Inside UHNW security: two industry specialists on why protection must be strategic, not reactive - and why a holistic puzzle approach is essential.

For ultra-high-net-worth individuals, security isn’t a single purchase or a one-off installation. It’s a living strategy - one that evolves with lifestyle, routine, family needs, property design, and the way modern offenders research and select targets.

That’s the lens Jeff Hill of Harrier Global brings to the table. As a former detective with over 30 years in policing, Jeff approaches security the way criminals do: How would they find you? What would they notice? What would they exploit? It’s an investigative mindset that shifts the conversation from “What cameras should we buy?” to “How do we reduce risk across everything we do?”

Alongside Jeff is Clinton Button, Managing Director here at Check Your Security, who specialises in AI-enabled innovative electronic security systems for HNW and UHNW clients, and large-scale commercial buildings. Clinton has spent over three decades designing and implementing security technology that’s effective, discreet, and compatible with high-end environments - often in complex settings such as listed buildings, multi-structure estates, and properties where aesthetics are non-negotiable.

Together, they share one message: technology matters - but it’s only one piece of the jigsaw. The real protection comes from a layered, holistic plan that is built around the client’s life, not bolted on top of it.

The uncomfortable truth: offenders plan like professionals

UHNW clients are not “random” victims. Many are targeted precisely because of who they are, what they own, and how predictable their patterns can become. That targeting is rarely impulsive. It can involve researching routines and travel patterns, studying property, watching deliveries, staff movement, or household rhythms, and mining open-source data including social media and online records.

Jeff’s experience is blunt: if you don’t plan your security, someone else may plan around its gaps. And those gaps are often not where people expect.

Why CCTV and alarms can fail when they aren’t part of a wider plan

Many clients feel reassured once cameras and an intruder alarm are installed. But in practice, “standard” setups often miss what matters most: prevention, early warning, and response coordination.

A property can have cameras and still be vulnerable if the perimeter isn’t covered including side access routes, flat roofs, or boundary lines, the cameras don’t provide usable identification or continuous “eyes on” key approaches, the system isn’t monitored properly or the monitoring rules are vague, lighting, signage, doors, locks, glazing, and access control aren’t aligned with the electronic layer, and family and staff don’t know what to do when something happens.

Jeff has seen scenarios where intruders exploited predictable entry routes and completed a burglary in minutes because the overall security strategy wasn’t joined up. The lesson isn’t “buy more tech.” The lesson is build the system around how threats behave.

Holistic security means changing more than hardware- a serious UHNW security strategy looks beyond devices and into decisions - especially the daily ones.

Lifestyle and digital footprint: reduce your “attack surface”

Today’s threat landscape includes internet perching - the ability for offenders to build a picture of you from publicly available data- but it’s not only about showing valuables. Sometimes the biggest risk is predictability - when you travel, when the home is unoccupied, where family members are likely to be, and what vehicles are used and when.

This doesn’t require paranoia. It requires discipline: what you share, when you share it, who can see it, and how easily it can be linked back to your address and routines. For many clients, this is one of the highest-value changes they can make because it costs little and reduces risk immediately.

People risk: vetting, staff protocols, and household rules

Security isn’t only about strangers. It’s also about reducing opportunities created by everyday access - staff vetting and role-based access, clear rules on visitors, contractors, deliveries, and out-of-hours movement, and communication protocols for the household with strict boundaries on what is shared and with whom.

Even something as simple as a tightly managed family or household communications group can help if it’s governed by clear rules and used for security-relevant information only.

Insurance alignment: don’t find out too late

Insurance is frequently treated as separate from security. In reality, it’s part of the same risk equation. High-value policies may include conditions around safes, storage, alarms, response procedures, or specific item declarations.

The cost of getting this wrong isn’t theoretical: underinsurance, non-compliance, or gaps in item documentation can compound the impact of an incident. A well-built strategy includes reviewing what you own, how it’s stored, and whether the policy terms match reality.

Contingency planning and family readiness

A holistic strategy considers the human moment: what happens if someone is face-to-face with a threat? Planning can include family contingencies, rehearsed decision points, and practical guidance that keeps people safe without turning life into a drill. The goal is calm competence, not fear.

Where technology fits: the electronic layer done properly

Clinton’s approach here at Check Your Security is rooted in a simple principle: security should be effective without disrupting day-to-day life. Many UHNW clients want protection that is frictionless - strong, discreet, and seamlessly integrated into a high-end environment.

That’s where modern AI-enabled electronic security can add serious value when it’s designed correctly.

Perimeter-first thinking

Rather than detecting an incident once someone is already at the building, advanced design focuses on identifying threats before they get too close. This may include perimeter detection and radar-based solutions from Global-leading manufacturers to detect movement and intent early, buying time for escalation and response.

Smarter coverage, not just more cameras

Effective CCTV is about coverage, continuity, and useable outcomes - not simply installing devices. That can mean ensuring approaches and vulnerable areas are covered including rooflines and boundary edges, using designs that maintain “eyes on” key spaces, and building systems that support escalation and evidence, not just recording.

Integration and response rules

A strong electronic layer ties systems together - CCTV integrated with intruder detection, clear monitoring and escalation pathways, and alarm receiving centre procedures that are defined in advance so there’s no ambiguity about what happens when an alert triggers.

Where appropriate and achievable, direct police response pathways and prioritised reporting structures can be part of the architecture - supported by clear business rules for what is verified, what is escalated, and who is contacted.

Secure communications between buildings

On estates and multi-structure sites, intercoms and internal comms can become a weak link if they aren’t secured properly. Clinton’s team specialise in encryption and secure platforms so communications don’t become an overlooked vulnerability.

Vehicles, events, and surge security

UHNW risk isn’t static. It spikes during events at the home, during travel, when routines change, and when public visibility increases. A mature plan includes the ability to add temporary coverage - additional cameras, enhanced monitoring, and protective measures around vehicles - without rebuilding the whole system.

Aesthetics and listed buildings

High-end properties come with constraints: visual standards, heritage requirements, and architectural sensitivity. Security technology has to work within those realities. That may involve wireless approaches, carefully chosen finishes, and spray treatments that help devices blend seamlessly into premium environments.

The question that matters: what is the cost of not having a strategy?

The real risk isn’t that a particular gadget fails. It’s that security is treated as a product rather than a programme. When that happens, gaps form between lifestyle, people, property design, technology, and response.

A holistic strategy closes those gaps. It creates layered protection with safety nets, reduced predictability and lower exposure, clear roles for staff and family, stronger readiness for incidents and emergencies, and technology that supports prevention and response, not just recording.

For UHNW clients, the objective isn’t to live behind barriers. It’s to live freely - knowing that security is working quietly in the background, aligned with real threats and real life.

That’s the combined value Jeff and Clinton bring: a security programme informed by criminal behaviour, supported by modern electronic capability, and designed to be comprehensive, discreet, and genuinely protective - without giving away the details that make any high-performing security approach effective.

Jeff Hill, Managing Director, Harrier Global