Close Protection Officers and Principals cannot afford to be misled

Critical Situational Interviewing for Close Protection Operatives

When the CPO cannot read the situation, the people-on-the-ground or a person of interest then they invite collateral damage. People do lie, be it the principal, their entourage, the management of a venue, or the door security during an impulsive visit. Furthermore, the principal may have an insider threat that they are unaware of, who could be a person scheming on their own or working in concert with others either voluntarily or under duress.

In the in-depth and wide-minded research of Dr Gavriel Schneider (2005), he refers to the Close Protection Officer (CPO) possibly escorting the principal internationally and furthermore, working with counterparts abroad, subsequently, interacting or working with diverse cultures. Included in his research, the pays attention to various forms of communication that the CPO would be involved in, i.e., in the stages of planning, mission and de-briefing. Furthermore, he stresses the importance of observation, awareness, and quick thinking. Having researched various CPO training companies and paying attention to the curriculum of others, we noted that all were failing in certain aspects whereas, the research paper of Dr Gavriel Schneider (2005) was most advanced.

In this work, we stress the importance and re-iterate that security success for a CPO will depend on their level of situational awareness of the decision-maker on the ground and reaction speed. The emphasis on this article is on the situational awareness – decision making and reaction speed.

The decision-making to plan and protect the principal begins at the stage of interviewing, whereas, the CPO must establish the true situation. The Professional CPO uses HIM Critical Situational Awareness Interviewing. The client in fact could not only be the principal but also their entourage, e.g. partners, kids, wife, etc. The CPO may ask questions related to the health of the client and inquire about issues that may negatively impact on the safeguarding of the principal. The principal may not disclose their little secrets or other members of the entourage, e.g., the children not disclosing who they are in contact with, or, what they are truly up to – that could impact on their protection. Therefore, it is vital to gather reliable, and all-the-information during the brief and to continuously monitor the truthful situation as issues could have been missed.

For more on this guidance article view the Intelligence Bank on ISIO – International Security Industry Organization

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