Bodyguard

A bodyguard (or close protection officer/operative) is a type of security guard, government law enforcement officer, or servicemember who protects an important person or group of people, such as high-ranking public officials, wealthy businesspeople, and celebrities, from harm. The personnel team that protects a VIP is often referred to as the VIP's security detail.

For other uses, see Bodyguard (disambiguation).
"Executive protection" redirects here. For the film, see Executive Protection (film).
Not to be confused with lifeguard.
Bodyguard
Bodyguards with President Ronald Reagan moments before he was shot in March 1981
Occupation
NamesClose protection officer, executive protection agent, personal protection specialist
Occupation type
Government employment or private employment
Activity sectors
Law enforcement, Government, Military, Security
Description
Related jobs
Security guard, law enforcement officer, anti-terrorism specialist, intelligence officer

Most important public figures, such as heads of state, heads of government, and governors are protected by a team of bodyguards from a government agency, security forces, or police forces. Less-important public figures, or those with lower risk profiles, may be accompanied by a single bodyguard who doubles as a driver.

Roles

Unlike depictions in popular culture, such as the 2018 British television series Bodyguard (2018), bodyguards are rarely involved in dramatic firefights.[1] Instead, a bodyguard's work consists mainly of planning routes, pre-searching rooms and buildings where the client will be visiting, researching the background of people that will have contact with the client, searching vehicles, and attentively escorting the client on their day-to-day activities.[2] In the event of an emergency, a bodyguard's priority will always be to evacuate their client, not engage with threats.[1]

Osama bin Laden's personal security detail consisted of "bodyguards...personally selected by him." Their "arsenal included SAM-7 and Stinger missiles, AK-47s, RPGs, and PK machine guns."[3]

See also

References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bodyguards.
  1. Turk, Victoria. "How realistic is Bodyguard? A real Personal Protection Officer tells all". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 2024-04-04.
  2. "What's it like being a bodyguard?". BBC. April 4, 2011. Retrieved 2011-04-04.
  3. Soufan, Ali. The Black Banners: The Inside Story of 9/11 and the War Against al-Qaeda. W.W. Norton and Company. New York and London: 2011.Page 325
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.