Many EP operatives do not understand or will not accept, that ‘High Risk” EP is a small field within our industry – with great financial compensation, if….. you are working ‘Real” ‘High Risk’ Details. If you are allegedly working a ‘High Risk’ Detail and you are NOT enjoying the benefits of ‘high financial compensation’, then, you ARE NOT working a “real’ ‘High Risk’ Detail, or – you are simply working for less $$ than you should or are worth. (You also should consider what you think your life is worth and to whom you would be leaving your lavish compensation to!!!)

Having said that, the majority of our work in the private sector is (1) to (2) man escorts, and essentially, ‘baby sitting’ details working the client’s spouse or children, estate security details or business ‘workplace violence’ security details (which, so many in this industry exaggerate and classify – by calling it ‘E.P. work.

There are many schools out there. You have to decide where you want to spend your money and how much money you wish to spend. I can tell you from experience, we, quality E.P. firms in the industry do not get more excited or more interested in a applicant or “protection agent” because he spent $ KKKK’s or more on a long term training course. Any “quality” training certificate looks the same on your wall or on your resume. What firms who work E.P. look for is experience, knowledge and how many “real protection details” and how many “real advances” you have conducted. We don’t care about how many celebrities you have “escorted” or how many ‘wall’, ‘door’ and ‘hall’ posts you have listed on your resume.

Clearly however, breaking into the industry isn’t easy, but, you DO have to break in somewhere.

You DO need to obtain training, however, much of the training can be obtained less expensively on your own, without paying the enormously high dollars charged by some of the venues out there. For example, you can and should get your firearms, CPR & first aid and defensive driving training ON YOUR OWN (most if which you may already have). Keep in mind, any course can be extended to include these items, BUT, YOU will PAY for those additional items!

Also, it is NOT TRUE you cannot learn the fundamental Concepts and Principles of EP in ten, five or three days. You CAN! I provide Executive Protection training (specifically, three day training courses). I teach and I do cover ALL the EP fundamentals and pack the course with at least three or more ‘actual working protective exercises’, practical Advance Work exercises, formations, and weapons takeaways exercises. However, You don’t get employed in this industry by the number of training certificates you have hanging on your wall.

Novices are a great pool of $$$ victims out here. They do not know they should limit the amount of $$$ spent on training certificates and increase time spent on NETWORKING, NETWORKING, and NETWORKING! Then, with some initial work experience and contacts developed, you should move along in this industry either as a ‘free lancer’ or, as a ‘business owner’.

When conducting your training venue research, you should examine and review the course content; examine the credentials of the instructor(s) and, then look at the cost. I realize I teach E.P. and it appears I am advocating my course as the ‘best’ solution or answer.
No, not true.

You can take my course or take any other reputable course out there that fits the parameters I just set forth. There are many good, ‘quality’ E.P training courses that do not necessarily ‘exploit’ the novices, just because the novices ‘really do not have a handle on the truth’ and believe that ‘weapons training and being a martial arts expert and being big and brawny are the necessary criteria for EP agents in our world. IT is the furthest thing from the truth, if you plan to be a EP Professional.

Many individuals in the field may disagree with my statements. Probably, due to many or most of them having attended the higher priced, extended or ‘high risk’ courses – and, realistically, because it just may be their only selling point.

Many people spend a fortune on their training and then realize what’s important is: who they know and their past or recent ‘real’ work experience.

Further, EP Agents need to be Security Consultants’ as well as basic ‘Agents’ in our field. They need to really understand and know how to deal with various EP and protective situations and how and when to apply countermeasures (both human and electronic). They also need to know what our real limitations are in the private sector and really need to understand there are some situations we should absolutely stay away from, because we do not have the ‘real’ resources in the private sector to adequately fight the ‘real jackal’. And, above all they need to understand how to conduct a ‘Threat Assessment’ (and , I said a ‘Threat Assessment’, not a Security or Risk Assessment; not a ‘Lifestyle Assessment’, I am referring to a Assessment of a real and bona fide or imminent threat against a Protectee, site or a venue – that is current and ongoing). That skill requires the proper training and investigative skills and that has to be learned. Unfortunately, not too many of the EP operatives working out here understand or know the differences between the ‘Threat Assessment and the Security or Risk Assessment or the ‘Lifestyle Assessment’. They claim they do, but so many of them really do not.

Novices should be looking at spending their money acquiring that knowledge and not being subjected to the typical exploitation of the novice which exists out there -which is the reason why there are so many schools and training venues.

Then, there’s the other side of this field. Running your own business. This is a horse of a different color! Even if you free-lance, you are essentially running a business!

You will probably need to learn the following: small business start up, local licensing requirements, marketing and advertising and up selling from one aspect of the business to the other.

In addition to marketing and advertising, you will need to become proficient at pricing and selling your services; at NOT compromising your rates and learn to allow some prospective customers become someone else’s customer, because you realize they are not your type customer. This is all assuming you are running a “real” business and not just going through the motions and “trying to survive”. Too many PI’s and security firms have the mentality that they should accept what the client wishes to pay, because something is better than nothing. Wrong!!!! You need to learn to work ‘smarter and not harder’.

Hopefully, you attempt to do some of the right things to make your situation work for you to become successful and I hope this helps you and other novices get a clearer picture of the industry and at the same time, places some TRUTH out in the open.

Joseph A. LaSorsa, CPP

J.A. LaSorsa & Associates
1645 SE 3rd Court
Suite 102
Deerfield Beach, FL 33441-4465
(U.S. SECRET SERVICE – RET.)
954-783-5020 (24 hour contact)
www.lasorsa.com
e-mail: jal@lasorsa.com

Making in the private sector depends on what you classify as “making it”. You need to decide which skill sets you need to develop.
1) the entrepreneurial skill sets;
or
2) the worker skill sets;

If you are looking to be financially successful, you need to develop the entrepreneurial skill sets. If you wish to pursue a “living”, then pursue # 2.

The skill sets are at different ends of the spectrum. However, you will need #2 to be successful at #1.

Prior military or L/E experience the private sector is NOT the ‘Be ALL’ and ‘End All’ as some think it is.

