Essex
Discreet teams for homes and businesses across Essex, from the edge of London to the Suffolk border, through the day and the night.
Our standards
Who you are trusting
- Our operatives86.5%are former public service personnel, whether they be military, police or other public services.
- Many fromTier 1 unitsand other specialist roles across the services.
- Vetted toBS7858+Industry standard vetting plus more frequent DBS checks and social media reviews.
- Every operativeSIA licensedFully insured and at the top of their game.
Between the capital and Suffolk
Forest edge and Constable's vale
Essex stretches from the fringes of London to the Stour valley on the Suffolk border, and some of its most sought-after addresses lie between the two. Ingatestone and the neighbouring village of Blackmore, Chigwell, and Epping on the edge of the ancient woodland of Epping Forest all rank among the highest-priced places in the county. In the north, Dedham sits in the Dedham Vale, the water-meadow country John Constable painted, where country houses with views across the vale stand alongside listed village houses. Our Residential Security Teams place trained, discreet operatives on site, day and overnight.
Two quite different kinds of home sit within that stretch. Nearer London, large houses around Chigwell and Epping stand in generous gardens, some backing straight onto the forest; up in the north, Dedham Vale properties look out over open meadows with the river below.
Whichever end of Essex the house is in, our operations managers, all with specialist police careers behind them, plan the deployment and keep the 24 hour operations line staffed.
Houses of Essex
Woodland gardens and vale views
Where a garden runs into ancient woodland, the boundary is often a line of trees rather than a wall. That makes the far end of the plot the part to watch, above all after dusk, when the forest side of the house is dark.
In the listed village houses of the north, the front door may open almost onto the street while outbuildings sit behind. Our team learns both faces of the property and sets its checks to match.
Essex homes, typically
- Big houses whose gardens meet Epping Forest
- Vale houses above the Stour water meadows
- Listed cottages in Dedham itself
- Ingatestone family houses rented for a few months
Gardens, barns and the far fence
Out to the last fence post
A large Essex plot offers plenty of quiet ground to anyone who would rather not be seen. So the rounds take in the drive, every outbuilding and the far boundary, not only the doors of the house, and that steady presence keeps thieves, burglars, trespassers and poachers away.
Families who are recognised in public want their privacy kept intact. Together we settle how the gate is answered, who is let in and how tradespeople are accompanied, then fit the plan to your routine.
Extra layers we can add in Essex
- Drone flights with infrared over the Stour meadows
- Thermal sights carried on the forest-side rounds
- Hired four-wheel drives, or amphibious ones for wet ground
- Your IP cameras and alarm watched by a partner off site
- New alarms and cameras in place by the day after a break-in
Your Essex team
Dressed for the lane, or for duty
Your operatives can stand at the gate in uniform, or dress so that nobody walking down the lane would guess what they do; you pick the look.
We can include female operatives in the team on request, and every person is picked with the household's routine and character in mind.
Daylight, dark or the whole cycle
Daylight hours only, nights only, or both together; booked for one weekend or kept on for the long term.
Help in the aftermath of a burglary
If something has happened at the house, ring us and we will tell you there and then what we can put in place, and when.
Room for a bigger team
Should the property need far more people, the numbers can be raised inside a day, for any address in Britain.
Holidays and trips abroad
Family holidays leave the Essex house covered, and a close protection operative can fly out with you if you like.
Step one
Your Essex home, assessed at no cost
The work begins with a visit. Together we go round the gates, the drive, the far boundary and each outbuilding, and you tell us how a normal week runs in the house.
After that you receive a written proposal for the fewest operatives that can cover the house safely, and every charge is in it before a single shift is booked.
The assurances
Standards an Essex team works to
Licence checked before each posting
Before anyone starts work at an Essex house, we confirm their Security Industry Authority licence is current.
Checked, then checked again
BS7858 is the vetting standard we meet; a look through each person's social media and a shorter DBS cycle come on top.
When a guest or family member is taken ill
A fall in the garden or a sudden illness is met by someone who knows what to do: every operative has medical training as well as close protection skills.
Insured, drones included
Whatever the team does at your property is insured: public liability to £10m, with drone flights on a dedicated £5m policy.
Who plans each Essex deployment
Before joining BPS, each of our operations managers worked in a specialist branch of the police. Forces in many parts of the UK work alongside BPS, and several have sent their people on our behavioural detection training.
Covenant signatory, member firm
The Armed Forces Covenant, a national promise to the armed forces community, carries BPS's signature, and the company pays to sit in the British Bodyguard Association as a corporate member. Three professional bodies list our directors by name: BRITMA, IPSA and the Security Institute.
Do you cover Essex from the London fringe to the Suffolk border?
Yes. Our teams work at homes around Chigwell and Epping, in Ingatestone and Blackmore, and up to Dedham and the Stour valley, with every deployment run by our operations team.
Epping Forest is at the bottom of our garden. How far down do your rounds go?
It is. Rounds follow the tree line, and thermal equipment, handheld or carried on a drone, picks out anything moving among the trees once it is dark.
Will protecting a listed Dedham house mean drilling into it?
Rarely. We rely first on people and patrols, and talk any cameras or alarms through with you before anything is fitted, so you can check what the listing allows.
Could our neighbours in Chigwell tell that we have security?
That is your call. Everyday or country clothes are an option, as is uniform, and the operatives chosen will sit easily with your family.
What decides the cost of cover for an Essex home?
Above all, how big the place is and how many hours you need. Larger grounds, extra buildings and gateways, and shifts that run around the clock all add people. We base each quote on two things, our review of the threat, risk and harm, and the grounds as we found them when we walked round.
It is the middle of the night and something is wrong at the house: who should we ring?
Ring the operations number; somebody answers at any hour. People can be on their way at short notice, and by the following day a partner firm can have the house wired to a monitored alarm with cameras.
Next pages
- Every detail of our home protectionTeams for houses, estates and venues, in Britain and further afield, explained in full.
- When you leave the house: bodyguardsClose protection operatives for the school run, the office or a flight.
- London: our busiest patchThe capital, where much of our protection work takes place.
- Message our operations teamTell us roughly where you are and what the house is like; we reply quickly.
Residential Security in other areas
Who we are
Operations & training teams
Ready to protect an Essex home?
Clients can reach our teams 24/7, 365 days a year, through our 24 hour operations phones. Every enquiry is handled with discretion. Alternatively, make a secure enquiry online.