Developing Ownership and Skillsets for their Personal Security?

By: Jake Newton, Chief Operations Officer, Center for Personal Protections and Safety (CPPS)

A Critical Component to Protecting Executives: Developing Ownership and Skillsets for their Personal Security?

? ? ? ?The shock from the assassination of Brian Thompson, United Healthcare CEO, spread like fire across the United States.? It quickly became a mainstream discourse in the security industry.? Protection professionals have been receiving numerous requests from their executives to boost Executive Protection capability.? Protection professionals have also been examining—with renewed vigor—what should be in place to ensure their executives have a comprehensive approach to providing safety and security infrastructure for their executives.? Many Executive Protection programs focus on Protective Intelligence capabilities, providing a protective detail for travel, travel assessments, and other similar capabilities that are “outsourced” from the perspective of the executive.? Each is vital.? Another vital component that is often overlooked is the need for executives to own their personal security.? If Executive Protection begins with their mindset and understanding that they are a stakeholder in their personal protection, it can have a strong positive impact on their security holistically.? This newsletter includes a series of ways that executives can build ownership in their personal security and take proactive steps to lessen vulnerability.?

Building Ownership: Being Centered on Your Security?

? ? ? At CPPS, we train individuals on the fundamental understanding that your protection begins with you!? When emergencies occur, it’s incumbent upon you to decide how to best provide for your own safety and security.? This is a critical mindset.? Recognizing this before an event occurs can provide you with a host of options to prepare for any emergency you might experience.? It’s a preparedness mentality.? Developing this mindset begins with identifying what your vulnerabilities are, recognizing the potential fallout from experiencing various disruptions or crises impacting your security, taking control over the things you can control, and identifying solutions to address each of those issues. Starting with this mentality creates a much stronger opportunity for support resources to be effective.?

Developing Personal Security Skillsets?

? ? ? The natural progression from developing a mindset of centeredness on your security is to develop the practices that promote it.? Here are some examples of things to do and/or skills to develop:

Develop and implement situational awareness practices.

• While situational awareness is often compared to simply being aware of your surroundings, it’s more than that in practice.? It’s awareness, observation, and determining adequate next steps based on the information present.? It’s applied appropriately for the environment.? Situational awareness looks different at home compared to visiting an entirely new place.?

Receive training for known vulnerabilities and/or risks.?

• Building upon situational awareness may include surveillance detection training.? Having a skillset to recognize surveillance and what to do about it is a proactive way to avoid potential emergencies.?

• Years ago, a CEO and his family in Washington DC were taken hostage for 19 hours, bound by duct tape, and then killed.? The convicted perpetrator was a previous employee in the CEO’s business, indicating that the attack was not random.? Basic Restraints Escape training and Hostage Survival training are powerful for building resilience to high-impact events.?

Control public exposure?

• One time I was following a car in downtown Washington, DC, that said “CFO.”? Talk about a way to get attention—particularly on a really nice car.? Actions like this can create undue attention.? Education on these concepts, as well as online presence can mitigate unnecessary headaches.? On social media, or by others communicating on behalf the executive(s), it’s helpful to not forecast schedule or upcoming activities where they’ll be present.? This gives potential bad actors time to plan.?

Travel preparation and/or public awareness?

• Preparation for travel is key, whether domestic or internationally.? Having a communication plan is a powerful means to facilitate safety and security while traveling.? The plan should be clear and known to those who can do something about it.? Check in once a day or more frequently depending on the risk and have mutually known protocols if communication windows are missed.?

• Prior to departure, a briefing for the executive can create local area awareness.? Dos and don’ts, cultural considerations, laws, security risks, etc., are a few ways to increase situational awareness in unfamiliar areas.? These can be conducted in both foreign and domestic settings, ensuring high-risk individuals gain a solid understanding of the threats they face.??

This list isn't exhaustive, but these areas provide a strong foundation for developing personal security skills.?

?Recognizing Vulnerabilities and Layers of Security?

? ? ? As mentioned previously, receiving training on known vulnerabilities is a way to mitigate them.? Knowing one’s limits is important.? Sometimes, vulnerabilities need to be planned around because they may not be able to be changed.? For example, a trip might require going into the midst of a dense population.? That increases vulnerability but there’s things that may be done within the density to remain secure given the circumstances, such as not lingering or having on any loose items that may be picked from pockets.?

?When considering the holistic realm of personal security, it exists in layers.? It begins with yourself, extends to those things you have with you daily to protect yourself, then extends to areas you frequent and the greater environment(s) you’ll encounter.? Your home, vehicles, office, town, etc.? Your loved ones should also be considered in this process.? For each layer, consider what vulnerabilities each have, try to mitigate them, and build infrastructure/plan(s) for each to bolster your protection.??

Implementing a Threat Management Capability?

? ? ? From an organizational context, an area that can significantly benefit executive safety and security is a multidisciplinary Threat Management Team.? When threats against executives become known, this team can evaluate, manage, and implement intervention strategies to prevent potential targeted/intentional violence.???

CPPS provides training for these client teams.? They’re formulated by Security, HR, and legal, among others, and specifically trained to handle situations for all personnel, to include executives.?

Conclusion?

? ? ? Develop a mindset of ownership for your personal security, develop the skills needed, and recognize the layers of security that need to be addressed for a holistic protective posture.? Adding supportive capabilities like a Threat Management Team can provide additional, proactive layers.??

There’s a lot of opportunities to invest in personal security.? And while these concepts have been applied to executives, many apply to anyone.? A lot of time and energy can be devoted to each of these things, but it doesn’t have to be a burden.? It can be an iterative advancement, but it does take ownership and setting it as a priority.? The key is to begin.?

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Event Spotlight

Join Dave Benson, MS, CTM, for a live webinar on April 16th to learn about how bias can impact efforts in Behavioral Threat Assessment and Management (BTAM). Register now to gain key insights on various types of bias affect the major components BTAM program and how to avoid their negative impact within your organization's Workplace Violence Prevention and Intervention Program.

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Upcoming Events

? ? ?CPPS is proud to partner with Axis Communications to provide several open enrollment engagements throughout '25! ?Come join us at the Axis Experience Centers for events packed with information and insights regarding Workplace Violence, Behavioral Threat Assessment and Management, Travel Risk Management, and more! ?Save the dates below. ?Much more to follow!

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June 25/26- Minneapolis, MN

August 5/6- New York, NY

October 7/8- Dallas, TX

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Threat Management Team Training Course

Threat Management Team members require the most detailed and comprehensive training regarding behavioral or psychological aspects of Workplace Violence.

This course is facilitated by Dave Benson, MS, CTM, a Threat Management Professional with over 40 years of combined public and private sector experience and a Certified Threat Manager (CTM) through the Association of Threat Assessment Professionals (ATAP).

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On The Horizon

CPPS is reorganizing and modernizing our approach to sharing information with you.? This newsletter is shifting to contain exclusive content, available only here.? It’ll be released on a biweekly basis and provides tangible, actionable insights, tools, and tips that you can incorporate into your day-to-day endeavors protecting those around you.? Much, much more to come—stay tuned!?