If you’ve attained quality experience in a prior Law Enforcement or Military career, then the that background and experience becomes somewhat significant. However, keep in mind what those two experiences really provide. They are law enforcement or possibly criminal investigative experiences or aggressive and tactical, strategic offensive ‘killing’ experience. There is no doubt some really good E.P training available in the LE or military world, BUT, not all former LEO’s or military have it. There are too many charlatans out here who claim to be good at what we do, but they’re NOT! So many people in our business, get the necessary state licensing and then, they claim they have the requisite background and experience and then, presto – they are out there doing E.P. and claiming they are the E.P agent extraordinaire.

The agent that impressed me the most since I retired from the Secret Service in 1996, did not have a L/E background. He did have a former military background, but he had no E.P experience. It was all combat experience in the first Gulf War.

He was trained by Pinkerton Investigations and Consulting. He was good at all of the below points and understood them well!

I say all this, because what so many EP operatives do not understand or will not accept or understand, is they need to be Security Consultants’ as well as ‘Agents’ in our field, in order to really understand and know how to deal with various EP and protective situations and how and when to apply countermeasures (both human and electronic). They also need to know what our real limitations are in the private sector and really need to understand there are some situations we should absolutely stay away from, because we do not have the resources in the private sector to adequately fight the ‘real jackal’. And, above all they need to understand how to conduct a ‘Threat Assessment’ (and , I said a ‘Threat Assessment’, not a Security or Risk Assessment; not a ‘Lifestyle Assessment’), I am referring to a Assessment of a real and bona fide or imminent threat against a Protectee, site or a venue – that is current and ongoing). That skill requires the proper training and the investigative skills and that has to be learned. Unfortunately, not too many of the EP operatives working out there understand or know the differences between the ‘Threat Assessment and the Security or Risk Assessment or the ‘Lifestyle Assessment’. They claim they do, but so many of them really do not.

This having been said, “Security Consulting, Investigations and Security/Protection” is our ‘world’. If you are to succeed in this field in any capacity, you need to attain the following skill sets:
1) security consulting (get a good book on the subject, perhaps through ASIS or call me and then, study it);
2) investigations as conducted in the private sector (especially corporate type investigations);
3) the civil and criminal implications and limitations on both of the above in the private sector;
4) executive protection concepts and procedures (get training);
5) suggest you join A.S.I.S. (American Society for Industrial Security) and consider pursuing the CPP certification. Go to their website (http://www.asisonline.org/) and find out what they’re about and what the CPP designation is all about. In my opinion, if you can eventually pass the CPP exam, you will be fairly qualified to become a entry level security consultant.

Before I retired from the Secret Service, I joined a study group and we worked diligently for four months, and then we took the CPP exam. We passed, but, we would not have passed if we had not studied the Asset Protection manuals and other resources, to prepare for this exam, which covered the above first four points and more! Keep in mind, as a USSS agent, I had exposure to protective and physical security issues which most former L/E’s DO NOT – and, I would not have passed this exam w/o studying hard!

You will need to learn about “risk mitigation” and how, everything we do in this field, touches on this ‘concept’! It is critical to learn.

Then, there’s the other side of this field. Running your own business. This is a horse of a different color! Even if you free-lance, you are essentially running a business!

You will probably need to learn the following: small business start up, local licensing requirements, marketing and advertising and up selling from one aspect of the business to the other.

In addition to marketing and advertising, you will need to become proficient at pricing and selling your services; at NOT compromising your rates and to learn allow some prospective customers become someone else’s customer, because you realize they are not customer at your level. This is all assuming you are running a “real” business and not just going through the motions and “trying to survive”. Too many PI’s and security firms have the mentality that they should accept what the client wishes to pay, because ‘something’ is better than ‘nothing’. Wrong!!!! You need to learn to work ‘smarter and not harder’.

Joseph A. LaSorsa, CPP

“The only time physical involvement becomes necessary is when we or the client is in fear for their lives, that’s the only time it’s justified legally and that’s the only time it’s justified professionally.”

Mike Zimet, owner of a celebrity security firm in New York, says that in 20 years of work he has “never had to put my hands on anybody.”

“It’s the bouncer approach versus executive protection,” he says. “The bouncer approach is using your body first and your head second. In executive protection, 98 percent is done with your head and your mouth. So much of it is personality. Professionalism and discretion are what it’s all about.”

Also size. But even when bodyguards are beefy, there must be proper training and prudent planning behind them, says Donald Henne, a director with a global risk-consulting firm.

“It does help if you have a good command presence,” he says. “You can sometimes quell problems by just your physical appearance. But it’s not automatic.”

That’s why the best professional protectors aren’t just big, they come from military or law-enforcement backgrounds and have security training. They must be even-tempered and level headed. It’s not a business for unpredictable or aggressive personalities.

“Those who are gun fanatics or martial-arts fanatics are the individuals I would least want to employ,” says Joe LaSorsa, who runs a security firm in south Florida. “They’re only concerned with the offensive aspect of security work.”

Providing celebrity security is a defensive job, he says. Guards must assess potential threats and extract the star from any situation they deem dangerous.

They start by doing their research. They check in with the celebrity’s manager and media team. They check out the location they’re visiting and learn what the star plans to do there. Is it a business trip where promotional photos are a plus, or a family vacation where privacy is key?

“You want to know what the problem is before you get there,” Henne says.

Once on site, guards have to keep their senses sharp and stay keenly aware of the star and her surroundings. Experts agree that fighting with fans or photographers is exactly the wrong thing to do. It distracts them from their job and could exacerbate the situation.

“Photographers are not there to threaten the person,” Zimet says. “There’s no reason to put a hand on another human being. It’s everything that proper protection goes against.”

The main aim is to keep the client safe. Avoiding conflict – and the potential danger, legal liability and bad publicity that comes with it – is “critical,” LaSorsa says.

“You remove the person from the problem. You don’t stay with the problem and create a media incident.”

