CHAPTER 10
AS NOTED IN CHAPTER 6, MOBILE surveillance is more complex than sedentary static surveillance. That chapter noted the contrast between surveillance on foot and surveillance using a vehicle. This chapter is limited to the more basic distinction between surveillance of a static target and surveillance of a mobile target. Therefore, we are considering mobile targets and what can be done to determine if the mobile targets you are protecting are subject to mobile surveillance.
For purposes of this discussion, we are focused on the perspective of a surveillance detection operator who is responsible for his “mobile principal” or protected client. His job is to be aware of his “mobile principal” and other actors who have a correlation with him. The SD operative must watch for anyone correlating to his principal in terms of observation, movements, action, or simply presence by being near him.
The starting point is to think about your protected client and decide where you would position yourself if you were surveilling him. Those are the locations that will be central to your protective activities. In mobile surveillance detection, the most likely location for a hostile team is directly behind your principal and/or on the other side of the street. This will usually give him the best observation of the target.
Another pivotal point is any place where your principal changes the direction of his movement. The giveaway is when a nearby person makes the same change of direction. In order to expose the hostile surveillance operative, you can arrange to have your principal make a series of sudden moves in another direction.
It is important to make note of the distance between the surveillant and the target and also the speed with which the surveillant is moving. The distance and the speed is generally a function of (1) how fast or how slowly the principal is moving, (2) whether the environment is quiet and calm or not, and (3) whether the principal is moving among a static crowd or one that is moving around. What the SD operative should watch for is the presence of an individual who carefully maintains his distance from the principal. If the principal is going down a street that is not heavily trafficked, you may see a person about half a block behind him. What does that individual do if the sidewalk traffic is suddenly very crowded? If the individual moves to be closer to the principal, that is an indication of his correlation to the principal. If there is another speed and distance change as the principal nears a possible turning point, that is another key indication of a correlation between the surveillant and the principal. By this time, you can be sure that your client is being followed.
A person who is proceeding down a street will normally have to make certain short stops, such as waiting for a light to change. As this happens, the surveillant will usually be forced to stop, thus demonstrating his correlation to the principal. If there is a second surveillant just behind the first one, the correlation will be less obvious because the second person moves into the position previously occupied by the first surveillant. This is something that demonstrates the value of having surveillance conducted by a team rather than just one individual.
The advantages of a team are also apparent for the SD operatives. When the mobile principal stops, the operational area or “Red Zone” being occupied by the surveillance team can be expanded. As their operatives spread out, the operational area is larger. This gives the SD operatives a larger area to watch and increases the possibility they might miss a correlation.
As the mobile principal moves, there will be certain locations or events that are part of his movement plan. These could include attending a meeting or an event, having a meal, or returning home. Such events constitute a long stop in contrast to the unscheduled short stops for traffic requirements, which cannot be anticipated with any precision. When the SD team knows about this, it can position itself where it will be better concealed and essentially invisible to the hostile surveillance operatives. With this advantage, the SD operatives will know about traffic patterns or problems as well as key vantage points they should occupy.
If an unskilled surveillant stumbles into an environment that he realizes is covered, he may display his alarm, thus exposing himself. Of course, a skilled surveillant will know how to recover from this difficulty and continue to behave in a non-suspicious manner. If no person exhibits suspicious indications, the SD operatives must look carefully at everyone in the area. It is possible that a person that did not stand out at this point might be seen later at a different location strolling within sight of the “mobile principal.” The SD team must occupy a location that enables them to watch the surveillant but makes it difficult for the surveillant to see them.
While there are similarities between surveillance detection and surveillance, there are important differences. The main difference is that for the SD team the surveillant is their target while the principal is the target for the surveillance team. Mobile SD operatives are responsible for monitoring the “Red Zone” as it moves or expands. Hopefully, the surveillants in the “Red Zone” will not even notice the SD team members. By watching both the principal and the “Red Zone” you will be able to identify the correlation.
This process is a complicated puzzle which is made more difficult because of the mobility of the process. Of course, the best technique for surveillance detection is by occupying a location and waiting for your target to show up. In order to occupy a static position, it is necessary to know what your principal is doing and where he will be when he does something. Remaining static is a possibility if the SD operative knows the locations at which the principal makes a change in his movements. The places at which this takes place become “choke points” at which the surveillant will have to be in closer pursuit and is likely to reveal his correlation to his target.
In order to make this possible, a Surveillance Detection Route (SDR), as noted above, is prepared by the SD operatives and given to the principal. If mobile surveillance is being used against the principal, the SDR will help expose it. The Surveillance Detection Route must include an assortment of short stops, long stops and other directional transitions. By observing these changes, the SD team will be able to spot the hostile surveillance operatives. It is important not to include too many transition points, because that could alert the surveillants to what is happening and cause them to break contact. When the SDR is over, the different SD team members will pool the observations they made from their respective vantage points in order to identify people whom they observed at different points. As they compile their observations they will create a more complete picture of potential correlations.