"Radio check"
The static crackled in the invisible earpiece as the PTT (press to talk) switch engaged, the button of which was hidden by a fastening to the inside of my sleeve cuff.

A pause in transmission  "Radio check confirmed at 06.45," came the disembodied reply into my left ear.

I looked over to my left as the milkman was finishing the last of his rounds in the tiny Cheshire village. Jammy sod - his working day was probably just ending, back home to the wife, a cooked breakfast, and a warm bed. While ours may only just be beginning, or not, depending on what Target One decided to do.  We had been in position since 05.15am.

Why so early? Well, the clients brief had been that Target One was an early riser, quite often on his way out the door of his Cheshire mansion - a workaholic go-getter in the style of Gordon Gekko - as the sun was rising. Sleep was for wimps and all that. 

We had to be prepared to start the job running at a moments notice - we had a potential 3 hour window and as such we had to be in place to catch Target One leaving his base.

Target One had had a bit of disagreement with the Clients, a consortium of "businessmen" who were his former partners and had decided to go independent. The consortium wanted to find out what Target One was up to commercially to see if it interfered with or threatened they're own business interests.  

Well that was the fable that was given to us as the surveillance operators. To be honest very rarely do you get the whole story about why a client wants a job done - they more often than not have their own agendas to work to, and as long as we cover our back and get paid at the end of the contract, so much the better. 

This was a 2 man job. I was parked 100 yards to the left of the targets property in a side road, whilst "John" was parked in another side road, but this time virtually facing the target property. Because of his vehicle's positioning John was the "trigger." It would be his job to spark up on the radios when Target One emerged from his front door and headed to his garage to get into his top of the range Land Rover Discovery. 

If the target exited the driveway to the left, John was to alert me and I would take lead position in the surveillance. If he exited to the right it would be John that was the lead vehicle with me trailing behind as back-up.  Which ever way the target went it was going to be a nightmare of a follow.   

My way, to the left, involved dragging us through small "A" roads and rural Cheshire village life - thus making it easier for a switched on individual to start spotting surveillance. John's way, to the right, involved a short drive to the main motorway route and with Target One driving a high-speed 4x4 it was going to be a monumental effort to keep up with him. 

John was driving a "souped-up" Honda Accord whose body work had definitely seen better days. But as long as the engine performed to the best of its ability then we were in with a chance of keeping up with the Target. 

I was driving a Seat, which would perform better on the main roads rather than on the motorway. The cars also fitted in with our "covers."   I was dressed in a business suit and had a mass of promotional literature on the back seat about the latest range of electronic notebooks.

To a casual observer walking the dog on a cold October morning and who happened to glance into my vehicle, I looked just like a company rep going over his day's appointments in his mobile office before he started his working day selling to the nearby computer suppliers. 

John on the other hand had his Golf clubs on the back seat and was leafing through "Golfers Monthly" whilst waiting for his golfing buddy who he was giving a lift to the nearby golf course.   Perhaps a retired businessman or ex-policeman just getting a few rounds of Golf in before breakfast?
Which, funny enough, is what he was - talk about living the cover! 
I looked down at my briefing notes just to make sure I had the target details straight in my head before we started running the vehicle surveillance. Check, Check and Check again.  Physical description, character profile, vehicle registration number, likely routes. 

For us the character profile was important on this case.  Target One, according to his former partners, had a bit of a temper and was not averse to throwing his weight around.  If we did everything right then we should never get to that point - he should not even be aware that we were there. 

But SOP (standard operating procedures) said that we should try to talk our way out of trouble at all costs and only intervene physically if our lives were in serious risk.  No way would we intervene on each others behalf as that would mean blowing the other operators cover.  If it turned ugly we were on our own. 
I checked the digital clock on the dash - 07.15. 

I stretched my legs in the foot well, when you're stuck in the same position for any length of time cramp can be a real down side of vehicle surveillance.  In fact I preferred foot surveillance at least that way the operator is always on the move, doing something, watching his target, assessing future movements. 

