When I arrived in LA I enquired as to who the top security professionals were in town and the same name cropped up time after time – Gavin De Becker. His reputation preceded him but I understood that he was not an easy man to contact and that he had not given an interview for the past two years. To cut a long story short I was privileged to meet him and have a look around the Gavin De Becker & Associates (GDBA) headquarters and training facility.
Non-disclosure
However, before arriving I was required to undertake and sign a non-disclosure agreement regarding the location of the premises and agreed that I would not describe them in any way. All that I will say is that it was an awesome experience and the facility is highly impressive. I only wish I could illustrate the headquarters and tell you more about the high security and risk analysis process that I had to go through prior to arrival. Clients can be assured that there is no way anyone gets a ‘look-see’ without going through their rigorous compliance measures. GDBA is a world leader in public figure protection and threat assessment. I can tell you that their headquarters is in Los Angeles and that they operate in 16 major American cities as well as other global locations. The reason for the insistence on staying covert is that GDBA protects and advises a wide range of clients that includes the world’s most famous and the world’s most anonymous figures. From media personalities to global corporations and government agencies. In fact GDBA will not talk about any of their clients by name or inference and will never identify clients. However, we can ascertain things from internet searches information that may or may not be accurate … and that they would never confirm or deny. Therefore, when I say they have consulted for everyone from President Ronald Reagan to the CIA and from movie stars to Fortune 500 companies; that is information gathered online. One thing is for sure that GDBA is a leader in assessment, prediction, and the management of violence. They specialise in protective security, threat assessment and management, investigations and information security; and they introduced MOSAIC, a threat assessment tool now used by the US Supreme Court, police departments, schools and universities across America.
About MOSAIC
MOSAIC is an interactive programme to predict whether someone will turn violent. The company is distinguished for advising and protecting clients in every environment imaginable. The GDBA agents are a different style of CP to that of the UK, for a start they can carry fire arms. The environment here in America is very different to that of the UK as far as private security is concerned and this was evidenced when the first ever private security Anglo-American Exchange programme was introduced, in 2007 … maybe it’s time for another Anglo-American Exchange? On arrival at the inconspicuous entrance to the facility I was admitted and escorted through a maze of low-lit passages. I was than greeted by an impressive well turned-out agent who introduced himself and informed me that I was going to see some of the training that takes place for the GDBA potential recruits. As I agreed not to disclose certain information it is very difficult to paint a picture of how absolutely extraordinary the private security training facility and the training induction programme is. Needless to say there is no shortage of applicants lining up for a job with GDBA but not everyone gets through the academy and there is a waiting list of aspirants seeking this elite training. I was also acquainted with the refresher programmes for all existing agents and the reward and recognition scheme that they employ. This is a very important part of the on-going service delivery and again I wish I could convey how professional the entire structure is.
Principles
I will not mention any other names of people that I met but you can go on the website (www.gavindebecker.com) and acquaint yourself with the various principles involved with the business. After my tour of the training facility it was time to meet with the man himself. I was led to a door which opened up into a very modern creatively low lit boardroom where I awaited Gavin De Becker. I was excited to meet him after hearing so much about the man; he is not only a top security professional but he is also a world-renowned author. As I sat there taking in my surroundings the door opened, and there he was. My first impression was that he was the sort of person that you could instantly relax around. He has a laid-back way of talking with an enigmatic air about him as though he knows something you don’t! I wanted to find out more. My first question was to ask about the restrictions and I explained that I had met many top private security professionals both in the UK and in Europe but never had to go through such a rigorous process prior to an interview before. De Becker explained that the company had evolved and grown as a result of client requirements and adapting to their specific needs. Due to the high profile nature of the clients it is imperative that restrictive access is monitored to the highest degree and that the secrecy of the location of the facility is of the utmost importance.
Reasons
He said: “I am a writer and understand the frustration about wanting to talk about everything you have seen but it has to be with the caveats that you agreed to. I wanted you to have an insight into the way we work but the only way that was going to happen was after complying with our process and applied restrictions. Had we met off site, in a restaurant for example then that would have been a different matter. I am sure you understand?” I replied, indeed. He continued: “We have reasons for the high security precautions, apart from the obvious … for instance we have government clients that conduct audits every six months and we have to ensure that we have complied with their requirements.” De Becker sat back and explained that as a writer he understood the temptation to illustrate what I was seeing but it was a definite ‘no go’ … security comes first at all times. I reassured him that I would not contravene our agreement. All I will say is that the standard of training and the facility are beyond any other private security establishment that I have seen in my 30-year security career thus far. As with all top security professionals I always want to know how they initially became involved in the world of security. I asked: “What inspired you to choose private security as your career of choice?” De Becker replied: “OK…let me think about this.” He looked thoughtful and began to say: “Even as a child I was particularly drawn to what I viewed as safe places, safe people, safe environments and I often credited that to living in a lot of places that were not safe and being around a lot of people that were not safe and a lot of situations that were not safe. However, now that I have a six-year-old son and a five-year-old … I have ten kids altogether (eight are adopted); I see in my six-year-old a similar real interest in the logistics of how things work. When he enquired about how bad guys would get in and how you can make a wall a certain way and how dogs are valuable for security at home and all that stuff it came as a surprise as I have certainly not discussed security with my six-year-old son but his interest intrigued me. So, maybe the broader answer to this question is that it includes some genetic disposition. Because in my family history a lot of De Beckers were prosecutors and a lot were investigators going back a long, long time. So that certainly is a part of who we all are. Environmentally, the one single inspiration for me would be the assassination of President Kennedy when I was ten years old. I remember that I was home from school that day and it was the biggest international event that had reached into our family.
Kennedy
“I saw him as a paternal figure as my own dad was not around at the time. There was a familiarity about him. He had similar hair to my father and just the idea that a leader and a paternal figure could be assassinated was an idea that I learned right there and then watching television. It never really left me … the thinking of how that could have been prevented. I was not that interested as some of my peers had been in the conspiratorial studies but I was always interested in the technical elements of how attempted assassinations could be prevented.” I asked, do you think they can be prevented?” De Becker replied: “Oh yes. Not only can they be prevented but they are prevented far, far more frequently than they succeed. For example in an assassination there are literally thousands of variables that could conspire to defeat an assassin.
Thousands of wrong ways
There are thousands of ways it can go wrong and there is literally only one way it can go right. Assassins have both literally and figuratively one shot at success. So far more frequently assassinations are foiled.” We went on to discuss the many measures that can be introduced and the advent of technology and how that has influenced the would-be assassin, and the protectors. Next month, find out why Gavin De Becker thinks the technology of assassination has really only changed in two substantial ways in probably the last thousand years.
More about Gavin De Becker
To get a feel for the man before you buy any of his books, visit www.gavindebecker.com for an article about fear of terrorism; and the company blog. The US talk show host Oprah Winfrey gave over one of her 2008 shows to mark the 10th anniversary of De Becker’s book The Gift of Fear.
