Close Protection Services at SGA Security
October, 2018
People from all walks of life are more invested in security and safety of their welfare and possessions. In the current world, cases of crime and terrorism threats continue to rise, invading one’s peace and focus to carry out day to day accomplishments. As a result, majority of influential people have resulted to seeking heightened personal security services for their homes or businesses. Other than the widespread security frisking at the entrances of gates and buildings, Close Protection Security service is a fast evolving sector delivered by specialists locally and globally.
A Close Operation Operative (CPO), commonly known as a personal bodyguard, is specially trained to provide physical protection to a client. Physical protection services range from executive protection to residential protection of home and property, celebrity protection, family/child protection, media protection deployed in hostile environments, event security, delegation security and secure travel services.
Depending on the task, CPOs will either work for a principal for either short or long periods. For instance, an international celebrity musician on a concert tour would hire our close protection officers for a three-day period that begins when he or she lands at the airport to his or her hotel residence via a secured motor convoy. During the concert, our CPOs will provide the celebrity with foot patrols, defensive driving and crowd controlling. The team ensures the client accomplishes his or her mission.
The main objective of offering Close Protection Services is to design programs and policies that mitigate risks for them and offer heightened personal security against potential threats such as kidnapping, medical emergencies, hostile environment and natural disasters, through advanced armed or unarmed mode of defense as well as defensive driving.
Clients’ needs for safety vary with the kind of service and potential risk on the ground at the time. SGA Security provides secure travel services for any client moving from one point to another by either road, air or on foot. For instance, a high-profile politician or businessperson may seek SGA’s secure travel services through the company’s private aircraft to move his family from one hostile environment to a rather safer destination. In such an occurrence, the CPO team will organize the client’s travel logistics to ensure his expectations are met amicably.
In all instances, the CPO team carries out extensive research on the situation at hand and gathers intelligence information ahead of conducting risk, threat and vulnerability assessments, pre- site visits and on-site inspections, route exploration to check for nature of infrastructure for the type of vehicle to use and anticipated flow of traffic to assist the team embark on the job implementation.
At SGA Security, Close Protection Operatives, who have a background experience in the military and police in general, undertake thorough vetting and specialized training at the SGA Training School. In addition, a CPO officer must be physically fit, have knowledge of handling firearms, experience in martial arts, have a driving license and be proficient in the latest technology. Among the training courses offered for CPOs are countersurveillance, threat and risk assessment, route selection, incident management, conduct reconnaissance and emergency services such as First Aid knowledge.
The CPO teams at SGA Security are obligated to maintain high level of confidentiality and professionalism as they offer physical protection to clients of diverse demographic, ethnic, race and religious backgrounds, and social, political and economic status. Priority is made to provide clients with effective and efficient safety and security coverage for residences, offices, business premises, public events and other kinds of properties. This is done with the mutual coordination of the specific tasks with the relevant client(s) and the CPO team. The CPO team conducts due diligence through gathering factual information to enable smooth flow of logistics.
Technology is also a key element in the execution of Close Protective services. At the SGA offices, the 24-hour control room’s tracking unit assists close protection officers in the coordination of itinerary such as geopolitical analysis, route survey and communication.
Depending on the type of activity, the CPO also liaises with the local authorities such as the Director of Criminal Investigation, Traffic Police and other host government entities. During emergency situations, contacts are made to experts such as in medical field, engineering and fire departments among others, that provide support in the case of evacuation.
Through it all, the dedicated SGA Security team always stays vigilant by remaining within the proximity of the clients at all times and ensures that mitigation measures are fully implemented to preserve a principal’s safety and security. Their level of professionalism is retained through perseverance when faced with rather complex challenges in high risk environments.