BKA is looking for new bodyguards: How to become a bodyguard

In an emergency, they must be prepared to risk their lives for the sake of another person: the approximately 500 officers of the Federal Criminal Police Office’s security team. The bodyguards sometimes work around the clock to ensure the safety of high-ranking politicians against attacks and other assaults. The force is now set to grow – to 700 members.

BKA President Holger Münch recently presented corresponding plans in an interview with the Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland. “This is not only due to growing dangers at home, but also abroad – for example with the Ukraine or Gaza wars,” said the head of the Wiesbaden authority.

BKA protects top politicians

According to the law, the BKA is responsible, among other things, for the “necessary personal protection” for members of the federal constitutional bodies, for example federal ministers, members of the Bundestag, the Federal President or judges at the Federal Constitutional Court – at home and abroad. Guests of the constitutional bodies are also protected by the BKA.

What the “required personal protection” looks like varies from case to case. Only a few personalities are accompanied by bodyguards around the clock, for example Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Others are only protected by BKA officers on special occasions. For people who are less at risk, the security group’s task can also be limited to advice, for example on technical security devices in the home.

Being a bodyguard at the BKA is a job that requires very special skills and special training. “Recognizing dangers, fending off attacks and evacuating the people being protected are central components of the training,” says an image video from the agency. “Physical fitness is a basic requirement for working in bodyguarding,” and: “Thoroughness, care, flexibility, innovation.”

And not everyone can become a member of the security group. This is reserved exclusively for police officers in the senior law enforcement service, meaning that the path to this position is only open after studying to become a police commissioner at a police college. “This is followed by several months of special training,” says the BKA. The curriculum includes disarmament techniques and driving training, among other things. But passing the course is not enough. “The everyday work of a bodyguard includes continuous training in self-defense, shooting, team exercises, etc. A high level of physical fitness is important for this job so that you are prepared for any emergency.”

Sources: ,