Most celebrities hire close protection officers to act as personal bodyguards and the role of the close protection officer would involve residential security, acting as an executive chauffeur and keeping the media at a distance so their client can have peace of mind.

Many sportsmen and celebrities use close protection agents for book signings and events where they know that the fans will be all over them. Many of the top sportsmen who are away from home for long periods of time are hiring personal bodyguards for their families.

The bodyguard would live in the clients home and form a residential security team. The main reason for this is because criminals know when the celebrity will be at home and they use this knowledge to their advantage and execute the crime when it suits them most.

In the Lonon region many celebrities hire close protection officers as they don’t need to worry about the paparazzi and fans all the time. These bodyguards would drive their clients around like an executive chauffeur and ensure the clients safety at all times.

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The client might want to go for dinner in the west end of London and without the close protection the media would take full advantage and actually make the client feel uncomfortable.

The role of the bodyguard in an incident like this would be to instruct the journalists and paparazzi that they can take photo’s but not get in the way of the client, basically let the client get on with it. It could also be fans who surround the client and are ask for autographs and photo’s to be taken. Without a close protection officer present the fans would literally just take advantage of the situation.

Technology has really given the media extra weapons or tools over the last 10 years or so. the Internet, mobile phones, laptops digital camera’s and wi-fi spots all over the place. This has made it so easy for the paparazzi to get their stories to their editors in no time but it also means they can contact other journalists.

A client could arrive at a classy restaurant and there is one journalist at the venue that gets a pic but by the time the client is ready to leave the venue the journalist has contacted colleagues and there is a sea of journalists now waiting to capture the clients picture. This is when a close protection officer’s planning would come into place and the client would exit the restaurant without being distracted.

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These close protection officers roles vary from client to client but most of the time the close protection officers work as executive chauffeurs, personal bodyguards, and in certain cases for investigation and surveillance.

Many football fans from around the world travel to Glasgow for the old-firm derby match, Rangers vs Celtic. This match is really intense and can be really dangerous if you walk down the wrong street and yo are wearing the wrong colours. This is why so many tourists going to watch this classic football match are hiring Close Protection Officers to ensure they can enjoy the match as much as possible. Watch this Old Firm video for information.

We have also seen in recent years that more and more politicians are coming out of Scotland and these politicians are hiring close protection officers to act as personal bodyguards to their families who are at risk.

The role of a personal bodyguard would be to drive the client around like an executive chauffeur, plan routes, seek out potential threats and always ensure the safety of the client.

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This is the main reason why the SIA came about as before this anyone could have worked in the security industry and the stereotypical “Tough-Guys” who had previous convictions often ruined the reputation of the security industry. The SIA has made the security industry professional and it is really important that the standards are maintained.

You can visit the SIA website here

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There are many close protection forums where you can gain valuable information about anything ranging from current vacancies, training, private security companies and close protection training courses. The main reason why social networking is so improtant in the close protection industry is because as a CPO one always has to be willing to travel for jobs.

The Internet therefore is the best place to communicate with employers and other Close protection officers to gain vital information. Close Protection is not really an industry where jobs are advertised on commercial job boards, instead it is an industry where you need to know people and you need to be in the right place at the right time.

Through social networking one can stay in touch with other close protection officers and companies all over the world and find decent jobs.

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Please have a look and let me know what you think and where I can improve?

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A bodyguard would be the physical presence that would be seen in the public eye right beside their client which would be a high-profile celebrity. The bodyguard would make sure that their client is not harmed and that their client is not bothered by journalists and fans.

A close protection officer would not really be seen in the public eye but would still have a similar role to the bodyguard in terms of keeping the client safe at all times. A close protection officer would plan the routes of transportation and always make sure that they have a back-up plan.

So basically a bodyguard would work with a high-profile celebrity and a close protection officer would probably be looking after a politician.

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These could be driving the client around like an executuve chauffeur, guarding the clients home which would be known as a residence security team or transporting valuable items from A to B which is known as Asset Protection.

Many high profile people in England have been victims of crime over the past few years and have learnt that its always better to prevent any incident. We have seen many footballers particularily in the North West have their houses raided and in some cases the victims were held at kinfe and gun-point.

We have also recently seen two jewellry stores in Liverpool city centre held up in broad daylight and the members of staff in both stores were traumatised and feared for their lives. In both incidents the criminals were armed and the scurity at the stores were ineffective.

The main reason why close protection is growing in England is because people want to be safe and would much rather have any incident prevented and rather be safe than sorry.

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After threatening Heskey’s girlfriend the criminals than stole expensive jewellery and the England strikers key to his BMW X 5, many people think that this is one of the reasons why Heskey left Wigan Athletic Football club for Aston Villa. Apparently he now lives in a much safer area in Birmingham and im sure close protection is now a main priority for Heskey and his family.

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Apparently the police at last weeeks game had confiscated a few dangerous items from fans enetering the City of Manchester stadium, these included a snooker ball, darts and a golf ball. During the match an item which looked like a lighter was thrown at Patrice Evra who than picked up the missile and showed what was thrown at him to the officials.

Some fans were seen fighting, ripping seats out and a flair was also lit inside the stadium. It is a real shame that these incidents occurred as both clubs are the biggest they have ever been and yet there is still so many problems with the fans. Manchester has had its fair share of problems in the past with the Rangers fans during the UEFA cup final a couple of seasons ago,  there was chaos in the city and in one case a police officer was severly beaten.

It is a big concern for anyone travelling to the match at Old Trafford tonight and I’m sure some fathers who were going to take their kids have decided against going now as it is a huge risk. What does this cause for future matches? Especially with Manchester City becoming a massive club worldwide.

What we will see in the future is more commercial fans travelling to the mathces with Close Protection Officers to ensure their safety, before, during and after the match. This will be the best strategy and tactic as the police already have their hands full and have been exposed in this region in the past.

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