In all the chaos surrounding the death of Heath Ledger last week in his lower Manhattan apartment, one reported detail stood out: that when his masseuse found him face down and unconscious on his bed, and then frantically called Ledger’s fellow actor Mary-Kate Olsen, the 21-year-old star’s immediate response was, “I’m sending my private security.” Most people, upon hearing that a friend was unresponsive, with pill bottles nearby, would rush to dial 911. But the masseuse called Olsen two more times before finally calling 911 about 20 minutes later, the second time to tell Olsen that Ledger was cold to the touch and that she feared he was dead. Olsen’s response? “I already have people coming over.”

Her “people” arrived at the same time as the paramedics, nearly a half hour after Ledger’s body was first discovered. So who are these “private security” providers? And why are they–and not public emergency services–the first call a celebrity would make?

To get a peek behind the curtain of celebrity security services, NEWSWEEK’s Matthew Philips spoke with Joseph A. LaSorsa, a security expert, who spent 20 years as a special agent in the U.S. Secret Service. His company, J.A. LaSorsa and Associates, in south Florida has been in business since 1998 and provides a range of high-end expert security and executive protection services to the rich and sometimes famous. Excerpts:

NEWSWEEK: What kind of protection do your personal-security agents provide?
Joe LaSorsa: Personal security can range from estate or residential security to travel security. We’ll stand guard at a residence or travel with clients aboard boats, wherever.

What sorts of people do you have as clients?
My clients tend mostly to be high-end athletes, VIPS and corporate executives and CEOs. I don’t take on a lot of celebrities for the simple reason that they tend to be more problematic. They expect to be pampered and can usually create more problems with themselves than anyone else.

Where do you draw the line between protecting a client from others and protecting them from their own behavior?
I make the point with my staff that when problems start to arise to diplomatically persuade the client to cease and desist from an activity. Part of our job is to pick up on signs that indicate a bad situation. So usually if we’re out at a club and we feel a disruption is about to occur, we’ll quietly whisper to them that we should leave. We’re there not to deal with problems but to avoid them.

Do you typically sign nondisclosure agreements?
Yes, we require it. Part of the contract is to do everything we can to maintain the client’s confidentiality.

What’s the background of the agents who work for you?
Mostly former federal agents and Secret Service agents, whom I consider to be the best long-term private-sector agents because they understand the mentality of the job.

In what way?
In their trained ability to spot situations before they become problems, and to use discretion and diplomacy rather than force to diffuse a situation. If you ask me, too many Special Forces guys are getting involved in the industry, people who aren’t trained in de-escalation but only in escalation. And the problem with celebrities is they’re drawn to these types. Celebrities typically hire people who are big in stature because they think they’ll prevent a problem through intimidation, when in fact those people are more prone to use their size and often end up accentuating problems.

How personal do the relationships get between agents and clients?
We expressly avoid any personal relationship. We assign them in 8- or 10- or 12-hour shifts. There’s no sleeping over at a client’s home. It creates too much of a familiarity, and, as the saying goes, familiarity breeds contempt.

But it happens?
Of course it happens, clients will develop relationships with protective agents, especially when it’s a male and female, that leads to sexual relationships.

I guess you’re not a fan of the movie “The Bodyguard”?
No, I actually like it because it’s a realistic depiction of how easily that can happen.

What about being bystanders to illegal activity, like drug use?
We don’t tolerate illegal drug use. We will walk away and terminate the contract. Remember, the majority of our staff are former Secret Service. We’ll turn our heads to most issues, but not when it crosses the line of legality. Of course, again, it happens, I guarantee, and the majority of security agents out there wouldn’t feel the way I feel.

How do you handle behavior that’s not necessarily illegal but isn’t something a client would want publicized?
Do we take care of a client if they’ve had too much fun? Sure. We try not to associate with clients where that happens all the time but of course it’s going to happen every so often. People are human, and when it does, that’s part of the protection that’s offered.

What about if you found a client unconscious or with drug paraphernalia around? Would you call the police?
Again, if they cross the line into illegal activity, we’re going to call the police. I can’t speak for other agencies, but I know that pretty much most security agents are former law enforcement, and most of them won’t cross that line. Now, if they’re just passed out, then we’ll see if we can’t revive them–but if not then yeah, we’d get medical attention.

You’d call 911?
If it’s serious, yes. We don’t pretend to be medical technicians. We’re trained in CPR and as EMTs, but if someone needs to be transported in an emergency situation, then definitely that’s our obligation in protecting them.

It seems as though sometimes celebrities are looking for their security agents to be a guardian angels of sorts.
I think that’s accurate in a lot of cases. It’s not something we do, but I’m not going to say that isn’t the case with some people and that some firms provide that for them.

Joe LaSorsa doesn’t need references to convince potential clients that he can protect them.

His I-hide-my-eyes-behind-sunglasses-and-I-probably-take-no-prisoners gaze is likely enough.

But then there are his references.

Former Presidents Reagan, Ford and the Bush’s, for example, whom LaSorsa protected during his 20-year career with the U.S. Secret Service, three of them on the elite Presidential Detail.

If LaSorsa, 50, could protect the likes of them, he reasoned, then the less prominent but more wealthy clientele he hoped to cultivate would believe he could protect them, too, and buy what he wanted to sell – safe rooms, fortress-like refuges supplied with food, water, electricity and communications that can cost upward of $100,000, into which residents of a home under attack by robbers, kidnappers or other bad guys can retreat while summoning help.

LaSorsa teamed up initially with Donald O’Neill, who operated the Orca Fund, a hedge fund based in Fort Lauderdale, but backed quickly away after becoming suspicious that all might be on the up-and-up. His instincts proved sound when O’Neill was indicted on multiple counts of mail and wire fraud and money laundering.

The former agent, who has 29 years in the security industry altogether, quickly regrouped, took out a home equity loan and in May 2002 opened J.A. LaSorsa & Associates in an office around the back of a two-story professional building on a nondescript stretch of Federal Highway in Pompano Beach.

“I believe South Florida has a tremendous market of those individuals who have a need for a high-end security consultant,” said LaSorsa, who cuts an imposing figure at 5 feet, 11 inches and 210 pounds. “The number of super wealthy snowbirds is incredible.”

A top South Florida security consultant agreed.

