Loading AI tools
Security person or persons assigned to protect an individual From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A bodyguard (or close protection officer/operative) is a type of security guard, government law enforcement officer, or servicemember who protects an important person or group of people, such as high-ranking public officials, wealthy businesspeople, and celebrities, from harm. The personnel team that protects a VIP is often referred to as the VIP's security detail.
This article needs additional citations for verification. (June 2010) |
![]() Bodyguards with President Ronald Reagan moments before he was shot in March 1981 | |
Occupation | |
---|---|
Names | Close protection officer, executive protection agent, personal protection specialist |
Occupation type | Government employment or private employment |
Activity sectors | Law enforcement, Government, Military, Security |
Description | |
Related jobs | Security guard, law enforcement officer, anti-terrorism specialist, intelligence officer |
Most important public figures, such as heads of state, heads of government, and governors are protected by a team of bodyguards from a government agency, security forces, or police forces. Less-important public figures, or those with lower risk profiles, may be accompanied by a single bodyguard who doubles as a driver.
Unlike depictions in popular culture, such as the 2018 British television series Bodyguard (2018), bodyguards are rarely involved in dramatic firefights.[1] Instead, a bodyguard's work consists mainly of planning routes, pre-searching rooms and buildings where the client will be visiting, researching the background of people that will have contact with the client, searching vehicles, and attentively escorting the client on their day-to-day activities.[2] In the event of an emergency, a bodyguard's priority will always be to evacuate their client, not engage with threats.[1]
Osama bin Laden's personal security detail consisted of "bodyguards...personally selected by him." Their "arsenal included SAM-7 and Stinger missiles, AK-47s, RPGs, and PK machine guns."[3]
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.
Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.