In the course of our work, we've been retained by various
clients to provide due diligence business background checks on persons and / or
companies they are looking to hire. What we find generally surprises the client
who otherwise would have moved forward in retaining persons or business entities
who were not what they purported to be.
The security industry is not immune to these circumstances and
the stakes are much higher for public figures who do not properly "vet" the
persons or businesses they allow into their lives. In fact, our experience is
that the high-level security services industry is more susceptible to "hired
gun" personas who are not fully qualified, not fully licensed, not fully
insured, and/or who have less than acceptable background histories (criminal
records, etc).
For those clients looking to hire a high-level security firm
such as ours, we recommend at a minimum that you first assess potential service
firms for:
| Proper security licensing (Private Patrol
Operator and Investigative licenses). Visit the
Bureau of Security and Investigative Services
http://www.bsis.ca.gov/online_services/verify_license.shtml to verify properly
licensed firms operating / based in California. |
| Proper General Liability insurance coverage
(with limits not less than $1 million per occurrence). Ask for proof of insurance. |
| Proper Worker's Compensation (with limits
not less than $1 million). Ask for proof of insurance. |
| Better Business Bureau rating. Visit
http://search.bbb.org/search.html to verify a firm's rating and
complaint history. |
| Verify the firm has completed thorough
background checks on employees. |
| Verify the firm has completed comprehensive
confidentiality agreements for each of its employees. |
| Request a minimum of three industry referrals to
assess other's past service experience. |
Legitimate security firms will freely offer
this information prior to being hired by the client.
If a client has to make a special request for the
information, any hesitation to promptly provide it is a
clear indication that you may be dealing with a security
firm that is not operating ethically nor
within the laws governing the security industry. At this
point, the client should involve their attorney, publicist,
business manager, or representative to execute due diligence
on their behalf and investigate fully the security service
provider's validity.