“If he has knowledge that sets him aside from other people and he can develop a good following of individuals who are in need of that kind of protection, I think he will be very successful,” said former Broward Sheriff Nick Navarro, now head of Fort Lauderdale-based Navarro Security.

“The product he’s selling is himself. If he can market himself, it will be a good thing for him,” Navarro said, remarking that a security company founded two decades ago in Virginia by former presidential guard Chuck Vance sold last year for a reported $67 million.

It’s not LaSorsa’s first try at going solo.

His first shot came in 1998, two years after he retired from the Secret Service, when he opened a security consultancy in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., where he then lived with his wife and three sons. But there wasn’t a lot of demand for what he had to offer, even in a place where well-heeled socialites descend for the summer horse racing and concert season.

The family relocated to South Florida the following year. After stints directing security at two local corporations, he decided to try again. This, despite the fact that the region is already home to about than 900 private investigation agencies and 3,600 licensed private investigators, according to state records.

After nearly two years, things are going pretty well, LaSorsa said, and getting better. Last fall, with some $60,000 invested, he was netting between $4,000 and $5,000 monthly from fees ranging between $75 and $150 an hour plus expenses. That covered the nut and has allowed him to start drawing a salary.

More recently things have gone even better. He now projects a 2004 net between $75,000 and $100,000.

Still, not everything has worked out as planned.

Demand for safe rooms was low despite heightened security concerns in the aftermath of Sept. 11. LaSorsa believes that’s in part because nothing’s happened in South Florida to make those at risk believe they need security and in part because the faltering economy makes even people with money reluctant to spend what they have, especially given that 24/7 security on just one person can cost upwards of $1 million annually.

“The 9-11 attack placed a lot of focus on home and personal security. But not a lot of people building rooms,” he said, seated at a desk surrounded by memorabilia from presidential trips – the 1985 Summit of Industrialized Nations in Geneva, the London Economic Conference in 1991 and the bus tour Bill Clinton took after snagging the Democratic presidential nomination in 1992. “People with big money are being very judicious. I think it’s a mistake, because they’re still very wealthy. They are public figures in one way or another and need to be concerned about their security and their family’s security.”

But with flexibility born of long training to deal with the unexpected, LaSorsa adjusted his business plan mid-course. Safe room design and construction remain among LaSorsa’s services, but he’s added a menu of other offerings, including vulnerability assessments; residential, yacht and business security systems; bodyguard protection at home and while traveling; confidential investigations; and executive protection training seminars.

LaSorsa’s clients appear to be satisfied.

Fort Lauderdale personal injury attorney Gary Lazarus represents a teenage girl raped by a group of men who detailed autos at a Central Florida dealership in a suit charging the dealership and the men’s employer with negligence. He hired LaSorsa to analyze security at the crime site.

“I was impressed by his pedigree, specifically that he was on the personal security detail for President Reagan,” said Lazarus, adding that LaSorsa was able to find witnesses other investigators couldn’t and that he now uses the former agent regularly. “He’s an expert witness who can testify as to the foreseeability of a crime at a particular location.”

LaSorsa said that other clients – he keeps their names confidential for obvious reasons – have retained him to develop corporate security plans, guard executive offices after potentially disruptive personnel moves, investigate potentially bogus workers’ compensation claims, find embezzlers and convince them to return the money they stole and even to design the occasional safe room – three in South Florida and one in upstate New York.

And he’s promoting a solar-powered wireless security system that can be quickly installed to protect the perimeter of an estate or a docked yacht.

Promoting yacht security, of course, means attracting the kind of clients who own yachts and it’s to them that LaSorsa aims his marketing. He’s taken ads in magazines that cover life’s finer things for those who can afford them, including the DuPont Registry, Robb Report and Ocean Drive . And he’s sent direct mail pieces to every attorney in Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties.

He’s even designed some security rooms, four modest installations in South Florida and one high-end under construction in upstate New York .

But LaSorsa is only beginning to capture that elusive high-end clientele he mapped his business plan to pursue.

He’s off this week to conduct three executive protection seminars in Australia that developed after a Melbourne man attended one of LaSorsa’s seminars here.

He’ll then spend a week at an undisclosed destination providing security for a vacationing international business consultant from Palm Beach County and his family.

“I’m not doing too much close-in security,” LaSorsa said. “I’m beginning to think that many people in this area still think that they’re not vulnerable.”

LaSorsa is convinced that’s flat-out wrong.

“The wealthier you are the more of a target you are,” he said, predicting that world crackdowns on terrorist finances may spark the kind of kidnappings-for-ransom South American rebel groups use to fund their activities. “It’s not only going to be international terrorism coming to the shores of the U.S. I see the foreign kidnapping plague becoming a U.S. plague.”

Neil Reisner can be reached at nreisner@floridabiz.com or at (305) 347-6611.

When one considers the historical nature of security applications and programs of any type, i.e., CCTV, intrusion detection and alarm systems, corporate policies and programs and countermeasures of any type, the phenomenon of the Denial Syndrome, Complacency and Failure to properly allocate a Security Budget can not be over emphasized. If we, as individuals, as a country and as a government, have not learned anything from the lessons of 911, it is the benefit of being pro-active and utilizing the concept of foreseeability.

No matter how, when or where, the denial syndrome is the one human response mechanism which can be most fatal in any security response program or effort. On too many occasions, individuals, whether VIP’s, corporate executives or the neighbor down the street will simply place their hand in the sand and resolve themselves stating to themselves “it won’t happen to me”.

I have had countless of clients respond to their threats whether due to a: stalker and/or threat from a disgruntled employee or corporate enemy, a Workplace Violence issue, internal thefts – both Estate and Corporate, security issues due to high profile or net worth, corporate espionage, marital disputes, etc., with the denial syndrome. Too many individuals simply feel that they can “safely play the percentages” and ignore the threat or the possible repercussions. The results of this type of complacency is too may times very costly and potentially, deadly.

