VIP and close protection, planned around your day

Close protection is more than a person standing next to you. Most of the work happens before anyone is in the room. It usually includes:

• Planning the day: where the person is going, when, by which route and who they'll meet.
• Checking venues in advance: entrances, exits, parking and where to wait.
• Arrivals and departures, which are the moments a person is most exposed: getting out of a car, walking into a building, waiting at a gate.
• Staying close and staying calm, so the person can get on with their day.
• Protection at home, when the risk follows the person back to the house.

Good close protection is discreet. The aim is for nothing to happen, and for the person being protected to feel they can work, travel and meet people normally. Colleagues, hosts and the people they meet often won't notice the protection at all, and that's usually how it should be.

Close protection isn't only for celebrities. It's often needed in ordinary situations that have become risky, or by people who are new to the city and don't know which places and routes to avoid.

• Visiting executives and delegations in Johannesburg for meetings, site visits or conferences.
• Business owners who have received threats or are dealing with a dispute, a dismissal or a court case.
• Public figures attending events or travelling between engagements.
• Families going through a period of specific risk, such as a threat against a family member.
• Anyone who needs someone with them for a defined period, while the risk is assessed and dealt with.

Every request starts with a private conversation with Pieter or Marco about:

• Who needs protecting, and why now.
• Where they'll be, for how long, and how they'll travel.
• Any threats, incidents or people of concern so far.
• How visible the protection should be.

It helps to have a rough schedule ready: dates, addresses, flights or meetings, and the names of anyone else involved, such as a driver or a personal assistant. If there have been threats, keep any messages, emails or notes of phone calls. You don't need everything on day one, but the more we know, the better we can plan.

From there, we propose what the situation calls for and nothing more. That conversation stays between you and the owners.

The quote depends on the number of protection officers, the hours and days, the places involved, travel and any advance work on venues. Tell us the dates and Marco will tell you straight what DBS can cover.

Section 20(1) of the Private Security Industry Regulation Act says nobody may provide a security service for payment unless they're registered as a security service provider. That includes close protection. Before you hire anyone, check the company and the officers on the PSIRA website, which has business and individual verification.

Registration is the minimum. Ask any provider how they would handle your situation specifically: who would be with you, how the day would be planned, and who you phone if the plan changes at short notice. A clear, unhurried answer tells you a lot.

DBS Security is registered with PSIRA under number 468853, as De Bruyn Security (Pty) Ltd. We're a family business with 25 years in the trade, owned and run by Pieter de Bruyn Jr and his son Marco.

When the risk is ongoing, protecting the person often means looking at where they live and who's around them too. DBS also fits electric fencing, CCTV and 24-hour off-site monitoring for homes. Criminal background checks help with household staff and drivers. And pepper gas security gives a non-lethal option close at hand.

Ask for a confidential quote for VIP protection, or WhatsApp Marco directly.