At Executive Security International we place an emphasis on teaching Protective Intelligence. Protective Intelligence can have many deferring definitions dependent on what field is using the term. For a Security Specialist using protective intelligence can determine whether or not you are able to be successful in your job as an Executive Protection Specialist. For our purposes Protective Intelligence can be defined as “is an investigative and analytical process used by protectors to proactively identify, assess and mitigate threats to their protectee.

Authors Fred Burton and Scott Stewart shared their definition in their article in Security Weekly “ In simple terms, [protective intelligence] is the process used to identify and assess threats. A well-designed [protective intelligence] program will have a number of distinct and crucial components or functions, but the most important of these are counter-surveillance, investigations and analysis.”

How can a team identify, assess and mitigate threats?  In identifying threats to key assets and individuals one should conduct a threat assessment which will allow you and your team to implement proactive measures at various levels and quickly share information before a threat arises.

While conducting their threat assessment, your team can then ask for observations from both the security staff and non-security staff. These may include any combination of the following, as an example: static security staff, counter-surveillance personnel, executives, executive assistants, household staff, corporate security staff (other than executive protection), and more.

At the conclusion of the assessment one should have sufficient support for why or why not there is a threat, to what degree and how to proceed.

When you are ready to learn more about protective intelligence contact ESI and register for our next course.