The Psychology of Close Personal Protection

The Psychology of Close Personal Protection:

By John Bigelow

It is the premiere of a much-publicized movie. A large crowd of excited fans, holding autograph books and associated memorabilia has gathered on either side of the red carpet, anxiously awaiting the arrival of the ‘stars’. Media and photographers have gathered around the entrance to the theatre.

Hans Van Beuge is leading a protective detail tasked with the safety and security

of the star of tonight’s event.

The security team has planned and prepared extensively as, according to Hans, this is the time the client could be at greatest risk.

Finally the last stretch limousine arrives at the red carpet. After giving final instructions to the driver, Van Beuge is the first to exit the vehicle. He scans the crowd carefully and makes eye contact with advanced agent Scott D’Agostino, who has been on site for several hours already. D’Agostino has been assessing the crowd as they arrive with the intensity of a lifeguard watching swimmers in the water. He gives a nod to Van Beuge who then opens the rear door of the limousine and escorts his client onto the red carpet. The walk into the theatre has been choreographed. The movements between ‘protectee’ and ‘protectors’, synchronized. It is imperative that the security team achieve a balance between maximum exposure for the celebrity and minimum security risk – a goal which they achieve with the easy grace of seasoned professionals.

Hans knows that from a threat management perspective, award nights and premiers have inherited weaknesses. Due to the publicity surrounding these events, any individual who has inappropriate intentions towards their clients, knows exactly where they will be at a specific time. He is aware of the need to be extremely well prepared and vigilant.

On previous such occasions Van Beuge has had to manage stalkers attempting to make contact with his clients as well as protesters and serial pests trying to cause embarrassment or gain publicity at a celebrity’s expense. In all these instances, early identification and intervention has neutralized any potential confrontation. According to Van Beuge, “It’s the mentally disordered individuals who engage in pursuit behaviours (Van Beuge’s preferred term for stalking) that cause me the most concern”. To counter these threats, Van Beuge relies on psychology as much as traditional security methodologies to provide effective

protection.

“The greater our understanding of people who engage in pursuit behaviour, the better our chances of predicting what they may do and then implementing preventative measures” says Van Beuge.

Having worked in the past with Van Beuge, former SAS Counter-Terrorist soldier

John Ellery, now one of Australia’s leading Hostile Environment Specialists says Van Beuge “spends a great deal of time researching psychology as an aide to understanding violent behaviour”.

According to Van Beuge, there are many more cases of celebrity stalking than reported in the media. “Many cases go unreported to law-enforcement agencies. Most famous public figures don’t want the associated publicity that goes with these cases. They turn instead to private sector specialists who deal with it in a subterranean way”. Van Beuge says he believes there are biopsychological factors associated with stalking behaviours. He believes we have definitely seen a massive increase in celebrity stalking over the past thirty years.

He cites research in the United State that claims over 30% of the population are affected by ‘Celebrity worship syndrome’ to some degree. For most people it is just a fascination with the lives of the rich and famous. They follow the news of celebrities in the media for entertainment or social reasons. However, in its most intense form, ‘celebrity worship syndrome’ can affect about 1% of people who develop borderline pathological conditions.

Van Beuge says that the media has played a major role in the increase of celebrity stalking. “Imagine what it’s like for those people who have difficulty separating reality from fantasy, having a celebrity seemingly talking directly to them out of a television set in their lounge-room or bedroom. Television creates the feeling of intimacy where actually none exists. Look at the large number of interview and gossip shows and the huge range of magazines that are devoted to celebrities and their lifestyles. A lot of people probably know more about their favorite celebrity then they do about their next-door neighbor.

Pursuit behaviour is a mental illness and the mentally ill can develop delusions about anything that is in their environment. Television brings celebrities and their private lives well and truly into that environment. Combine this with a general increase in mental illness and a decrease in effective treatment for the mentally ill and you have a situation that goes worse by the day for famous individuals. Van Beuge believes, “The two most important factors in determining whether a celebrity gets stalked are: 1. How many people know about the celebrity? And 2. How approachable does the celebrity seem? Celebrities who seem nice, friendly, approachable and non-threatening are likely to have more problems. The disordered pursuers who seek relationships with celebrities are drawn to those who seem less likely to reject them.”

Van Beuge cites at least six types of situations where pursuit behaviour can occur.

