By Rick Mounfield, Chief Executive of the Security Institute
The role of the Close Protection Officer has grown in the past decade. It’s no longer acceptable to be the protection on the shoulder, the Close Protection Officer needs to be the security and safety advisor to the principal. Their knowledge of threats goes beyond the physical and includes vulnerabilities that come via the internet of things and new and emerging security risks are realised that will determine who is the best at their craft. A modern and capable Close Protection Officer needs to remain current in multiple vectors of threat and the mitigations (risk managers) that will secure the principal, their family and business. Can Close Protection Officers afford to be ignorant to these new and emerging threats? I would suggest not.
Contracts are often lost on a whim and the protection officers must be trusted to advise on a range of threats to build trust so that the family can live their lives as freely as possible. Wealth and profile can often lead to living a privileged life in a golden cage.
The new enhancements in the licensed linked skills and qualifications required by the Security Industry Authority (SIA) go a long way to addressing the shortfalls of the past. They did not decide upon these new skills lightly. The consultation with industry’s best operators and the companies who employ them, has been instrumental in improving the quality of Close Protection Officers and should be applauded. Many will think that the upskilling has not gone far enough but it is not for the regulator to set the bar so high that it precludes the masses, it is a baseline that sets a standard that all can meet and then allows the best to go further through individual professional development that allows them to stand out from the crowd and secure clients through fair competition. It is the Close Protection Officers determination and personal endeavours to be the best version of themself that will secure the best clients.
Increasing the requirements to offer better medical capabilities is the most important upgrade in my opinion. However, in today’s society, even low risk locations, there is an ever present need to be aware of the threat of terrorism and counter terrorism awareness through the ACT training is also important.
The industry overwhelmingly decided not to separate the door supervisor role from the Close Protection licensed operators. Many Close Protection Officers will supplement their income by working in a Door Supervisor role. This is applicable but the Door Supervisor role requires different soft and hard skills that are out with ordinary Close Protection doctrine. It is important the Close Protection Officer working in the night-time economy is well prepared to provide the appropriate service and protection to partygoers. A failure to understand physical intervention in this role can have life changing impacts for many if they are not trained properly.
Training and delivery of the necessary skills are moving into a hybrid format and that is also a positive move forward. All areas of the business world have embraced digital methods of training and if the industry is to embrace the fast- moving changes to the operational environment, it must stay at the cutting edge of technology and training delivery methods. Obviously, some aspects must be practised in a physical environment, but many skills and practices can, and should be, delivered in easily accessible methods. Webinars and online courses are better than they have ever been, and platforms have improved to deliver quality training remotely.
Overall, I am encouraged by the new regime, and I hope to support the ongoing development of the sector that I grew up in. It is a vital service and I hope that the majority of Close Protection Officers will embrace the enhancements as we drive the professional standards ever higher.
Why is a skillset being split by role? Physical Intervention is a set of skills that anyone can use when the situation requires one to do so. As a training instructor, I will now need to hold an instructor’s licence to deliver both DS and CP PI (and pay for that privilege) and attend two annual refresher courses for both. There is now also talk of a Steward’s PI course being created. Why not just create a PI course that covers all the PI skills regardless of role.
The physical intervention requirements have been developed to suit the duties covered by the respective licence. It could be at some stage that we have single set of physical intervention skills, but at the moment the view of the experts is that there is difference between those skills required by a DS licence holder and aCP Licence holder.