What is personal protection?

There is an increasing effort to build preparedness related to people security, either by own means or by outsourcing to private security companies and the demand for personal security services is steadily growing. But what does the term entail? What is personal security?

What does personal security mean?

Personal security is one of the services in the field of people security, which aims to ensure safety for individuals and families. Modern personal security consists of several protective measures, which vary and are adapted to the actual situation and context. Which measures to apply determined based on the results of a comprehensive risk assessment. The assessment is based on a variety of parameters, including exposure, threat analysis and threat assessment, as well as risk analysis and risk assessment.

What measures are applied within personal security?

In order to ensure personal security, there are several protective measures that can be applied.
Below you will find some common examples:

• Security training for the individual or the family, with the aim to raise awareness and reduce risk exposure.
• Different types of alarms. Today the market offers both systems to be used in the home and mobile alarms that can be carried with you, to name a few examples.

Increased physical security carried out by close protection operatives or security reinforcement around the home, to the extent that is deemed necessary to ensure safety for the individual or family.

How is personal security carried out in Sweden?

Who is protecting whom in Sweden? Personal security can mean different things for private individuals, professionals and government employees. Personal protection in Sweden is organised as follows:

Swedish Security Service

In Sweden, the Security Service, abbreviated SÄPO, handles personal protection relating to the central government, a foreign state’s mission members and persons who participate in state visits or similar events.

Swedish Armed Forces

The Swedish Armed Forces takes care of personal protection for military key personnel. The protection is provided by the Military Police’s personal protection groups and the special association Special Operations Task Group, abbreviated SOG.

The Swedish Police

The Swedish police is responsible for personal protection of those who do not fall under the responsibility of SÄPO or the Swedish Armed Forces. The police normally protect victims, witnesses or other persons in the community who are exposed to threats. The measures vary and can range from issuing restraining orders to specific personal safety programs.

Private Security Companies

Finally, private security companies help exposed people to ensure personal security in cases where the above actors are not able to intervene. The security companies also provide proactive personal protection for e.g. senior positions in the business community, but also at events, gatherings and meetings where the risk of an incident is deemed to be high. This type of personal protection is designed to ensure the safety of individuals before, during and after an incident or threat.

How is the personal security market structured today?

Today, the demand for personal security services is higher than ever. This is most likely due mainly to digitalisation and technological development, as the number of crimes has not increased. However, a certain type of crime has become more prevalent: threats and fraud against private individuals. This is likely due to the fact that it is easier to access private information related to individuals compared to sensitive organisational information. Therefore, it is important to have good understanding of what personal protection measures are available and how it can help you or people around you.

Ensure your safety with personal protection from SRS

SRS is a leading security company with operations in both Sweden and abroad. We offer several types of personal security services. In addition, we have extensive knowledge within the area of security, as we provide a complete range of security services including areas such as threat and risk analysis, security intelligence and cybersecurity to name a few. Contact us to find out how we can ensure your safety.