Executive Protection From Terrorist Attack - The Executive's Effect on the Security Plan (From Clandestine Tactics and Technology - A Technical and Background Intelligence Data Service, Volume 1 - See NCJ-77154)

• NCJ Number: 76477
• Author(s): J M Samuels
• Date Published: Unknown
• Length: 7 pages
• Sale Source: International Assoc of Chiefs of Police
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

Because the attacker, the security force, and the executive to be protected compose the variables of a protective equation, this article examines the often overlooked impact of the executive's public and private personnas on the implementation of a successful security program.

Abstract

The security director must understand the executive's self-image in order to determine whether the executive will accept advice, body guards, or limitations on activities. The security director must also determine what types of security equipment or tactics will be unacceptable and how to tactfully explain their implementation, if necessary. Providing the answers to these questions requires a well-developed knowledge of the community, a working liaison with other agencies, and access to both the media and the executives' closest aides, and protective experience. Finally, a scientific/psychological profile detailing the subject's personality characteristics is most helpful. A profile can be constructed with the aide of mental health professionals or by using one of several simple profiles specifically developed for this purpose. One profile, developed by Vestermark, has a vertical axis which describes the public figure's status as either charismatic (e.g., a religious or political figure) governmental (e.g., public office holder), or situational (e.g., one involved with a specific issue). While these categories overlap, the intention in choosing one is to concentrate on those dominant traits that are likely to shape the subject's response to routine conditions, emergencies, and the protective effort. The horizontal axis measures the scope of the public figure's appeal which can be negative, positive, or a combination of both and can fall into the following categories: mass appeal, specific group appeal, and individual appeal. Nine possible combinations can result from a cross-reference of these two axes. The security director should determine the self-assertiveness and organizational commitment of the charge. In addition to the psychological profiles, the director should not whether the executive has any self-image problems or feelings of invincibility, fatalism, or ambivalence. A typology chart is provided.