1. An individual can be deluded in the belief that another is in love with him or her despite evidence to the contrary (erotomania).

2. An individual is strongly attracted to another and pursues him or her to gain attention (love obsessional).

3. An estranged spouse or lover refuses to be rejected (rejection based).

4. A current spouse or lover has delusions of jealousy with respect to his or her partner.

5. Individuals in business or social relationships seek revenge for a perceived wrong (revenge based).

6. A serial sex offender or murderer stalking a potential victim as part of his planning process (sociopathic based).

According to Van Beuge, the erotomaniac stalker is the one most likely to pursue a celebrity or famous person. In their delusional state they believe that the victim is in love with them. “The Erotomaniac receives what is clinically known as ego-syntonic messages from the victim. They believe they are getting personal communications directly from the celebrity when they sing a song or appear on screen”, says Van Beuge. Celebrities can receive a huge amount of fan mail and some of it comes from pursuers.

Hans remarks that “while receiving threatening or inappropriate communications can be very distressing for a celebrity, encounters are the real problem”. About 10% of pursuers who send inappropriate material will attempt an encounter with their victim. Of those who attempt a face-to-face encounter, about 70% have previously written or phoned the celebrity before hand.

“This is the only good news in these scenarios,” says Van Beuge. “These individuals usually give you advance notice that they are going to be a problem. It allows us to identify, investigate and assess them”. So the first line of defense or protecting a client against a stalker is in monitoring all unsolicited mail, phone calls, e-mails, cards and gifts that are received.

We review about 300 items a month for our clients. There are about 40 factors that we see as ‘red flags’ in communications, we consider these as pre-cursors of behaviour that may be hazardous for our client’s well being. When concerned, we investigate the individual who sent it.

Hans refers to research which has shown that people who send threatening letters to a celebrity are statistically no more likely to try and approach them than those who write them love letters.

“This dispels the myth that if a letter sounds threatening it should be reported to the authorities and if it doesn’t, don’t worry about it. It’s important to remember that behaviour that is based on fantasy is very likely to escalate”.

How a stalking incident is case managed can also impact on its severity. Van Beuge recommends treading very lightly at the start. He always tightens the physical protection of the client but usually investigates the pursuer in a surreptitious manner. They work towards containment rather than confrontation, which can often incite more extreme behaviour. Likewise, the seeking of restraining orders or reporting the activities of a stalker to authorities may make the problem worse for the victim. These courses of action can be perceived by the mentally ill stalker as a challenge which can increase their anger.

The goal is not about achieving a conviction for the pursuer, it’s about achieving a safe conclusion for the client. The two are often not compatible. Only a very small number of stalking cases end in violence. They usually don’t want to hurt the person they are pursuing they just want to form an attachment. Hans says, “What you get is a methodical, ongoing intrusiveness. We just keep reading the letters and monitoring their movements. It can go on for many years, but as long as the behaviour isn’t dangerous to our client, we are satisfied”.

When violence does come it is usually because the pursuer realizes that their fantasy is not going to happen. What we can see in these cases is either an explosion or implosion of violence – homicide or suicide.

In the course of his work, Hans states that he has dealt with several cases where pursuers have become suicidal. In these instances, he has liaised closely with psychotherapists and other mental health professionals, and if possible, the pursuers family, to achieve a safe solution for the offender. However, the bottom line is always that they should never be allowed direct contact with the client. Hans would urge anyone in the protection field to research and explore psychology.

“To effectively protect your client you need to be an acute observer of human behaviour. You will never work out the solution to a problem if you don’t understand it in the first place”.

Meanwhile, back at the premier Van Beuge is escorting his client out of the theatre fifteen minutes before the end.

The publicity requirements having been satisfied at the beginning of the evening, he now utilizes the anonymity of the darkness and the emergency exit to take his client to the repositioned limousine. Van Beuge and his client are traveling away from the theatre before the house lights have come on.

D’Agostino has advanced the after party and is waiting with venue security to meet them at the rear door of the crowded nightclub. In this tightly packed environment, they will balance the client’s need to enjoy the party whilst maintaining privacy. By the time the party is over, Van Beuge will have completed a twenty-one hour shift. In four hours time, he will escort his client again to the film set where he will spend another day managing his client’s safety, assessing fan mail, liaising with studio security and film safety officers and pre planning his clients after work activities.