Then of course, there is the individual or corporate executive who inevitably will analytically determine the ROI does not exist in consideration of the threat level. However, the individual almost unilaterally comes to this conclusion, completely ignoring and discounting the recommendations set forth subsequent to a properly conducted Vulnerability and Threat Assessment. This response is actually attributed to the “penny wise and pound foolish” attitude which is so common among many people.

Specifically, I would like to discuss “Child Abductions”, an aspect of life today, which has become such a serious issue and “threat” to us as individuals, families, and as a country and nation. We too many times turn on the evening news to hear of yet, another child being abducted. These predators have no conscience and seek out children, statistically between the ages of 10-12 but not limited to those ages, more times than not, a young girl and brutally sexually abuse and then murder them. The predator would more than likely prefer to abduct the older person, perhaps a 19 or 20 year old female. However, probably due to the greater degree of resistance and increased difficulty in being successful, the predators choose the younger victims.

It is in these instances that we sharply notice the denial syndrome, complacency and failure to properly budget security in operating in our lives. We plainly need to realize that we no longer live in a society that was as safe as when we grew up.

Today, due to many circumstances, one being the overcrowded criminal detention system and the pressures it places on the criminal justice system to plea bargain down felony crimes and another one being the past decades of budget cuts in state and municipal funding of Psychiatric Institutions has placed too many “psych” patients and “predatory criminals” out on the streets and living in our neighborhoods among us.

We, as parents and as a society in general, have to come to grips with the fact that we must be as pro-active. Simple mistakes such as allowing our children to ride their bikes alone, travel (walk) to a friend’s house or to school, unescorted can be fatal. We simply can’t allow small children to play unsupervised, in any environment, whether it be the driveway, backyard, park or school playground. Predators exist. They are out there, looking for the mistake

Being pro-active is critical. There are other steps parents can take, such as the use of a GPS watch or cellular phone. Obviously, the wealthier can utilize the services of an armed bodyguard, protection agent to escort their child, such as in the movie “Man On Fire”.

Given the nature of today’s occurrences, whatever the countermeasure taken, we can be assured, it probably rests within the parameters of sensibility.

Mr. LaSorsa manages J.A. LaSorsa & Associates, a South Florida based security consultancy and investigative firm, which provides professional services to Government, private and public corporations, legal and insurance firms and private citizens. These services include: asset and executive protection, corporate security and loss prevention, litigation support and expert testimony as it relates to premises liability, foreseeability, security negligence and security operations; technical security counter-measures, de-bugging, electronic sweep, anti-wiretapping, estate protection, safe rooms and security systems consulting, event and tour security, investigations and undercover operations, suspect interviews, surveillances, workplace & school violence intervention & consulting, residence security, threat and vulnerability assessments and developing/ implementing Crisis/Disaster and Business Continuity Management plans.

Joe has over twenty-nine years of experience in the Criminal Investigations, Executive Protection and the security field, which includes a twenty-year Federal Law Enforcement career as a Senior Special Agent with the United States Secret Service, having been assigned to the Presidential Protection Division, the White House.

For a free community service seminar on “Child Abduction Awareness”, J.A. LaSorsa & Associates can be contacted at: 954-783-5020 or via e-mail: jal@lasorsa.com or by visiting: www.lasorsa.com

In today’s world, security professionals refer to “bodyguards”, our associates, as “executive protection specialists” or “EP agents”.

In terms of answering the first question, “What is a bodyguard”; let’s first ask the question: What is Executive Protection?

Executive Protection is the integration and deployment of physical & technical security measures and countermeasures to protect the life of the protectee (person protected) and/or corporate asset or property.

Executive protection is not simply the traditional image of a “goon” guarding a dignitary, V.I.P. or celebrity. The modern protection agent image is centered on:

• a “non-confrontational, incident avoidance” professional.
• the offensive, tactical, assault minded individual serves his/her purpose in a “compound” environment.
• today’s executive protection specialist is trained to “cover and evacuate”.

PAST or TRADITIONAL IMAGE of an EXECUTIVE PROTECTION AGENT
large stature

• flashy clothes

• always armed – legal or not

• forceful & aggressive

• “gofer” or “lackey” role

• site protection only

• overuse of personnel

• not always trained or educated

• average height

• business dress

• armed when necessary

• diplomatic & flexible

• security professional

• 24/7 total protection

• technology used when possible

• educated & computer literate
The above comparison and/or delineation leads to an issue which is dear to my heart, because all too often in today’s business world, an unsuspecting client attempts to seek out a qualified professional and without knowing or realizing, the client calls on a firm or individual whom he or she has located through the yellow pages or internet, and winds up discussing their very serious issues with an individual directly from the above list: the past image of an Executive Protection Agent.

All too often today, alleged professionals emerge, almost on a daily basis, having received their state license or ‘no’ license at all and hang up ‘shingles’ and conduct business. In New York or Florida, for examples, the requirement for providing Executive Protection or bodyguard services is possession a Private Investigator’s license. There is no other training or experience required. This occurs all too often and these so called professionals present themselves as the Executive Protection expert “extraordinaire!

They forego any semblance of proper operational protocols such as ‘security advance work’ and usually without even conducting a proper threat or vulnerability assessment, offer to provide clients protective services and worse of all, at ‘cut’ rates.

They not only compromise the quality of service rendered the client, but they also dilute the profession, undermining the ‘qualified professionals’ out here and completely undermine the profession from a ‘business aspect’.

The bottom line is the unsuspecting client can’t understand why he or she is being quoted rates as low as $40 and as high as $200 per hour. Note: The truth be known, a client can easily procure services of a qualified professional for around $100-$125 per hour domestically and somewhat higher for international assignments.

The truth also be known, the majority of these ‘shingle hanging non-professionals’ couldn’t explain or expound on the essence of “Executive Protection, it’s procedures and concepts and probably do not know or understand the basic difference between a threat and vulnerability assessment.

Another untruth in this business is the belief that experience in the military, specifically, the ‘special ops’ experience, is critical to this field. This is so not true. Domestically, in the continental U.S., highly strategic, offensive combat experience is not the ‘end all’ and ‘be all’ when it comes to protective assignments. This experience, however, does have a seriously important role in some ‘very high risk’ environments, such as Colombia or Iraq, but the normal, routine, every day protective assignment is usually a ‘one man’ and sometimes a ‘two man detail’ and seldom more. In fact, this routine type protective assignment is usually nothing more than ‘armed escort’ without the luxury of advance security work.

