The 19 Kids and Counting family is reportedly being guarded by off-duty cops in their town of Tontitown, Arkansas. Are members of the Duggar family in danger since word of Josh Duggar’s sexual molestation scandal made news?

Kate Gosselin’s bodyguard Steve Neild is working for the Duggar family and is the one hiring the local cops to guard the 19 Kids and Counting family for $25 per hour. He previously watched over Josh and Anna Duggar and their children as they prepared to move back to Arkansas from the Washington, D.C. area.

Is this a conflict of interest, however? The Tontitown Police Department–as well as the Department of Human Services–has an open investigation into the Duggar family. They are investigating the 19 Kids and Counting household because the family refused to allow a DHS employee to enter their home back on May 27th, while attempting to check on the welfare of a minor.

Dr. Paul Kroutter is the head of the criminal justice department at the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith and the retired police captain of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. He told In Touch Weekly the following when asked if this constitutes a conflict of interest.

“I would be hesitant to provide security service for a family that my agency’s been doing investigations on. I would want to avoid the appearance of any improprieties,” he said.

A photo posted by Anna Duggar (@annaduggar) on May 10, 2015 at 5:18pm PDT

Do you think the 19 Kids and Counting family members are truly in need of police protection? Have threats been made against Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar and their children? Or have threats been made against Josh Duggar for having sexually molested five underage girls?

Regardless of which members of the Duggar family may be in need of protection, it’s got to be especially frightening for the younger Duggar children and grandchildren. Josh and Anna Duggar have three small children of their own, and a fourth due on July 10th.