For private investigation firms like ours, there is probably no more important skill to master than that of conducting surveillance. Surveillance is the cornerstone of many investigation businesses, and it is the successful conduct of surveillance that makes or breaks their reputation and, therefore, their ability to make a living. Let me make our surveillance techniques clear to you so that if you are hiring our services you can understand better our techniques.
Surveillance is the surreptitious (unseen) observation of a person, people, or site. Surveillance can be recorded by written notes, dictation, still camera, or video camera. There are numerous elements in conducting a successful surveillance. Many of these will be discussed in detail in our blog, but there are four critical aspects that we always follow, the lack of any of which will render our surveillance unsuccessful. Those four elements are as follows:
1. Locating and positively identifying the subject of the surveillance.
2. Remaining concealed; that is, not getting burned.
3. Operating the camera to produce professional results.
4. Successfully tailing (not losing) the subject.
Ignore the above fundas, and the private investigator will surely fail.
Imagine that you have been given the assignment of conducting surveillance on an important insurance claim. More than Rs. 1 crore in potential settlement fees ride on whether you can successfully take video of the claimant, who is suspected of faking a back injury. You set up across the street from the subject’s house in your car. He comes out of the house sometime later and drives away toward town. You follow, barely able to keep an eye on him, let alone see what he is doing. Suddenly he runs a red light, and you decide to follow him. He notices you do it and drives straight home. When he arrives home, he notices your vehicle stopping a few houses down the street. Your surveillance is blown, but what did you do wrong? Everything! Before we can conduct a successful surveillance, we must first know what it is. In order to learn about the foundations of surveillance, we are going to dissect surveillance operations and see just what surveillance is and is not.
DEFINING SURVEILLANCE
To some degree we all have been involved in some form or type of surveillance activity, but do we really understand what surveillance is? Webster’s Dictionary defines surveillance as the “close watch kept over someone or something (as by a detective).†For our purposes, we define surveillance as the deliberate, systematic, and continuous observation or monitoring of an area, person, or group of persons by any means without the consent of all persons being observed or monitored. Surveillance is an investigative tool that if properly employed, can bring about a successful resolution to an investigation. Surveillance is quite limited in scope and purpose. Only when we have clearly identifiable surveillance objectives will surveillance operations be initiated.
SCOPE AND PURPOSE OF SURVEILLANCE
The Quality of Surveillance Defines The Success of an Investigation Job
The primary purpose of surveillance operations is to gather intelligence. We want to learn what is going on. Once we have gathered intelligence, it can be used to decide what further investigative steps or actions need to be accomplished. Once we have decided that we do in fact need to conduct surveillance, we need to figure out how we want to approach this surveillance. Is it important that the claimant, or subject as we shall call him, not know he is being surveilled. Let us look at the two categories of surveillance.
CATEGORIES OF SURVEILLANCE
There are two general categories of surveillance relating to intensity or sensitivity:
Discreet Surveillance
The subject is unaware that he is under observation. This is the usual meaning of the term surveillance. The adjective discreet is used merely to distinguish it from what may be termed a close, restraint, or control surveillance. The essence of discreet surveillance is that the subject is unaware of being watched. Generally, the guiding rule is to discontinue surveillance rather than risk actions which make the subject aware of the observation.
Close Surveillance
A close surveillance is one in which maintaining constant observation of the subject is the paramount objective, even though the subject may become aware of the surveillance. Surveillance to provide protection is frequently of this nature. This type of surveillance can also be used as a preventive measure to deter individuals from committing illegal acts or from fleeing, once they become aware of an investigation or operation.
Private investigators involved in personal protection details are in fact conducting “close surveillance†of their principal. So now that we have decided which category of surveillance we want to employ, how are we going to go about this? We will now look at the five methods of surveillance available to us.
METHODS OF SURVEILLANCE
The following are the types of surveillance methods that are used most often:
• Fixed Point: A fixed surveillance point is one in which the surveillance remains in a relatively fixed position to observe the activities at a specific location. These fixed points are usually predetermined locations selected after extensive analysis of the subject and his or her activities.