Essentially, protective service without the use of the security advance is simply ‘armed escort’. In this scenario, the protectors, especially, the ‘shingle hanging non-professionals’ will be just as vulnerable to attack as the person protected.

Lastly, another point to mention and a sad point at that, is, these individuals’ incredible lack of understanding of the importance of attention to detail and in being prepared. If a protection agent abides by nothing else, he/she abides by the slogan, “failure to prepare is preparing to fail”. This mentality was constantly ingrained into the mindset of all Secret Service Agents and the result was evident in all aspects of operation.

So, in conclusion, as in most other consumer purchases, “the buyer must beware”. They should be diligent in their scrutiny of the ‘Protective Services’ provider. Prospective clients should take a close look at the principal behind the firm and look to see if the website offers BIO’s on any of the principals. In many instances, clients can not determine the background or credentials of the principal(s) behind the firm because the ‘page’ subject matter in “About us” is conveniently light or skirted altogether. There may be general statements about background, experience and credentials.

Mr. LaSorsa manages J.A. LaSorsa & Associates, a South Florida based security consultancy and investigative firm. He provides: asset and executive protection, corporate security consulting, expert testimony as it relates to premises liability & security negligence; anti-wiretapping, safe rooms & security systems consulting, event and tour security & investigations; workplace & school violence intervention, threat & vulnerability assessments. Joe has over twenty-nine years of experience in the Criminal Investigations, Executive Protection and the security field, which includes a twenty-year Federal Law Enforcement career as a Senior Special Agent with the United States Secret Service, having been assigned to the Presidential Protection Division, the White House.

If you are looking for executive protection services to protect yourself or your family, contact us now!

At the same time just a few miles away, armed men entered the home of another bank employee, supervisor Chris Ward, and conscripted him into their plan by taking his mother, father, brother and brother’s girlfriend hostage. Per the kidnappers’ instructions, the next evening McMullan and Ward used their security passes to enter Northern Bank’s inner vault and packed up bags of banknotes. The cash was loaded into a white truck and driven away. Hours later, Karen McMullan staggered out of a Northern Ireland forest and into the first house she found.

Many companies pay lip service to the notion that employees are their most valuable assets, but few have actually done the math. In the case of Northern Bank, the use of the McMullan and Ward families in that December 2004 robbery cost approximately $50 million-and that is just the thieves’ take. Add to that the public relations costs (worldwide headlines, inquiries by prosecutors and British intelligence), and the tab runs considerably higher.

The threats facing an executive vary widely depending on the size of the company, the industry it belongs to and the individual executive’s profile. CSOs in oft-targeted sectors such as the financial services, pharmaceutical and energy industries, and those with executives based overseas, worry about kidnapping, carjacking, mail-borne explosives, biological agents and ecoterrorism. Threatening letters and e-mails and workplace violence fill out the list.

Given the range of risks involved, CSOs who have managed executive protection programs know that protecting an individual is a very different discipline from securing a facility. A top executive not only can’t be locked down but, unlike a building with a single gate, there are numerous ways for an attacker to get to an executive, including through family members, as in the Belfast example. Executives will also rebel against onerous security restrictions. CSOs face the challenge of calibrating protection that serves their company’s needs while also making that security palatable to the executives who have to live with it.

We spoke with security executives and protection specialists, including former and current agents from the U.S. Secret Service, and gleaned their advice on building an executive protection (EP) program. These tips apply whether you are spending millions to protect all your top executives or you hire the occasional security provider when your CEO travels. Following this advice can make an enormous difference in your executives’ safety-and transform the executives’ idea of personal protection from a barely tolerated hassle into a perk.

Tip #1 Ask questions early (and often)
Whether you are starting an EP program or just looking to tune up a preexisting plan, the first step CSOs should take is to conduct a thorough risk analysis. You need to identify the individuals who are critical to your organization, assess the impact to the corporation if they were lost and examine the risks that each of those people faces. Is there a history of threats against any of these individuals? Do they travel regularly to dangerous places? To what kinds of crimes or dangerous situations are they most vulnerable? Some executives keep a very low profile. Others, such as Donald Trump and Richard Branson, aggressively court media attention and risk attracting the notice of undesirables as well as fans.

Once you have determined the individuals who need protection, you need to know everything about their public and private lifestyles. This is called creating a “principal profile,” and it requires the executive’s full cooperation. You need to know everything about his work and home lives-everything from detailed information about his home, his family’s habits and any organizations and clubs he frequents. It’s also important to investigate how easy it is for outsiders to get information on your principal and his family.

Arnette Heintze, director of security with a Fortune 100 company and a retired U.S. Secret Service special agent in charge, advises doing a little online surfing. “Some companies are way too proud about putting everything they can about their executive and his family up on their website,” says Heintze. “If someone is stalking a certain CEO, he can find out a lot of information on the Web.” (If there is a lot there, the protection team needs to educate the marketing and communications staffs about what publicized personal details could put an executive at risk.)

Based on what the protection team learns about its subjects, CSOs will start to get a picture of what kinds of security measures you’ll need to take. Some companies find that their executives need very little protection. Others need a 24/7 command post set up in their home. You should also consider whether your industry has a standard for executive protection. Companies in high-risk industries might find that there are some common levels of protection used for their executives. For example, executives at large financial services companies might have panic alarms in their homes as a standard security protocol. Researching common protective measures in your industry can enable you to benefit from others’ experience.

Of course, none of this comes cheap. So it’s critical that you’re comfortable with your recommendations because you have to be able to justify them. “Security is always negotiated in the private sector,” says Joe Russo, the vice president of special operations with T&M Protection Resources in New York City, who spent 20 years with the U.S. Secret Service. “You have to be able to articulate why you are going with certain procedures and justify heavier doses of security. It’s big dollars, so they’re not going to take it lightly.”

