Living

When Danger Knocks: Embracing New Norms of Protection in Everyday Life By Diana Lammerts – Journalist, TV Host, and International Business Strategist  When the jet first set our wheels back on the ground, pulling up at Miami International Airport, the light was dazzling, the sounds dancing and sinuous as salsa. Sun-warmed air poured open the pine-scented windows of the plane, a watery light reflected from the sea as the jet backed out toward the gleaming skyline across Biscayne Bay. It was early morning, teetering on the nubile fringe of a rhetorical inquiry, but the question was palpably there in the air of my hometown: what happened to Daytona, Coconut Grove, Joe’s Stone Crab, and the party? What’s going on? In this city where sunrise ignites an azure chorus cacophony on the east coast, culminating in nighttime, the numbers tell another story. In the dazzling sun-splashed megaplex where the landscape swings from beach bottle tops to skyscrapers out to sea, crime is picking up – albeit a little too brazenly.   Miami is not alone: the United States is turning the counterclockwise to a certain, fomenting trouble. In New York City, in 2021, crime rates spiked by 30 per cent and counting. In Chicago, it’s a game of chicken, a contributive carjacking tale, with the streets turning into battlegrounds: 56 per cent increase in carjackings and 34 per cent murder. Here in Miami, our mosaic of cultures and parties, the odds have turned chilling – 1 in 34 of becoming a victim of violent or property crime, according to FBI data. Miami defies other parts of the Sunshine State; crime meters at 30 per cent higher than 86 percent of Florida’s incorporated municipalities.  The frontline of this battle is ushering in a wave of personal, bespoke defense, and at the vanguard is Viking Executive Protection Solutions, of which Roy Smith is the CEO. ‘The industry is stuck in the ’90s while other businesses have evolved,’ he says. ‘The time has come for a renewal, and for a more personal approach, disruptive to the market and a redefinition of executive protection and what should be expected and demanded of high-end personal protection in an increasingly volatile world. It should not be about the mindset of the bouncer of old, fighting and toughening up for Hollywood: this is all about providing a highly personalized, concierge type executive protection service, that fits itself to the client’s individual rhythms and requirements.’  Another internal guard is posted there to keep people from passing through. Roy Smith explains the philosophy behind modern executive protection: ‘What we’re talking about here is thinking outside the box. Modern Executive Protection combines sophisticated security protocols with the highest level of customer service. It seamlessly integrates emerging security threats with the comforts of a seamless, successful, and enjoyable client experience.’ These days, the stolid and uncommunicative bodyguard is passé, and the modern executive protection agent is just as comfortable operating from the shadows of a corporate boardroom as he is managing a thousand elements of risk at an A-List black-tie gala.  This story of escalating threat is not just emanating from boardrooms and penthouse suites. Everything around us – including where we live, the roads we drive on, and the public spaces we hold dear – is transforming into a threat space. Recent headline-grabbing incidents, such as the brutal assault of Lady Gaga’s dog walker, illustrates that visibility, wealth or standing do not make one immune to attack; they are likely inversely correlated with immunity.  In response, companies and individuals are increasingly seeing protective services not as a luxury but as vital insurance – a protection of personal freedom and peace of mind without which the executive may be mentally occupied by potential threats and preoccupied with safety rather than achieving success. The logic is straightforward: you get back more than you put in with executive protection not only by dealing effectively with the threats as they come but also via resilience in peace of mind, productivity and perhaps even the financial bottom line.   The story extends as far as the cars we ride in. Armormax, a pioneer in the auto bulletproofing business, reflects this same turn toward preemptive security. From bulletproof glass to armored vehicles, the technology and know-how are about getting in front of threats. Armormax’s founder and CEO Mark Burton has remarked upon the diversification of his client base, a diversification climbing across the socio-economic spectrum to include both political elites and ordinary civilians looking to level the playing field.  Founded originally to offer security for the world’s super-rich, the company subsequently started to offer services to a wider range, including private individuals looking for ways to protect themselves and their families. The cost of bulletproofing a vehicle can be anywhere from tens of thousands of dollars to hundreds of thousands. To bulletproof the entirety of a vehicle could be as much as $90,000; to bulletproof only the windows can cost anywhere from $3,000 to $20,000 depending on a host of technical factors and the mediums deployed.  Essentially, the message is clear: the paradigm of personal, family, community and corporate security is changing. Crime increases are alarming but they also spawn innovation in the protection services, which quickly moves many of those companies, like Viking and Armormax, forward. With new, innovative companies like these and others, the security industry is redefining itself and all of us. In short, when we are called upon to invest in our physical selves, it’s an investment in continued freedom and in the viability of our lives. Here in Miami, we’re at a crossroads, but we envision a future intending to lead the way, with determined preparation and the everyday actualization of the credo: when one spends money on security, we all do … together, more vigilant, harder headed and stronger than we’ve ever been. Social media LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/vikingeps Instagram: @viking_eps Facebook: @vikingeps Website Viking: http://www.vikingeps.com/  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/armormax-industrial-services Facebook: @armormax Instagram: @armormax Website Armormax: https://armormax.com/