Close Protection
Protection is planning, not posturing. The work that keeps a principal safe happens before anything happens.
The capability
What a forward observer actually does
A forward observer works ahead of and alongside a protection detail, monitoring surroundings, flagging anything that doesn’t fit, and feeding real-time information back to the team before it becomes a problem. That means threat assessment, open-source monitoring (social media, news, chatter relevant to the principal), and clear, fast communication under pressure.
Our forward observers train specifically in observation and reporting, threat assessment, and TSCM sweeps of a principal’s residences and vehicles, the same technical counter-surveillance work our TSCM and Counter-Surveillance service covers in full.
Engagements we take
Engagements include executive and principal protection, event and meeting security details, support during high-risk terminations and other volatile legal disputes, and residence and vehicle security assessments that fold in a TSCM sweep where the risk calls for it. Every detail starts with a threat assessment: who or what the risk actually is, because a protection plan built on guesswork protects no one.
What you receive
A written threat assessment ahead of every engagement, and where the detail includes a residence or vehicle sweep, the same documented findings our TSCM and Counter-Surveillance clients receive. Nothing about how a detail runs is left to be figured out in the moment.
When it fits
Executive and principal protection, event and meeting security, and volatile situations, like a high-risk termination or an active legal dispute, where a threat is credible enough to plan around.
A detail needs time to run threat assessment and advance work properly; it isn’t a same-day booking for a threat that’s already active. Where the danger is immediate, that’s a call to police first, and to us once the immediate risk is contained.
Related services
- TSCM and Counter-Surveillance Finding hidden cameras, microphones and GPS trackers, and proving they’re gone.
- Secure Communications Encrypted channels and communications practice for clients whose situations demand them.
- High-Risk Terminations Planning and on-site support when a termination carries a real risk of an unsafe reaction.
End of brief
Tell us what’s happening.
Every case starts with a free, confidential consultation and a written scope before any work begins.