• Moving: In a moving surveillance, the investigator follows the subject from place to place to maintain continuous watch over his or her activities. The movement may be on foot or by vehicle and include land, water, air, or any combination of these.
• Technical: This type of surveillance is accomplished by the use of technical visual devices, electronic listening devices, vehicle trackers, and signaling devices.
• Photographic: Often considered part of technical surveillance, the term technical implies that the agent must be a technician or electronics expert to accomplish the task. However, all investigators must be able to accomplish photographic surveillance coverage, which is why we treat this as a separate method.
• Combination or Mixed: A combination of technical, fixed, moving, and photographic surveillance is usually the most expensive in terms of money and investigative effort but will often achieve the best results. In almost all surveillance operations, we employ a combination of the different types of surveillance methods.
From what I have said so far, it is easy to see that surveillance might be confused with an undercover operation, but there are some definite differences between the two.
OBJECTIVES OF SURVEILLANCE
Surveillance is employed by investigators as an aid in achieving investigative objectives that vary with the requirements of the case and the particular circumstances prevailing in a given place at a given time. Some of the most common objectives of surveillance are as follows:
Obtain information or develop leads
Obtain evidence of a crime that has been committed or to observe a crime actually being committed.
Check the reliability of informants or their information.
Check the loyalty of employees.
Monitor the movements and activities of subjects.
Determine if a subject is frequenting a certain establishment or location.
Establish a subject’s habits, such as his or her hangouts, associates, or place of employment.
Confirm a subject’s whereabouts.
These are not the only considerations we should take into account before we initiate surveillance, however. There are other factors we should consider.
PRESURVEILLANCE CONSIDERATIONS
Knowledge of the case and the subject is necessary prior to initiation of the surveillance. In many cases, fragmentary information concerning activities, habits, and routine of a subject will be available through in formation, documentary evidence, records reviews, and similar means. The necessity for surveillance is frequently determined on the basis of a picture created by this fragmentary information. Careful study of the information by the investigators will enable them to visualize activities, determine the type of surveillance, consider the proper methods to use, minimize the chances of error, and save time that might otherwise be devoted to useless action. Surveillance is often the most costly, boring, monotonous, and unrewarding investigative technique in which you will ever be involved. Careful consideration must be given before surveillance is initiated. Continuous surveillance is difficult at best. To accomplish surveillance, the recommended approach is to carefully case the area, study and analyze the subject, exploit all developed information, and then plan and execute the surveillance. Prior to conducting a surveillance, and indeed critical to the decision of whether one will be conducted at all, is the area of legal and policy considerations. Just as there are rules, regulations, laws, and policies that direct our actions in all other phases of investigations, they exist to guide us in the conduct of surveillances.
LEGAL CONSIDERATIONS
Physical surveillances may usually be conducted where there is no reasonable expectation of privacy. Surveillances conducted where a reasonable expectation of privacy exists, such as a technical surveillance, may be a violation of law. Therefore, surveillance must be conducted in the least intrusive manner possible. When surveillance is deemed necessary, it will be conducted within the scope of the laws, regulations, and guidelines set forth to direct it. Prior to conducting surveillance, it is imperative you understand what you legally can and cannot do during the course of the surveillance.
AREA CASING AND SUBJECT STUDY
If you knew there was something you could do that would make the rest of the work you do easier and would greatly increase your chances for success, you would probably do it. Well, what we are going to be talking about during this block of training is exactly that: something that can definitely make your surveillance operation easier and will help you achieve success. In preparation for conducting a physical surveillance, the first step is to carefully case the area and study the subject. Without this careful planning it is doubtful a successful investigation and surveillance could be conducted. Casing the area in which the subject resides, works, or participates in leisure activities provides the investigator with valuable information on the subject’s environment, leading to a better understanding of character, personality, and motivation. Knowledge of the area in which the subject resides provides information on the mode of living, and may help provide the necessary background information for planning the development of the investigation and surveillance if necessary. In the next blog post, we will examine the following areas:
1. area casing
2. other area factors
3. maps and map reading
4. subject study
5. informant recruiting in surveillance
Surveillance is the surreptitious (unseen) observation of a person, people, or site. Surveillance can be recorded by written notes, dictation, still camera, or video camera. There are numerous elements in conducting a successful surveillance. Many of these will be discussed in detail in our blog, but there are four critical aspects that we always follow, the lack of any of which will render our surveillance unsuccessful. Those four elements are as follows:
