Law Enforcement - Threat Assessment Thesis

For example, the motorized wheelchair elevator of the transport vehicle may take equally long in both directions but the protectee need not be on scene while the elevator platform descends. By delaying the exit of the protectee from the departure location until the transport vehicle elevator is already in the down position and prepared for immediate ascent, the protection agent can reduce the protectee's exposure my more than half in comparison to positioning the protectee outside the transport vehicle while the wheelchair lift elevator descends into the bottom position. The prospect of protecting a wheelchair- bound protectee necessarily adds at least one agent to the protective protocol because an agent (rather than a non-agent assistant or nurse) must control the wheelchair; but the rear position eliminates that agent from any traditional position as a protective shield.

Medical Considerations:

In general, protectees with delicate medical conditions who require perpetual care necessarily multiply the number of protectees by the inclusion of medical personnel. At the same time, medical personnel may themselves represent a potential threat, particularly when new employees replace old employees. Even without primary staff turnover, the protectee with compromised respiratory function requires 'round the clock availability of back-up personnel to fill in where unanticipated circumstances result in the temporary unavailability of the primary medical care provider.

Thorough background history investigations fall under the umbrella of the personal protective agent's responsibilities because once hired, medical personnel have access to the protectee in compromising situation. Furthermore, the ordinary duties of medical personnel provide the greatest opportunity to execute threats against the protectee's welfare by virtue of their specific responsibilities. Similarly, the protective agent should make sure that procurement of all medical supplies and equipment are conducted on an anonymous basis without divulging the identity of the patient except when necessary or absolutely unavoidable. Entities potentially interested in threatening the welfare of the protectee could otherwise attempt to anticipate the identifiable equipment or supply needs of the wheelchair-bound, respiratory-compromised protectee and infiltrate the supply chain. While it is not their primary responsibility, protective agents should be trained to perform the full range of duties normally performed by the medical personnel. To the extent agents are incapable of doing so, any threat executed against the medical personnel may accomplish the ultimate goal of threatening the protectee, albeit indirectly. For this reason, protection agents must train to perform respirator adjustments, change-over to backup equipment, and basic suctioning techniques for ensuring a clear airway under emergency situations. Ethical Considerations:

The white supremacist presents a potential ethical dilemma for the personal protection agent. Most likely, the agent will disagree strongly with the views, sentiments, public statements, and activities associated with the protectee. The agent who is fortunate enough to maintain his own agency may freely exercise the autonomous choice to decline the individual as a client. However, the agent who does not have the authority to select and reject protectees must separate personal beliefs and sentiments from professional responsibilities exactly the way USSS agents on the presidential protective detail must ignore their personal political affiliation and any personal sentiments about the President of the United States (POTUS).

Toward that end, the protective agent must maintain the objective perspective that however offensive the beliefs and statements of the protectee, the right to protest is limited to peaceful forms of civil disobedience and that threats against the personal safety of another are never justified. The professional agent's responsibilities must be viewed from the same perspective as those of the public defender who devotes his efforts more to ensuring the process of civil liberties than necessarily to the welfare of despicable defendants, although his work on the former usually benefits the latter. By the same token, the efforts of the protection agent must be the same, regardless of any personal feelings about the individual protectee.

References

Freeh, L. (2005). My FBI: Bringing Down the Mafia, Investigating Bill Clinton, and Fighting the War on Terror. New York: St. Martin's Press.

Kessler, R. (2002). The Bureau: The Secret History of the FBI. New York:…