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Close protection USA

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Close Protection in USA a reality check

Let’s take a look at some facts and figures so that we can identify the real Threats and Risk and not the falsely perceived namely Terrorism which accounts for 31 deaths on average in USA with the 9/11 taken into account.Close protection in USA is about more about professional approach to the fundamentals and basics than the glory hugging action hero gestures and posturing .

Some 13,286 people were killed in the US by firearms in 2015, and 26,819 people were injured (those figures exclude suicide]) Those figures are likely to rise by several hundred, once incidents in the final week of the year are counted. Source:  Gun Violence Archive

The US death toll between 1968 and 2011 surpasses all wars ever fought by the country. There were about 1.4 million firearm deaths in that period, compared with 1.2 million US deaths in every conflict from the War of Independence to Iraq. Source: Politifact.

There were 372 mass shootings in the US in 2015, killing 475 people and injuring 1,870. A mass shooting is describing a single shooting incident which kills or injures four or more people, including the assailant. Source: Mass Shooting Tracker

There are thought to be about 300 million guns in the US, owned by about a third of the population so that is 106.6 million people with guns.

There were 372 mass shootings in the US in 2015, killing 475 people and wounding 1,870. These events take place in cinemas, shopping malls and all public.

source the Mass Shooting Tracker.

There were an estimated 1,165,383 violent crimes (murder and non-negligent homicides, rapes, robberies, and aggravated assaults) reported by law enforcement.)

There are approximately 1.4 million active gang members comprising more than 33,000 gangs in the United States.

Source 2011 National Gang Threat Assessment FBI

343 well-armed anti-government militias numbering over 100.000 members, many have been involved in armed stand offs with federal and local forces.

Added to that there are 800,000 armed police with a stablished reputation of using their weapons aggressively.

The main threat in USA is guns and crime and occasionally the law enforcements. The figures make it clear that this is no Walt Disney landscape and you need to develop a good local knowledge for example of crime hotspots, type of crimes, active gangs, and their area of operation and methodology.

It is essential to take into account active, current threats rather than the news driven high profile threats that frankly are statically should be very low on the scale of priorities.

Essential tools for close protection operative in USA is an accurate threat and risk assessment, thorough planning, well-practised situational & spatial awareness and hopefully a gun!

UK Security

UK Security dilemma

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Russian standpoint in Ukraine and  Baltic, the handover of all operations in Afghanistan to local forces and a  renewed campaign in Iraq to counter ISIS not mention the  deteriorating situation in Libya and Syria have all joined forces to create a challenging scenario for security and policy-makers in UK.

The Russian have made themselves very clear with regards to their redline and have shown the ability to move swiftly and decisively both militarily and politically in defence of their position with regards to Nato’s eastward spread and changing alliances of their former republics.

In Afghanistan UK has to play the waiting game to see if the local forces can  maintain stability and hold their positions and to see if the proxies of its allies in the region  namely Pakistan can reign in its  military’s desire to keep its own clients in the fight.

In Syria the confusing and misguided initial approach in supporting the oppositions before allowing the lessons in Libya to be learnt have created an intense civil war that has acted as feeding ground for a number of terrorist organisation such as ISIS who have created huge problems of their own for the world and in particular in the neighbouring countries.

Libya has transcended in to chaos of various armed militia controlling land, assets and confronting two different governments looking to international recognition.

Sub-Sahara has become a new focal point for violent Islamic radicalism spreading into West African countries such as Nigeria, Mali and others.

The Saudi military adventurism in Yemen along with a few paid for allies has add to this heady mixture of interwoven issues.

The growing refugee crises in the Mediterranean is just a small by product of the above though a tragic one.

The UK position is further complicated by alliances and existing commitments. The fact that must be kept in sharp focus is that UK mainland security is very much dependant on dealing with the underlying causes of these issues.

The questions that need to be asked are these.

Is short term military adventurism driven by political PR opportunity worth the consequences?

Do we have the right allies in the Middle East or is it time to apply some realpolitik in making new friends?

How much of the responsibility the West have to bear for the rise of Islamic extremism?

To befriend the Russian bear or provoke it?

These are just some of the UK Security dilemma facing UK.

Poorang

Emergency powers

BBC Reports

Emergency powers to ensure police and security services can continue to access phone and internet records are being rushed through Parliament.

Prime Minister David Cameron has secured the backing of all three main parties for the highly unusual move.

He said urgent action was needed to protect the public from “criminals and terrorists” after the European Court of Justice struck down existing powers.

