Should you do background checks on executive protection agents? Most security companies don’t?
In the State of California, to practice and work as a security personnel, you must get a security guard card issued by the California Bureau of Security & Investigative Services (BSIS). There are different types of training that guards can go through to obtain various permits. For example, the security guard card training is 40 hours, a baton permit requires about eight hours of specific training, and this permit is good for life; for the pepper spray permit, it is two hours of training; and for the exposed firearm training, fourteen hours of training is required. Even if you have a concealed permit from a police or sheriff’s department, you should ideally have both firearms permits.
When you process with BSIS your guard card and firearms permits, BSIS has to run a background check, and for the firearm permit, they also carry out a psychological test to make sure you are mentally sound to carry a gun. With this in mind, most security companies will say they do not need to carry out their own background check because California State has already done one.
However, even though California State has already run a background check, the best security and protection companies, like WPG, will do an additional check. So no matter who you are, a background check will be run even if you are former law enforcement. This is done alongside other background checks, such as looking at social media, drug testing, and psychological assessments.
The Benefits of Further Background Checks
Why are all these additional steps and checks carried out? Because a reliable and high-quality protection company does not want to discover later on that one of its agents has a history of domestic violence, a restraining order, or even something like a former arrest for shoplifting.
There have been some recent scandals regarding this exact slipup by other security companies. For example, the guard Prince Harry hired through a security company has domestic violence against him. The same thing happened to Kim Kardashian with her guard, who had domestic violence against him, and his company had to file for bankruptcy.
Alongside the embarrassment of this news coming out, it also damages the client’s reputation. This is especially the case when incidents requiring aggressive or deadly force arise. Any history of violence can be used against the guard, the client, and the security company in the media and potential lawsuits.
Therefore, it is imperative to run extensive background checks and investigate the potential agent’s history, including social media use and psychological State. All of these elements need to come together to become a high-quality and trustworthy protection agent who can be trusted with a client’s life.
Ultimately, clients must choose protection companies that will go the extra mile for them. Clients should understand what checks have been run on their protection agent to fully trust them. With a high-quality protection company, clients can rest assured that every necessary precaution has been taken before an agent is placed in their vicinity. Just as a company will thoroughly assess a client’s home, it is just as necessary to run background checks and assessments on the agents themselves. Do not take shortcuts that will hurt your reputation.
