PSO Mark Baron on board HMAS Adelaide. Photo: AFP.
There he was, “quite new to the job”, and tasked with guarding one of the most important cars in the world: ‘The Beast’.
“I was deployed to the 2014 G20 Summit in Brisbane … not knowing what to expect, and all of a sudden, I’m protecting the vehicle of the then president of the US, Barack Obama,” Mark Baron says.
“Maintaining the integrity of the vehicle – ensuring there was no interference – it’s a constant overwatch. You see these sorts of grand events in the media, but when you’re there and understand what’s going on behind the scenes – it’s huge.”
Baron is a Protective Services Officer (PSO) within the Australian Federal Police (AFP), a team of specially trained officers charged with helping keep Australia’s highest-profile dignitaries and sites safe.
It’s an area the AFP is looking to grow as the country’s growing population is bringing more of these people and sites.
“Take Sydney as an example, and the fact Western Sydney Airport is opening up soon,” Baron says.
“Like anything, the need for PSOs is growing due to an increase in protected premises deemed to be at risk.”
The agency is running a ‘PSO Recruit Ready Day’ on 29 November here in Canberra, an information session for those considering it as a career.
According to the AFP, a recruit could perform tasks such as “patrol critical infrastructure by vehicle, bike or on foot, control access to critical sites, run surveillance and respond to alarms, provide static and mobile protection to our diplomatic community and respond to national security threats”.
Mark Baron as a new recruit. Photo: AFP.
In Canberra, you’ll most often find PSOs as “highly visible uniformed security” at places like Parliament House, or providing “close personal protection to Australian and foreign dignitaries”.
Local PSOs also provide witness protection, security and advice for major government, diplomatic and public events, and are always on hand for “first response activity to national security threats”.
Baron joined the AFP at the tender age of 42, coming from a very different career as a national marketing manager for a retail company.
“That was a bit of a change, but it was something I’d always wanted to do,” he says.
On top of the standard AFP officer’s 26-week training, the PSO component adds another 15 weeks.
“The use of force component is exactly the same as a police officer, but to become a PSO, you’re trained in more of the legal aspects – so the powers of arrest, legislation that applies to protective services offences, as well as operational tactics to enforce that.”
Since graduation, Baron has not only stood mere metres from The Beast, but also worked at the former asylum-seeker facility on Christmas Island, attended an Anzac Day ceremony in France, attended the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) event in Melbourne, and been on the front line of various protests across Australia.
“We generally get anything that is deemed a special event from the Commonwealth,” he says.
“I remember joining the job and seeing Christmas Island in the news for all the boats coming in, and to think I then became a part of protecting Australia – I was quite honoured by that opportunity. To experience these operations on a little island in the Pacific was on another level.”
He describes it as “absolutely” a job that requires eyes in the back of the head.
“There’s a separation between close personal protection, which is that on-the-shoulder ear-piece type, and what we do. But we do provide similar support, just in a high-vis uniform.”
The AFP’s PSOs protect the Australian-US satellite intelligence facility near Alice Springs, as one example of their work. Photo: AFP.
Baron turned 56 this year, and reckons he still has another nine years in the job. But he wouldn’t swap it for anything.
“I’m a proud PSO. I love it. Every day is different. I turn up for work, thinking I’m going to focus on something for the day, and that may completely change – a country may go to war, or there’s protest activity at Parliament House. My attention goes to deploying assets locally and abroad.”
A PSO’s salary starts at $78,960, or more in remote locations, and comes with 15.4 per cent superannuation. An applicant must be 18 or older, an Australian citizen, hold a driver’s licence, be “fit and active” and of “good character”.
“My advice is really simple,” Baron says.
“If you want a ticket to support the community – and bear in mind our workforce needs to reflect the community – put your hand up. And experience whatever you can in the job, because these experiences – outside the job – you would never get to see.”
After all, how many people can say they’ve stood next to ‘The Beast’?
The Canberra PSO Recruit Ready Day will be held on Saturday, 29 November, at the Australian National University. There are two sessions, from 9:30 am to 12:30 pm. Visit the AFP for more information.