But civil liberties campaigners have warned it will invade people’s privacy.

Mr Cameron defended the move in a joint news conference with Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, saying it was about maintaining existing capabilities – not introducing new snooping laws.

‘Vital measures’

“We face real and credible threats to our security from serious and organised crime, from the activity of paedophiles, from the collapse of Syria, the growth of Isis in Iraq and al Shabab in East Africa.

“I am simply not prepared to be a prime minister who has to address the people after a terrorist incident and explain that I could have done more to prevent it.”

He added: “I want to be very clear that we are not introducing new powers or capabilities – that is not for this Parliament.

“This is about restoring two vital measures ensuring that our law enforcement and intelligence agencies maintain the right tools to keep us all safe.”

Mr Cameron there would also be new moves to “increase transparency and oversight”, including:

  • The creation of a new Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board to scrutinise the impact of the law on privacy and civil liberties
  • Annual government transparency reports on how these powers are used
  • The appointment of a senior former diplomat to lead discussions with the US government and internet firms to establish a new international agreement for sharing data between legal jurisdictions
  • A restriction on the number of public bodies, including Royal Mail, able to ask for communications data under the controversial Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA)
  • Termination clause ensuring these powers expire at the end of 2016
  • A wider review of the powers needed by government during the next parliament

Mr Cameron stressed that the data being retained does not include the content of messages and phone calls – just when and who the companies’ customers called, texted and emailed.

But the emergency Data Retention and Investigation Powers Bill would also “clarify” the law on bugging of suspects’ phones by the police and security services, when the home secretary issues a warrant, after concerns service providers were turning down requests.

“Some companies are already saying they can no longer work with us unless UK law is clarified immediately,” said Mr Cameron.

“Sometimes in the dangerous world in which we live we need our security services to listen to someone’s phone and read their emails to identify and disrupt a terrorist plot.”

International Terrorism

International terrorism remains a serious and on going threat. The UK Threat Level for international terrorism is currently at SUBSTANTIAL, meaning an attack is a strong possibility. (See more information about the UK Threat Level system).

Islamist extremists continue to pose a significant terrorist threat to the UK and to UK interests and nationals abroad. Al Qaida in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) of Pakistan, led by Ayman al­-Zawahiri, provides the ideological lead for the global Islamist extremist movement. A number of significant terrorist attack plots against the UK originated from Al Qaida in the FATA and they continue to provide training and motivation for extremists to carry out terrorist attacks in the UK.

The emergence of affiliate groups that pledge allegiance to the Al Qaida senior leadership in the FATA, has led to the diversification and growth of the threat from Islamist extremist terrorists around the world. The ‘Arab spring’ has been a key catalyst in increasing the number of Islamist extremist terror groups, some of which have shown the aspiration to attack the UK or UK interests and nationals abroad. The most significant groups are;

•Yemen: Al Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP)

•Syria: Al Nusrah Front (ANF)

•North Africa (Sahel): Al Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM)

•West Africa: Boko Haram and Ansaru

•East Africa (Somalia): Al Shabaab

•Iraq: Islamic state of Iraq and the Levant or Al Qaida in Iraq (AQI)

All of these groups seek to kidnap Western nationals to obtain funding through the payment of ransoms to support their terrorist campaigns.

The majority of terrorist attack plots in the UK have been planned by UK residents. A recent example of a plot to cause mass-casualties with multiple improvised explosive devices was disrupted under Operation EXAMINE, which was planned by Birmingham based extremists. Eleven of these individuals were convicted in March 2013 for a variety of terrorist offences. There are several thousand individuals in the UK who support violent extremism or are engaged in Islamist extremist activity.

UK based Islamist extremists have supported terrorism by:

•Radicalising individuals to believe in the legitimacy of joining a terrorist network or carrying out a terrorist attack;

•Fundraising for terrorist networks often through criminal activity such as diverting money donated to legitimate charities;

•Acquiring false documents for use by terrorists;

•Attending outward bound training in the UK as preparation for travelling overseas to join terrorist groups; and

•Facilitating the travel of radicalised British individuals overseas so that they can join a terrorist group and potentially receive training and direction to plan an attack back in the UK.

Many UK residents have sought to travel to places such as Syria to take part in insurgencies. The majority of such individuals do not pose a threat when they return to the UK. However there is always a risk that such individuals may have become radicalised by extremists or even directly tasked by a terrorist group to carry out an attack in the UK.