Dignitary & Executive
By David L. Johnson, DABCHS, CHS-V
profiling
What Works and What Doesn’t?
An Executive Protection Perspective
rofiling – there is an on-going national debate about this subject, but it is not a new issue. The current argument often centers on a racial profiling issue, but the efforts behind profiling from the law enforcement/security perspective goes far back in history, and arises from an admirable motivation. When looking out over a crowd while working some kind of protection detail, you cannot tell the players without a program. Where might potential attacks come from, and who in this crowd will be actors in the event? The trouble is, while you bear some kind of responsibility for someone else’s safety and security, you cannot predict future trouble. Profiling efforts arose to assist with such problems. 28
Inside Homeland Security®
Summer 2012
Occasionally something bad does happen themselves. To me that is an admirable moand professionals of different disciplines tivation and an end state of affairs that we review and evaluate the case study of the should all aspire to. The trouble is that, thus far, attempts adverse incident. Sometimes it is psycholoto profile individual characteristics usually gists and psychiatrists that try to help, and fail us. We develop empirical experience sometimes it is law enforcement or security with the profile not working, and it causes professionals. They all hope that something a collective disappointment and disdain will emerge from their efforts that will help for the process or law enforcement and security profes...how can we tell them apart effort. To support that hypothesis, let sionals move from a reactive state of from the average citizen when me cite some of my empirical experimind to a proactive we see them on the street? ence. Joining the state, and perhaps enable us all to get in front of problems. fray of anti and counter-terrorism efforts in The desire and goal is to help prevent crisis the early 1980s I became very interested in or to assist with early detection of poten- learning about my opposition. It is sometially hazardous incidents rather than just thing that all military schools of thought responding to them after they manifest have taught from the days of Sun Tzu’s Art www.abchs.com
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