For example, according to the Jan. 6, 2005, proxy statement that Disney filed to its shareholders, in 2004, Disney spent $716,335 on security advice and personnel for CEO Michael Eisner, and $18,663 on security systems and equipment for his safety. For COO Bob Iger, the company spent $471,646 on security advice and personnel and $2,470 on security systems.

It’s important to realize that risks are ever-changing. CSOs need to establish a baseline level of security for their executives that can be increased when warranted. “Good executive protection professionals understand the threat level and analyze it constantly,” says Tim Horner, associate managing director at security consulting behemoth Kroll. A CEO might get 25 threatening e-mails a week without the threat level spiking. But if a threatening letter is tucked under the front door of the CEO’s home, that signals someone is taking extra pains to deliver their venom, and security may need to be increased.

Tip #2 Ditch the bouncer
The term “executive protection professional” should tell you all you need to know about the evolution of executive security details. No-neck goons in black turtlenecks and lumpy suit jackets are fine if you want to hit a dance club with a posse, but they are not effective for executives. An effective EP program has to be based on research and preparation rather than sheer muscle.

“That’s the difference between a bodyguard and a protection professional: One specializes in muscles and has a gun, and the other may be less physically imposing but is better prepared to identify threats before they materialize,” says David Katz, president and CEO of the Global Security Group, which provides training and consulting for executive protection details.

Whether you are using proprietary staff or outsourcing, the CSO must ensure that protection professionals are properly trained, advises Heintze. They need to have experience in defensive driving, emergency medical training, the ability to defend against an attack on a principal, a conspicuous pride in staying fit, and the good judgment to assess threats and employ the appropriate countermeasures. Today’s protection professional also has to be a mirror image of his principal in professional dress and demeanor.

“You need to know how to walk, dress and talk like your executive,” says Ilan Caspi, executive vice president of the Global Security Group and a former member of Shin Bet, the Israeli counterintelligence and internal security service. Blending into the executive’s milieu is critical to ensuring his safety and minimizing the impact of a security detail on his daily life.

So who is the executive protection professional? “These men and women are educated, trainable, respectful and dedicated professionals,” says Robert L. Oatman. Oatman, author of a book on executive protection, founded R.L. Oatman & Associates, which specializes in executive protection operations and training. “They know how to blend into their environment and carry on an intelligent conversation, and they understand that they represent the executive.” Many companies hire former police officers, secret service agents and military officers to fill this role, but experts like Oatman point out that it’s also possible to find people within a corporate security organization who have the right character for the role. The physical skills necessary to do protection can be taught, but the dedication, discretion and integrity necessary to do the job well are often harder to find. “This job is not for everyone,” says Oatman.

Protection professionals have to be great communicators. They have to be able to establish a good rapport with their principal without getting too close. “You want to make sure that you keep everything on a professional keel,” says Tim Koerner, deputy assistant director in the office of protective operations for the U.S. Secret Service. “When you are in close proximity for a long period of time, people sometimes let down their guard and become more chummy. The best results are when things are utterly professional.”

The CSO’s role is to identify promising protection professionals (both within the company and outside of it), and to mentor them and make sure they receive the appropriate training. That training can include skills such as choreography (knowing how to stand, walk and get out of a car with a principal), conducting advance work to prepare for trips and events ahead of time, effective countermeasures to deal with an attack or security threat when it materializes, proficiency with home alarm and access control systems, familiarity with armored vehicles, and firearms training.

Tip #3 Make protection feel like a perk
Some people come into the protection business imagining they’ll be like Clint Eastwood, firing off magnum clips and cool one-liners in rapid succession. But opportunities for gun-play are hard to come by if the job is done well. In fact, the job can seem quite dull when success is measured by how uneventful the executive’s routine becomes. Nerdy as it may sound, good organizational abilities and excellent research skills will prevent the lion’s share of problems. These things also carry an ancillary benefit: helping an executive eliminate many of the usual annoyances of travel.

When an executive deviates from his routine in order to travel, the protection professional needs to be in a position to prevent a dangerous encounter rather than simply respond to it, says Koerner. Before attending an event, the protection professional should examine the principal’s travel logistics and create a contingency plan for every conceivable possibility. Without this kind of preparation, protection professionals could find themselves frozen by the onset of a medical situation or attack. “You know you have done a really good advance job if you are able to answer all the questions [about an event] that are asked of you,” says Koerner. It’s also easy to tell the protection professionals who have not done their homework. They’re the ones who are constantly standing within a foot of their principals. “By not having done the proper advance work, the untrained professional ends up smothering the CEO and destroying his credibility,” says Heintze.

Advance work is also more than preventing a planned attack. “A lot of times you don’t have to worry so much about kidnapping as you do regular criminal activity, car accidents and serious illness,” says Mark Cheviron, corporate vice president, corporate security and services of Archer Daniels Midland (ADM). If an executive has a history of heart problems, facilitating a prompt EMT response might be the top priority for ensuring his health and safety. At ADM, corporate offices and planes are all equipped with defibrillators, and the company keeps track of critical health information-such as allergies and blood type-about its executives. When Caspi worked security for President Clinton’s visit to the Israeli embassy in Washington, he recalls one of the biggest concerns was that Clinton not trip on steep stairs.

Joe Russo spent the last 18 months of his Secret Service career heading up the security detail for former President Clinton and Sen. Hillary Clinton. Clinton’s postpresidential schedule had him visiting approximately 54 countries during that time. Without the phalanx of security that accompanies a sitting president, Russo’s advance work was critical.

For every Clinton event at home or abroad, Russo looked at the geographic location and purpose of the former president’s visit. Russo and the Secret Service’s Clinton Protective Division sent out security personnel in advance to lock down all the details of the president’s visit and hammered out a tight schedule that left little room for the unexpected. With Clinton, that was a particular challenge because “he would still attract crowds of thousands, most of whom had good intentions,” says Russo. “People wanted to touch him, grab him and hug him, and with fewer resources [than when he was in office] and unscreened crowds, that meant less control.” In those situations, Russo had to be extra vigilant about his advance work, directing the advance team to ensure that 10-foot buffer zones between Clinton and the crowd were preserved and that all pathways to vehicles and emergency exits were kept clear. In many countries, Russo worked closely with local law enforcement to beef up his security team, but that did not always run smoothly. At one event in Israel, the Israeli police officers tasked with maintaining a clear path to Clinton’s vehicle actually blocked his exit because they were all crowding in to try to shake his hand. This kind of incident occurred in several countries.

