Estate Security

Whether your property sits on one acre in the Hollywood Hills, or 100 acres in Upstate New York, having security personnel present can not only greatly increase your level of safety, but also maximize the efficiency of your entire staff. While many daily activities/occurrences seem to be routine or even mundane, they could pose potential security concerns—short-term or long-term—and would best be handled by security professionals. True security professionals are trained observers, and therefore, can see things that most others cannot. For this reason, having them present on your estate can significantly improve your chances of mitigating potentially dangerous and costly situations before they happen.

Considering the diverse nature of estate management, having a competent security team on site will allow for the proper management of vendors, staff, guests, technology, emergencies, and the overall estate itself.

Vendor Management

Depending on several factors—estate size, location, occasion—you could have 100 vendors on site at one time. Unfortunately, the companies you contract to clean your pool, or to cut your grass, or to install new flooring, or to cater an event most likely do not appropriately vet their employees. Therefore, you have no way of knowing who these people are or what their true intentions are. For this reason, having security on site to manage and oversee these individuals is imperative.

Staff Management

Having a strong security presence can completely change the overall mentality of your staff. Knowing that someone is always present and tracking their times on and off site, as well as their behavior and activities can have a profound effect on staff members and can be instrumental in setting the tone for what is and what is not acceptable. Many people lack the understanding of the importance of confidentiality, and this is something that some basic security awareness training, performed by your security detail, can change in a positive and enlightening manner. Additional training of staff members should also be considered. Imagine having your entire staff trained to attend to medical situations. You now have several first responders on your property at all times.

Emergency Management

The ability to manage any situation faced on the estate first begins with policy creation and implementation. These policies should be documented and shared with all staff members to ensure they are prepared in the event of an emergency. Some situations a security team may face on the estate include:

• Medical emergency
• Suspicious package delivered
• Client followed home
• Trespasser on site
• Earthquake
• Hostile vendor termination
• Animal attack/presence on property
• Two vendors fighting

Estate Management

Many times estate management and estate security cover the same topics. Unfortunately, all too often, estate managers fail to realize that something is a matter of security. Take for example answering the house phone, or retrieving the mail. While these may seem like routine tasks, ones in which no consequences can come from, the unfortunate truth is that they are not. Inappropriate communications delivered via phone and mail need to be handled and processed in a professional manner to ensure proper documentation and assessment occur. This requires a security team with the proper resources, specifically a competent threat assessment and management team. In additional to threat management, your security team will be capable of dealing with various types of situations faced on the estate:

• Process server on site
• Power outage
• Property flooding

Managing an estate is a complicated task, one that requires the level of attention to detail necessary to ensure the property remains a safe and inviting environment for the owner. Having the proper security measures in place—specifically competent security personnel—can greatly increase the safety of the estate as well as the people who operate it.