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Personal Security: Are You Willing to Pay the Price? By Dave Cater
This article is courtesy of and © CFW Enterprises Incorporated. All Rights Reserved.
Cliff
Stewart’s business is based on fear. Fear of both the known and unknown.
The more people are afraid, the more he is needed. The more he is needed,
the safer people feel.
And at no time have people been more fearful of their lives than since the September, 1997 accident that took the lives of Princess Diana, companion Dodi al-Fayed, and their driver.
People in all walks of life are downright scared, running for their lives like little children hearing strange voices in the dark. From the Hollywood elite to the high-profile executive; from the microchip magnate to the professional athlete. The shadow in the distance might be a stalker, a kidnapper, an industrial spy or a crazed fan. No one, it appears, is immune.
For, if one of the world’s most-public, yet well-insulated women can be chased to her death on a busy Paris road, what makes anyone believe he can protect himself, much less his loved ones, from the crazed indifference of someone with a personal agenda. You run the gamut of emotions. Exasperation leads to indignation. Indignation to consternation. And consternation to resignation.
Nowhere Else To Turn
And then you make a call—to someone like Cliff Stewart, a personal protection specialist who has watched the backs of some of the world’s most-inviting targets. As Executive Director of Within Arms Reach (W.A.R.), Stewart is in the business of keeping people alive and keeping their loved ones safe—whatever the cost.
While it may sound morbid, it is a fact of life: since Diana’s death, Cliff Stewart’s business has never been more alive. A sad sign of the times. An even sadder commentary on how people feel pushed to the precipice of disaster.
“Unfortunately, business has been brisk since Diana’s death on two or three different levels,” explains Stewart. “On one level, clients want us to come in and look at their security to make sure everything is in place. On another level, they want to make sure the security personnel they currently have are who they say they are and can do what they say they can do. Finally, there are individuals who come to us with a desire to get into the business.”
Stewart said his phone never took such a beating as during the first few days after Diana’s death.
“Most of the callers wanted to know if they’re security program was right for them,” related Stewart. “Our people would look at it and in 95 percent of the cases, their program was found to be deficient.”
Stewart, who has trained in the martial arts for almost 25 years, says the biggest problem facing today’s potential victim is finding the right people to implement the right program. Contrary to popular belief, the meanest, toughest-looking hombre on the block will not necessarily provide the best protection.
A New Breed
Today’s security consultant is more than layer upon layer of brawn tied to a keg of gun powder; he is a combination of mind and muscle, intuition and instinct, wrapped in a three-piece suit.
“Most people involved in security are intellectually and emotionally trained. They feel they can do the job, like I feel I can get an MBA from Harvard. Meaning, they have no formal training. Some firearms skills, maybe martial arts skills, some muscle density they feel will hold them in good stead. In the end, they only do more harm than good.” Translated, a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
A case in point is Princess Diana’s death. Had he been assigned to her protective detail, her automobile would not have found its way onto the street where she eventually met her death.
“I lived in Paris for a year and I passed where they were many times,” he explained. “The size of the lanes were not made for a big Mercedes. The tolerance for any mistake in this situation is none. They had no business going that fast. You’re in charge and it’s up to you to make the right decisions.”
In personal security work, wrong decisions can have disastrous results. That’s why Stewart is very choosy about the people he considers for employment. Although previous experience is helpful in many professions, coming in green is preferred on the security front. “It’s easy to train someone with no training,” explains Stewart, whose clients include Joan Collins, Mr. T, Larry Flynt, and various members of Saudi royalty. “Then there are those who have training but want more training. We don’t want people who are closed-minded. We want people who are willing to learn.”
In Harm’s Way
They also want people who are willing to put their lives on the line to protect a client.
No matter what.
“Mr. T wasn’t the toughest or baddest guy around,” Stewart says of champion boxer Leon Spinks’ former shadow, “but he was willing to take a bullet or a knife to protect his client. You must ask yourself: Are you willing to put your body at risk, are you willing to put your body in harm’s way? Or will self-preservation take over?”
The 50-year-old Stewart says there’s more to personal security than providing a human shield. He says his company routinely is hired to do background checks, perform counter-surveillance, conduct threat assessments, and run crisis-management scenarios. Not everything comes under the guise of cloak-and-dagger stuff.
“The majority of CEOs who hire us want to know if they or they’re family are at risk from kidnapping, extortion, someone being held for ransom,” adds Stewart. “The more-popular targets today are those in the high-tech communications and computer industries. They may be at the greatest risk.”
If certain immediate threats are discovered, “(the clients) take suggestions real well,” Stewart notes. “Even though it includes a change in lifestyle, we try to maintain as much normalcy as possible.” And that usually means being as low-key as possible.
Secret Service stuff just doesn’t work in the real world, Stewart maintains. Blocking off streets and stopping traffic may be standard presidential treatment, but the last thing you want to do is draw undue attention to you client. Some clients, Stewart notes, want to blend in; others prefer to be obvious. Logistics play a great part in every situation.
“You want your client to get in and out of every situation with as little fanfare as possible,” notes Stewart, who charges $250 a day plus expenses (high-risk situations always require a retainer). “Many times, the less people the better. With Larry Flynt, we had four people in the shape of a diamond around him when he was in public.
“A lot of companies try to take the Secret Service program and fit it into the private sector,” Stewart relates. “But that doesn’t work. Too many people, too much visibility. These security people have no idea what it’s like to be in the field. When push comes to shove, they’ll focus on protecting themselves and no one else. The client is left unprotected.”
These days, Stewart spends the majority of his time with those most-vulnerable to attack—his clients’ children. It’s a demanding job which requires a mother’s touch and a father’s hand.
“Children are our most difficult and demanding responsibility,” notes Stewart, who has for years been charged with protecting the kids of Saudi Arabian royalty.
“You must possess a multitude of people skills—good nanny skills, where you should be able to change a diaper; you should know where the closest Disney movie is playing; you should understand the parameter of discipline desired by the family; you should make sure the nanny is doing her job; and you should still do counter-surveillance to prevent a kidnapping.”
Admittedly “difficult” and “stressful,” Stewart says the trick is to act like you’re not doing something even though you’re always working. With each assignment comes an unmistakable promise.
“If the kids don’t come back, I don’t come back,”
Stewart insists.
“Because I will do anything in my power to save them.” Safe
and secure. Just the way clients like it.