1. Locating and positively identifying the subject of the surveillance.
2. Remaining concealed; that is, not getting burned.
3. Operating the camera to produce professional results.
4. Successfully tailing (not losing) the subject.
Ignore the above fundas, and the private investigator will surely fail.
Imagine that you have been given the assignment of conducting surveillance on an important insurance claim. More than Rs. 1 crore in potential settlement fees ride on whether you can successfully take video of the claimant, who is suspected of faking a back injury. You set up across the street from the subject’s house in your car. He comes out of the house sometime later and drives away toward town. You follow, barely able to keep an eye on him, let alone see what he is doing. Suddenly he runs a red light, and you decide to follow him. He notices you do it and drives straight home. When he arrives home, he notices your vehicle stopping a few houses down the street. Your surveillance is blown, but what did you do wrong? Everything! Before we can conduct a successful surveillance, we must first know what it is. In order to learn about the foundations of surveillance, we are going to dissect surveillance operations and see just what surveillance is and is not.
DEFINING SURVEILLANCE
To some degree we all have been involved in some form or type of surveillance activity, but do we really understand what surveillance is? Webster’s Dictionary defines surveillance as the “close watch kept over someone or something (as by a detective).†For our purposes, we define surveillance as the deliberate, systematic, and continuous observation or monitoring of an area, person, or group of persons by any means without the consent of all persons being observed or monitored. Surveillance is an investigative tool that if properly employed, can bring about a successful resolution to an investigation. Surveillance is quite limited in scope and purpose. Only when we have clearly identifiable surveillance objectives will surveillance operations be initiated.
SCOPE AND PURPOSE OF SURVEILLANCE
The Quality of Surveillance Defines The Success of an Investigation Job
The primary purpose of surveillance operations is to gather intelligence. We want to learn what is going on. Once we have gathered intelligence, it can be used to decide what further investigative steps or actions need to be accomplished. Once we have decided that we do in fact need to conduct surveillance, we need to figure out how we want to approach this surveillance. Is it important that the claimant, or subject as we shall call him, not know he is being surveilled. Let us look at the two categories of surveillance.
CATEGORIES OF SURVEILLANCE
There are two general categories of surveillance relating to intensity or sensitivity:
Discreet Surveillance
The subject is unaware that he is under observation. This is the usual meaning of the term surveillance. The adjective discreet is used merely to distinguish it from what may be termed a close, restraint, or control surveillance. The essence of discreet surveillance is that the subject is unaware of being watched. Generally, the guiding rule is to discontinue surveillance rather than risk actions which make the subject aware of the observation.
Close Surveillance
A close surveillance is one in which maintaining constant observation of the subject is the paramount objective, even though the subject may become aware of the surveillance. Surveillance to provide protection is frequently of this nature. This type of surveillance can also be used as a preventive measure to deter individuals from committing illegal acts or from fleeing, once they become aware of an investigation or operation.
Private investigators involved in personal protection details are in fact conducting “close surveillance†of their principal. So now that we have decided which category of surveillance we want to employ, how are we going to go about this? We will now look at the five methods of surveillance available to us.
METHODS OF SURVEILLANCE
The following are the types of surveillance methods that are used most often:
• Fixed Point: A fixed surveillance point is one in which the surveillance remains in a relatively fixed position to observe the activities at a specific location. These fixed points are usually predetermined locations selected after extensive analysis of the subject and his or her activities.