But running static surveillance in a vehicle is definitely a mental challenge as much as a physical challenge.  When people (who aren't in the trade) think of covert surveillance they think of glamour, excitement, high speed car chases (well sometimes!!), eating coffee and donuts and exchanging witty banter with their "partner."
Unfortunately the reality is often long hours, uncomfortable and sometimes dangerous conditions, for a short window of catching the Target.  That's life and I wouldn't give it up for a gold clock. 

I checked around out of the window to see of any third party compromise, you know nosy neighbours twitching at the curtains, good Samaritans taking an unhealthy interest, and you definitely don't want any attention from local police patrols. 

The world was starting to wake up, kids would be off to school soon and all the Rosemary's and Jacinta's would be shoving hubby out the door to work before they busied themselves with coffee mornings and trips to the gym.  

"HE'S UP, HE'S UP!!!"

The covert earpiece burst in to life, the noise physically shocking me.  I pressed on the PTT,"Repeat information, repeat." 

"He's gone right out of his driveway, repeat right!!!I have him, I have him."

John was flapping big time, he'd obviously been too engrossed in "Golfers Monthly" or had spent too long admiring the inside of his eye-lids to notice Target One bursting out of his drive at full belt. 
But that was for another time - we could sort out the who's and why's later at the de-brief. 

I started the engine and hit the PTT again "Am going mobile, repeat am going mobile"

John was the primary vehicle and I was back-up in the surveillance.  I just hoped that Target One hadn't ditched us for good...........

Covert Surveillance, whether on foot or in vehicle, is a definite art form (sometimes called a black art).  It requires a lot of planning, a lot of practice and experience, but above all else it requires lots and lots of luck to get that break that can get the operator the results they are after.  You can wait six hours to get a glimpse of a target entering a building - but blink, or look the wrong way at the wrong moment, and you've just wasted six hours with the possibility of having to wait another six hours for him to come back out!! 

The typical surveillance operator is anything but typical.  They should be the grey men (and women) who you wouldn't notice passing you in the street.  I was once described by a fellow operator as "the kind of bloke that you would miss in a crowd of two." 

For me that (as well as being a back-handed compliment) sums up the image of an effective surveillance operator. 

  
Many guys who work in the security field, whether door security or retail, (and yes even close protection) and try to transfer over to surveillance work, especially foot surveillance operations, find the transition difficult.

While the skills they may have had in the military, police or on the doors such as physicality, authority and presence stood them in good stead in their previous occupations, for the covert surveillance operator getting yourself noticed or looking uncomfortable in a situation when you are trying to act natural is professional suicide.           

Or as one famous spy author states, "Good surveillance is the art of appearing to do damn all whilst operating under extreme stress."

I knew of one private investigator that would regularly turn down any foot surveillance work due to his lack of confidence at being able to stay hidden and follow during street ops.  He was 6' 3 in his bare feet and immediately attracted attention just because of his sheer size.  Instead he stuck to working vehicle surveillance. 

Aside from proper planning and luck, having the ability to think on one's feet and being able to improvise at a moments notice is another talent that the surveillance operator or investigator should have.  Unfortunately this is one of those things that can't really be taught and is either there as part of the individual's personality or comes in the fullness of time through experience of working "on the ground."

Improvisation (and its close cousin AWARENESS) can be anything from taking advantage of a lying up position, to being able to convince someone that you are someone else in order to gain access to somewhere that you would not normally be allowed entry to. 

In my time I've been a deliveryman, telecom engineer, sales rep, and an office cleaner as part of surveillance operations.  I think there has to be a bit of the actor in the successful surveillance operator - can you "blag" your way into an office complex past the security guard on the front desk.  It can certainly be a challenge - but then again nobody said this was going to be a normal day in the office.

