Essentials of Executive Protection: the Presidential Protective Detail

Essentials of Executive Protection
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Essentials of Executive Protection
The goal of the Presidential Protective Detail (PPD) or any Private Protective Detail is obviously to ensure that the Principal is kept from harm. Being responsible for another person’s life is quite a task and takes a lot of preparation as well as sacrifice. First of all, all security details often have to deal with the fact that everybody outside the security detail, as well as the protectee, is a threat. The above assumption while broad, and seemingly general is crucial and helps them to draft the necessary precautions. Careful planning and preparation are also of the essence. To an outsider, the PPD often conducts routine checks and repeats the same procedures whenever the principal visits a new place. However, a lot of planning and resources are involved with the protection of the principal as the chief factor. While the level of the task at hand differs, the PPD and private security details have a lot in common. The essentials and the goal are indeed the same, but there are other factors as well that seem to intertwine.
First of all, both the PPD and the private security details must always be a step ahead of the criminals (Connors, 2007). The adage, set a thief to catch a thief is one of the basic and most important principles that applies to security details. Both the PPD and private security details often find themselves thinking like criminals or visualizing some of the potential threats and then later using that information to secure the principal’s destination. While for private security details the procedure may not be as intense as for PPD, the tactics and the mindset is always the same.
Everyone is capable of causing harm to the principal, and therefore all interactions with the principal must be evaluated and analyzed to iron out any possibility of a potential threat. Enemies come in all sizes and ages and thus an extra vigilant eye to scan the crowd is necessary to identify anyone who is a likely threat. Never assume anyone is harmless because of their physical appearance and they must all be subjected to security evaluation before allowed to interact with the principal. If you perceive every person to be a potential threat, security precautionary measures are better, and they lead to a better security detail for the principal.
Careful planning of the principal’s route is important to analyze the potential threats and navigate them before the principal arrives (Connors, 2007). This is necessary if especially the route plan is published or is knowle...