Private security is a more extensive profession segment than most people are aware of Security officers may work in retail companies, frustrating would-be shoplifters; watch industrial buildings to manage access and protect organization property; or, they may even serve in the elite unit of VIP security.
What is VIP Security, and Do You Need It?
Holistic security
Images of suits and sunglasses, limo-riding, gun-toting special agent types might come to mind when you think of VIP security. You might not be wrong. Sometimes these can be segments of the job. However, VIP security is a field involving numerous skills. Planning and reviewing are as important to the job, if not more so than providing physical security to VIPs.
Risk profiling for homes and venues
A general concept for effective VIP security is risk profiling. Security experts study their client’s homes, offices, venues they may need to visit, and even the routes paths between all of these locations, proactively looking for security threats.
Homes need to be checked to ensure there is adequate infrastructure to meet security needs as well as guards, which provide the actual eyes and ears for home security.
Venues present a higher risk as they are largely outside the control of a VIP’s security team and require coordination with the venue’s own security to secure the safety of their client.
Planning skills
This brings us to one of the main components of effective VIP security: planning. Car crashes and near escapes may make for great movies, but VIP security’s main job is to ensure that this never occurs.
Good communication
Like we’ve discussed, VIP and personal security are often forced to work in venues and places they don’t have control over. From trade conventions to airports, VIP security operates in an environment where it is understood they are not the final arbiters regarding overall security.
Tools of the trade
VIP security is well equipped with tools than other security professionals to do their jobs. However, those tools are only useful to the person using them. VIP security professionals typically receive extensive training and certification in different aspects of their job. They may be expected to be firearms experts or have a particular hand to hand skills to directly protect their clients.
Protecting both body and image
One specific aspect of VIP and personal security is what they are trained to protect against. To be specific, a client’s image may be every bit as important as their body. Well, not really. Bad publicity is far more survivable than actually being attacked. But the image is vital for some VIPs to continue earning a living.