The surveillance operator of the 21st century also has all manner of technical bits of kit at his disposal - covert radio, mini digital cameras, camera phones, tracking equipment linked to GPS.  Therefore having good technical knowledge is also an essential asset, as is experience using covert communications equipment. 

Being able to communicate between numerous surveillance team members is an integral part of running a successful street operation.  A good professional team will be fitted out with good quality radio transceivers, a wireless "peanut" earpiece, induction loops and either voice or sleeve activated press to talk switches.  This is usually backed up by that workhorse of surveillance and close protection jobs - the trusty mobile phone.

Having to follow a target covertly, dealing with the obstacles of everyday life such as traffic and pedestrians, whilst passing information to several other team members without attracting attention from 3rd party observers (Joe Public) is no easy task. 

It takes a lot of experience on the ground and a natural ability (and trust) in your fellow team member's good judgement to make an operation run smoothly.
Despite this, the op that doesn't at some point go to farce has never happened yet (despite the claims of some).

The subject of personal protection is also an issue to the surveillance operator.  Working in often hostile and potentially life threatening environments, both abroad and in the UK, the covert operator will have to rely on his own physical skills to protect himself should the occasion arise. 

The reality is that if the operator has reached the point where he has to use unarmed combative skills, he has SERIOUSLY screwed up somewhere and blown his cover.  

This doesn't stop numerous training "gurus" offering to teach reality based"combatives" to specialist security operatives.

 
These clowns and their "yes men" never stop telling you how long they've been teaching and how great they are!! 
Unfortunately they are "teaching" in an area that they have no practical knowledge of and which the skills they may use for one area are not necessarily transferable to an adjacent area or trade.  You've taught VIP protection and covert operators- REALLY, YOU HAVE?  WHAT'S THE WORLD COMING TO!  These types have no basis for the reality of the job.

In this respect close combat for the surveillance operator, whether civilian, police, or as the "Det" operators in Northern Ireland found out, is a task specific skill. 

Close Combat skills are more akin to SOE/OSS agents in occupied Europe during WW2, in which the agent may have had to "dispose" of a German soldier or officer who threatened to uncover his "false identity" or expose his network.

The strikes have to be quick, effective and unobtrusive, yet still be able to look an average guy on the street getting himself out of a "ruck."  You have to live the cover under any circumstances.  

If you do have to use unarmed combative skills to get you out of a mess, the surveillance operators basic strategy should be to "hit and run" to escape, rather than "stay and finish" the fight to the end when your target is a bloody mess on the floor.
Not only have you just blown cover (which will mean you will be useless for the rest of the op) but you may well leave yourself open to criminal prosecution. 

To summarise covert surveillance is an "improvised art form" rather than a science. There are too many variables to say that if the target does "A" the operators will do "B" - and despite your very best planning and research, to quote that famous line "No plan survives contact with the enemy."  

Even the best surveillance teams at some point lose sight of their target - but how they deal with it and re-group separates the amateurs from the professionals.

............it took two days of surveillance to get what we needed from Target One. We eventually traced him to a large factory unit located in the heart of an industrial estate - the clients worst fears had been realised - with a further day in an LUP observing the coming and goings.

We headed back for a de-briefing and a coffee (and to give John a bit of light-hearted stick for not triggering the Target on day 1), returned all the technical kit and the hire car, and set about writing up a report for the client.  From our point of view the job had gone well - we'd stayed with the target, we hadn't been "made" and we'd got a result.

More importantly than that we had fulfilled the terms of the contract and had even been paid on time (a rarity!!). For us the job was over and done with until next time (although it usually takes a good day to come down off a high when a job's gone according to plan).

So the next time you see an average looking guy sitting on a bench in a shopping centre reading the local paper, spare him a thought, he may not be waiting for his wife or partner to finish shopping in Next or M&S. It may be one of our "operators" and he may just be "watching" someone else's wife or partner!!    

Copyright - MCG - 2006