Surveillance Detection & Counter-Surveillance Flashcards

What is 'anti-surveillance driving' and which techniques are used?

Answer: Driving techniques designed to detect and lose following vehicles, including SDR routes, U-turns and monitoring via mirrors

Anti-surveillance driving uses route variations, mirror monitoring, speed changes and deliberate manoeuvres such as U-turns and stop-checks to identify and lose a vehicle follow.

What is a 'box surveillance' and when is it used?

Answer: Four-vehicle surveillance covering all positions around the target vehicle to prevent loss through any manoeuvre

A box surveillance uses multiple vehicles positioned in front, behind and to each side of the target vehicle, providing coverage regardless of the route taken and making loss very difficult.

A CP team member notices the same motorbike following the principal's vehicle on three separate journeys. What should they do?

Answer: Record the details, report to the team leader immediately and consider varying the route

Three sightings of the same vehicle is a strong surveillance indicator; the team leader must be informed immediately, and the route should be varied to disrupt the potential surveillance.

What is the purpose of a 'surveillance log' kept by the CP team?

Answer: To record suspicious persons, vehicles and incidents that may indicate surveillance activity, building a picture over time

A surveillance log records details of suspicious incidents; over time, patterns emerge that can confirm hostile surveillance and provide intelligence to police and threat assessors.

What does 'clean' mean when describing a vehicle or route in a CP context?

Answer: Free from surveillance or following vehicles; the route has been checked and is clear

'Clean' indicates that surveillance checks have been completed and no following vehicles or hostile surveillance has been detected, making the vehicle or route secure to use.

What is the significance of 'surveillance footprint' for a high-risk principal?

Answer: The amount of information available about the principal's patterns and routines that could be gathered by an attacker

A large surveillance footprint means an attacker can easily gather accurate intelligence about the principal's life; reducing it through operational security, varying routines and limiting information exposure is a key protection measure.