Good advance takes time; it could require three weeks to plan a five-day overseas trip. But it’s also an opportunity to make protection seem more of a perk than a pain for the principal by speeding things up. The protection professional is the CEO’s man Friday, doing all the grunt work ahead of time to ensure his experience is seamless. “If executive protection is done professionally and correctly, it can afford an executive an extra hour and a half to two hours a day,” says Oatman.

Tip #4 Stand tall in the face of resistance
When executives rebel against their protection-a fairly common phenomenon-it’s the CSO who has to make the case for security.

CSOs need to educate the executive about security recommendations while arguing for his buy-in. It can be helpful to use terms that the executive feels comfortable with, like cost-benefit and return on investment. It can also be effective to boil down the protection program’s efforts into a quarterly executive summary that lists the perceived threats and the steps taken to mitigate them. Robert Siciliano, a personal security expert who has advised British Petroleum and Best Western, refers to it as cultivating a “healthy paranoia” in your executive populace. “They should be aware of the risks they face and always informed of the worst-case scenarios.” The more that executives know about the role of their protection detail, the better they will understand their role in helping the protection professionals keep them safe.

Of course, executives can come to view these conversations about lurking dangers as scare tactics. That’s why it’s critical that the CSO and not the individual security provider manage this communication. “I wouldn’t try to talk my CEO into taking karate or judo,” says one security executive for a Fortune 50 company in the aerospace industry. “But I think it’s important that they’re aware or sensitive to what’s going on [within their peer group]. Threats or activity against other executives are a good opportunity to tweak them about security.” Also, CSOs should have answers ready for executives’ most common concerns about security in their lives. For example:

Can I trust them? In a culture where everyone seems to be angling for a book deal, top executives are loath to have a stranger listening to their phone calls and observing the details of their daily lives. Executives have to be able to rely on their discretion.

What about my personal life? Most executives want to leave their work at the office. If a security detail during off-hours is necessary, CSOs can minimize complaints by ensuring that the protection personnel keep a low profile. Video surveillance technology and alarm systems can keep the security professionals at a comfortable distance.

Will this slow me down? Executives concerned that security will be cumbersome can learn how the organizational prowess of their protection personnel can make everything run more smoothly.

Giving your executives a little training of their own can also make them better partners. Some take defensive driving courses and learn what to do if attacked by armed assailants, and what they should do if they are being watched. This might all sound very cloak and dagger, but Russo notes that these are not unheard-of occurrences in the business world. For example, a business competitor who was hoping to gather information about his daily meetings placed one of Russo’s executive clients under surveillance. Companies that are in litigation have used surveillance for intimidation purposes. If you get executives thinking about these kinds of situations and taking some ownership of their security, you’ll discover an enthusiastic partner. “When they start to see the benefits [of security], they start to like it,” says Caspi. “Eventually you get to the point where they can’t think how they would get along without security.”

Tip #5 Build a big Rolodex
Good information is the lifeblood of an EP program. It pays to work closely with executive assistants, hotel personnel and event organizers. But that’s only part of the information network a protection professional needs. Other important resources come from law enforcement and fellow security professionals.

When other executives gather for an event, it can be a good opportunity for security personnel to network as well. These connections can be helpful, but their cooperation depends on the protection professional’s powers of persuasion and pleasing. (It also pays to return their calls when they ask for advice.) “These people don’t owe you anything,” says Caspi. “They can help you if they want, but nobody will hold them accountable if they don’t. Fellow protection professionals can also provide a wealth of helpful information. When traveling abroad or to an unfamiliar city, the best information on where to go and which in-country security providers to trust will likely come from peers that have worked security in the area before.

Within the company, the EP professional’s network should include the executive assistants who manage the schedules and the HR managers who in many companies ensure that everyone who works in proximity with the top executives are screened and given background checks. But it should also include the security department. Often, executive protection operates outside the boundaries of the regular security department, but that is a mistake, says Oatman. The CSO is a critical advocate to an executive protection program, and EP should work closely with the CSO and his team to ensure a free flow of communication and to facilitate the acquisition of additional resources when necessary.

Tip #6 Don’t forget the spouse and kids
The most vulnerable people in the corporation are not the executives under the protection of corporate security, but their spouses and children who are far more accessible and are often left out of security planning. “The family should be a huge concern,” says Russo. “If someone has bad intentions and they recognize that an executive has 24-hour security at the office and when he travels, they’ll think of an easier way to get to them.”

Harming a spouse, child or another member of the executive’s family is an easier way to get to that executive compared with trying to harm an executive surrounded by a security detail. Oatman is familiar with a recent case where an individual was fired from his job and was really upset about it. “That employee’s son, who had a prior criminal conviction for assault, showed up at the CEO’s home and threatened retaliation against the executive,” says Oatman. The family called the police. Although no charges were pressed, the executive and his family lived with security for three months after that until the investigation was completed.

While a security detail at the executive’s home may not be necessary, the protection team should evaluate the principal’s home and examine whether family members should receive any training or additional protection. At ADM, Cheviron deals with everything from threats from disgruntled employees to the occasional crazed individual who reads something about ADM in a newspaper and goes on a crusade of harassment. The company supplies all its officers with a home alarm system that is monitored at the corporate office. He also considers options like home safe rooms where executives and their families can wait for police and fire assistance to arrive, and armored vehicles with trunks that contain a release in case the car is stolen and the executive is placed inside the trunk.

Sometimes the simplest steps can make a big difference to an executive’s security. Many companies provide excellent facility security but omit the basic precautions of conducting background checks on the employees that work in close proximity with the CEO. Some executives have buttoned-down security with an armed driver five days a week, but nothing on the weekends. Examine your security for these kinds of commonsense gaps. The benefits of nothing going wrong are worth the costs of safekeeping your company’s most valuable assets.