When you hear the word bodyguard, you probably think about celebrities, paparazzi, Whitney Houston and that big scary dude who follows Kim Kardashian around. But for many people who feel that they are in danger on a day to day basis, a bodyguard isn’t just a Hollywood fantasy. CEOs of corporations, people who have been the victims of stalking or abuse and the children of high profile celebrities are just a few of the people who may need the protections offered by bodyguard services.
WHAT DOES A PERSONAL BODYGUARD DO?
A bodyguard, also known as a close protection officer, may perform any number of duties related to keeping an important person safe from physical threats such as assassination, kidnapping, harassment and assault. While many close protection officers are employed to protect government officials, private, or personal bodyguards can also be employed by the wealthy who believe that they are in danger for some reason.
A bodyguards skills may vary depending on the perceived threat that they have been hired to counter. For example, most government bodyguards whose main job is to keep government officials safe from assassination have military backgrounds and counter-sniper training. Bodyguard services aren’t quite as glamorous as the movies make them out to be, however. Protecting a VIP from assassination involves careful route planning, checking rooms for danger and researching the background of people that the VIP will come into contact with, rather than having shoot outs with the bad guys.
A personal bodyguard for a celebrity has a very different job. While there are many real threats to a celebrity’s safety, they are less likely to be the targets of coordinated assassination attempts, but much more likely to be constantly hounded by press, fans and hangers on. As a result celebrity bodyguards are often physically imposing and have law enforcement backgrounds that enable them to nonviolently subdue people and keep them at bay.
In the modern era, bodyguard services can take a number of different forms.
For example some organisations offer executive protection services that range from more traditional bodyguard services to virtual protection services. These virtual bodyguards for hire use cyber security techniques to protect their clients assets and identity from theft and hacking. Whatever the threats are to your safety, a personal bodyguard may be just the thing you’re looking for to provide that extra layer of security.