• Moving: In a moving surveillance, the investigator follows the subject from place to place to maintain continuous watch over his or her activities. The movement may be on foot or by vehicle and include land, water, air, or any combination of these.
• Technical: This type of surveillance is accomplished by the use of technical visual devices, electronic listening devices, vehicle trackers, and signaling devices.
• Photographic: Often considered part of technical surveillance, the term technical implies that the agent must be a technician or electronics expert to accomplish the task. However, all investigators must be able to accomplish photographic surveillance coverage, which is why we treat this as a separate method.
• Combination or Mixed: A combination of technical, fixed, moving, and photographic surveillance is usually the most expensive in terms of money and investigative effort but will often achieve the best results. In almost all surveillance operations, we employ a combination of the different types of surveillance methods.
From what I have said so far, it is easy to see that surveillance might be confused with an undercover operation, but there are some definite differences between the two.
OBJECTIVES OF SURVEILLANCE
Surveillance is employed by investigators as an aid in achieving investigative objectives that vary with the requirements of the case and the particular circumstances prevailing in a given place at a given time. Some of the most common objectives of surveillance are as follows:
Obtain information or develop leads
Obtain evidence of a crime that has been committed or to observe a crime actually being committed.
Check the reliability of informants or their information.
Check the loyalty of employees.
Monitor the movements and activities of subjects.
Determine if a subject is frequenting a certain establishment or location.
Establish a subject’s habits, such as his or her hangouts, associates, or place of employment.
Confirm a subject’s whereabouts.
These are not the only considerations we should take into account before we initiate surveillance, however. There are other factors we should consider.
PRESURVEILLANCE CONSIDERATIONS
Knowledge of the case and the subject is necessary prior to initiation of the surveillance. In many cases, fragmentary information concerning activities, habits, and routine of a subject will be available through in formation, documentary evidence, records reviews, and similar means. The necessity for surveillance is frequently determined on the basis of a picture created by this fragmentary information. Careful study of the information by the investigators will enable them to visualize activities, determine the type of surveillance, consider the proper methods to use, minimize the chances of error, and save time that might otherwise be devoted to useless action. Surveillance is often the most costly, boring, monotonous, and unrewarding investigative technique in which you will ever be involved. Careful consideration must be given before surveillance is initiated. Continuous surveillance is difficult at best. To accomplish surveillance, the recommended approach is to carefully case the area, study and analyze the subject, exploit all developed information, and then plan and execute the surveillance. Prior to conducting a surveillance, and indeed critical to the decision of whether one will be conducted at all, is the area of legal and policy considerations. Just as there are rules, regulations, laws, and policies that direct our actions in all other phases of investigations, they exist to guide us in the conduct of surveillances.
LEGAL CONSIDERATIONS
Physical surveillances may usually be conducted where there is no reasonable expectation of privacy. Surveillances conducted where a reasonable expectation of privacy exists, such as a technical surveillance, may be a violation of law. Therefore, surveillance must be conducted in the least intrusive manner possible. When surveillance is deemed necessary, it will be conducted within the scope of the laws, regulations, and guidelines set forth to direct it. Prior to conducting surveillance, it is imperative you understand what you legally can and cannot do during the course of the surveillance.
AREA CASING AND SUBJECT STUDY
If you knew there was something you could do that would make the rest of the work you do easier and would greatly increase your chances for success, you would probably do it. Well, what we are going to be talking about during this block of training is exactly that: something that can definitely make your surveillance operation easier and will help you achieve success. In preparation for conducting a physical surveillance, the first step is to carefully case the area and study the subject. Without this careful planning it is doubtful a successful investigation and surveillance could be conducted. Casing the area in which the subject resides, works, or participates in leisure activities provides the investigator with valuable information on the subject’s environment, leading to a better understanding of character, personality, and motivation. Knowledge of the area in which the subject resides provides information on the mode of living, and may help provide the necessary background information for planning the development of the investigation and surveillance if necessary. In the next blog post, we will examine the following areas:
1. area casing
2. other area factors
3. maps and map reading
4. subject study
5. informant recruiting in surveillance