placement). Some team members may spend additional time doing maintenance on the equipment used by the team. The TL (team leader) will ensure that all equipment is checked and packed away for the next day and ensure the radios are being charged for the next day's operation.
Job requirements
Bodyguards often work long shifts in order to provide 24-hour protection, and shifts often include
Bodyguards often have backgrounds in the
Bodyguards must be physically fit, with good
Bodyguards need to be observant, and retain their focus on their job, despite distractions such as
Close protection training
Bodyguards often have training in firearms tactics,
Bodyguards learn how to examine premises or venue before their clients arrive, to determine where the exits and entrances are, find potential security weaknesses, and meet the staff (so that a would-be attacker cannot pose as a staff member). As well, some bodyguards learn how to do research to be aware of potential threats to their client, by doing a thorough assessment of the threats facing the client,[8] such as a protest by a radical group or the release from custody of a person who is a known threat. Close protection officers also learn how to escort a client in potentially threatening situations.
The military forces in many countries offer close protection training for the members of their own armed forces who have been selected to work as bodyguards to officers or heads of state (e.g., the British RMP – Royal Military Police, Close Protection Unit). In the private sector, there are a vast number of private bodyguard training companies, which offer training in all aspects of close protection relative to their local laws and threat level, including the legal aspects of physical protection (e.g., use of force, use of deadly force), how to escort clients, driving drills, searching facilities and vehicles, etc.
In the United Kingdom, the industry is highly regulated by the Security Industry Authority and requires an individual to obtain a level 3 vocational close protection qualification and pass an enhanced criminal record background check in addition to attending a recognized first-aid course prior to a license being issued. Most UK security firms will request that operatives hold an SIA license, even if operations are conducted outside of the UK. The SIA model has been adopted and modified by nearby countries Ireland and France. In France bodyguards require a CNAPS (Conséil National des Activitées Privée de Sécurité) license to operate legally as a bodyguard. Both the SIA and CNAPS have come under heavy criticism over the years for failing to assist license holders and meet their primary objectives of "raising the standards" in the private security industry.
In other countries with no specific regulations, training providers are allowed to shape their programs according to their needs. Heavy focus on physical training and shooting, neglecting intelligence and the strategic part of the job for marketing reasons, has been recently criticized as useless and called "bodyguard amusement tourism" by the International Association of Personal Protection Agents (IAPPA).[9]
Notable organizations
In countries where the head of state is a military leader or dictator, the leader's bodyguards may also be part of an elite
The British monarch has at least three traditional bodyguard corps in service, known collectively as the Sovereign's Bodyguard.
In
In Pakistan, the President and Prime Minister receive close protection teams from the military's elite Special Service Group unit. President Pervez Musharraf, as civilian head of state, was due to have this withdrawn after retiring as Chief of Army Staff, but the Pakistan Army has retained his close protection unit.
In Turkey, there are two main services tasked with close protection. The Prime Minister of Turkey is protected by the Karşı Saldırı Timi'nde (KST), an elite counterattack team, a subunit of the Office for Protection of the Prime Minister (Başbakanlık Koruma Dairesi Başkanlığı). The Office for Protection of the PM is itself a service of the General Directorate of Security (Emniyet Genel Müdürlüğü), the civil police force of Turkey. The President is closely protected by the Cumhurbaskanligi Muhafiz Alayi, the 2,500-strong Presidential Guard Regiment of the Turkish Army, subordinated to the 4th Army Corps. It consists of specially selected personnel and is charged with the duty of protecting the President (and members of his family), security of the Presidential palaces, and also the manning of the Turkish President's mode of transport (e.g., pilots for TC-ANA, the presidential plane etc.).
In the
In the UK during 1913–1914, the suffragette movement protested in an attempt to gain women the right to vote. After suffragette leaders were threatened, activists formed an all-female close protection unit to protect the leaders of the
In
In the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, most bodyguards are former or current police officers, or sometimes former military or other government agency personnel.
In fiction
Novels and stories
The brave and fiercely protective bodyguard who is willing to die to protect his master has long been depicted in fiction. The character of the Scottish hero
Films and television
Bodyguards are also depicted in a number of films and television programs. In an episode of
Japanese director
In the motion picture My Bodyguard (1980), high school student Clifford Peache (Chris Makepeace) is bullied by Melvin Moody (Matt Dillon). Clifford asks school outcast Ricky Linderman (Adam Baldwin) to be his bodyguard. In the action-comedy film Shanghai Noon, martial arts star Jackie Chan plays the role of an Imperial Guard of China on a mission to America to help rescue a princess.
In the film
Several films have been made about the Secret Service's role in guarding the President of the United States, such as In the Line of Fire and The Sentinel.
Bodyguards are also depicted in television shows, comics, and other media. Bodyguard is a Japanese television series starring
On the
Video games
In the
Comics and graphic novels
- The private detective who impersonates his client to draw his would-be murderer's attention. The 2015 graphic novel trilogy Suffrajitsu: Mrs. Pankhurst's Amazonsfeatures a team of suffragette bodyguards inspired by the real-life close-protection team who protected the leaders of the radical women's suffrage movement from arrest and assault.
- The long-running Feudal Japanwho takes freelance bodyguard jobs when possible.
See also
- List of notable bodyguards
- List of protective service agencies
- Private investigator
- Private military company
- United States Secret Service
- Secret Service
- Security detail
- Security police—persons who guard government property.
Particular kinds
- Antrustion, the bodyguards of the Merovingian kings
- Praetorian Guard, the bodyguards of the Roman Emperors
- Rynda, ceremonial bodyguard of early Russian tsars
- Somatophylakes, the Macedonian bodyguard of Alexander the Great
- Spatharios, the inner circle bodyguard of Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Emperors
- Yojimbo, the Japanese word for bodyguard
References
- ^ "The BBC Series: Bodyguard – Fact from Fiction". Retrieved 13 July 2019.
- ^ ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 2024-04-04.
- ^ "What's it like being a bodyguard?". BBC. April 4, 2011. Retrieved 2011-04-04.
- ^ "Student of Fortune". Archived from the original on 2 December 2013. Retrieved 7 August 2012.
- ^ Leroy Thompson. "Close Protection Machine Pistols: Before PDWs there were high-capacity, full-auto sub machine guns that served double duty!", in Combat Handguns. Available at: tactical-life.com
- ^ Soufan, Ali. The Black Banners: The Inside Story of 9/11 and the War Against al-Qaeda. W.W. Norton and Company. New York and London: 2011.Page 325
- ^ Baratt, Robin (2014). 101 Interesting Facts on Bodyguards and Bodyguarding. Apex Publishing Limited; 2.0 edition. ASIN: B00JDEMFQQ
- ^ Basic Bodyguarding Skills 2008 by Craig Pedersen
- ^ Is Bodyguard Training Amusement Tourism? (August 6, 2020). Available at https://www.iappa.online/post/is-bodyguard-training-amusement-tourism. Retrieved August 14, 2020.