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Surveillance Detection

Surveillance Detection
Definition General Surveillance Awareness Surveillance Detection Routes (SDR)

Route Analysis

Definition
Surveillance Detection - The process of determining your surveillance status
Incorporated into your lifestyle and habits Simple and routine Nothing that causes a potential surveillance team to question any action or lack of action from start to finish

Counter-Surveillance
The process of using other people to help determine your surveillance status Normally relies on Observation Posts (OP) OPs should be higher than your location Observers relay a signal of some sort to you

General Surveillance Awareness


Awareness of Surroundings in Public
Note who and what is in your area Vary your approaches to destinations

Watch for repeated sightings of people that seem out of place

General Surveillance Awareness


Note suspicious activities:
Vehicles pass the same area repeatedly or at slower than a normal rate Vehicles with multiple passengers Dirty vehicles with clean license plates (or vice versa) indicates a recent change People lingering in your area or passing by frequently Look at windows in nearby buildings for anything out of the ordinary Look for people or vehicles making evasive movements

General Surveillance Awareness


Maintain a low profile! Beware of complacency! Default state Conduct all operational activities with the assumption that you are under hostile surveillance Abort operational activities if you detect surveillance

Surveillance Detection Routes (SDR)


Definition
A planned route taken by an operator for the purpose of detecting surveillance in support of an operational objective. It's designed to be natural and non-alerting.

AKA Surveillance Detection Run


Objective Criteria for an SDR

Objective
Establish repeated correlation of surveillance team and target activities over TDD
TIME
Has a reasonable amount of time elapsed since the first sighting?

DISTANCE
Have you traveled far enough to indicate that a second sighting is more than a coincidence?

DIRECTION
Have you made several changes in direction since the previous sighting?

Objective
Adopt behaviors that require observable responses from surveillants. Rule of thumb - three times = correlation
"Once is happenstance, twice is coincidence, three times is surveillance.

Look for non-changeable features!


Surveillants may use disguises to avoid detection.

Dont alert surveillants!


Detecting surveillance can be easy, but avoiding alerting surveillants makes it more challenging.

Criteria for an SDR


Must cover sufficient TDD to break the box Uses plausible pretexts for any activities designed to detect surveillance status Does not include any elements that are unnatural or alerting to surveillants keep their perception of you neutral Uses strategies to force the surveillance team to reveal itself... Establish correlation between your actions and those of your surveillance Ensure the correlation is not a coincidence using the TDD factors

Abort Routes
Used to abort an SDR prior to any operational activity Legitimizes the route from start to finish Not an obvious change or deviation

Anatomy of an SDR
Cover Stop Start Point
Observation Post Cover Stop Surveillance Detection Point Surveillance Detection Point

Cover Stop
Surveillance Detection Point

Observation Post

Abort Route

End Point

Operational Activity

End Point

Strategies to force the surveillance team to reveal itself...


Surveillance Detection Points (SDP) Choke Points Cover Stop Channel Multiple Turns Natural Reverses Stair-Stepping Varied Traffic Density Changing Modes of Transportation "Sifting"

Surveillance Detection Points (SDP)


"Intrusion Points" - locations where surveillance is expected to intrude Example
Entering a building with multiple exits the team will probably decide to follow you if they dont have enough people to cover all exits

Choke Points
Locations on a route that can't be avoided due to environmental factors
Examples
Entrance to a building or compound Revolving doors leading into office buildings or shopping centers

Cover Stop
Location that provides a logical reason for the route and aids in timing
Example
Stopping at a specialty store to make a purchase or inquire about an item

Channel
Linear area where surveillance must travel in order to follow a target Example
Crossing a bridge

Multiple Turns
Several logical changes in direction of travel Example
Turning left at an intersection and then merging onto a highway

Natural Reverses
LOGICAL changes to travel in the opposite direction An unnatural reverse is a very alerting behavior Examples
Driving to a parking lot in a major city and then backtracking on foot to reach a logical destination. A rotary or highway onramp/exit ramp that gives you a view in the opposite direction

CLEAR VIEW OF SURVEILLANTS

Stair-Stepping
Movement to intended destination in a series of "doglegs" (linear movement to various intrusion points or cover stops) Example
Zigzag travel to multiple intrusion points and cover stops to "run errands" en route to a final destination

Varied Traffic Density


Repeated movement into and out of areas with many or few people (or vehicles) Example
I NEED A LOGICAL REASON TO BE IN THIS DESERT.

Entering and exiting a large crowd to purchase a ticket to a public event


I NEED A LOGICAL REASON TO BE IN THIS CROWD.

Changing Modes of Transportation


LOGICAL switching between travel on foot, public transportation, and use of a vehicle
EVERYTHING YOU DO
DURING AN SDR MUST APPEAR TO HAVE A LOGICAL REASON.

Example
Walking to a cab stand and then taking a cab to the nearest subway station

REMEMBER THAT YOUR SURVEILLANTS MIGHT NOT BE TOO BRIGHT OR CREATIVE. THE REASON SHOULD BE PRETTY OBVIOUS!

"Sifting"
Eliminates irrelevant suspicions through the application of TDD factors until you achieve certainty Example
Continue an SDR to include at least three significantly different locations at three significantly different points in time

Route Analysis
Areas of Predictable Travel (APT)
An area on a route that a target must travel through in order to reach a known destination. This is the most likely location for a physical attack against the target.

GRENADE!!

TWO OPERATORS ENTER AN APT

TWO PURPLE HEARTS (POSTHUMOUSLY AWARDED)

"Hollywood Tradecraft"
Driving backwards

Getting on and then quickly getting off of a subway train


Driving down dead-end streets Illogical U-Turns Entering a crowded movie theater and then immediately walking out the exit
Surveillant: Why is he making a U-turn?

Surveillant: Why is he driving on a golf course?

Answer: because hes an idiot.

Remember
The surveillance teams perception is their reality and they will react accordingly. Your reality isnt relevant they only know what they perceive based on your actions
On the other hand, Hollywood Tradecraft makes sense when your objective is survival!

Losing Surveillance
With the preceding warnings about Hollywood Tradecraft in mind, how could you lose surveillance in the unlikely event that you need to do so?
Jump into a taxi when no other cabs are immediately available. Take a bus just before it leaves a stop. Enter a subway station at a time when a large crowd will be exiting, cross through the crowd, and then quickly leave from the other side of the station. Pass through a revolving door that will slow pursuit and then immediately duck out of sight. Etc.

Remember that these and other similar actions will serve as red flags to surveillants. They only make sense when immediate survival or another unusual circumstance outweighs consideration of long term operational viability.

About Mobile Phones


Mobile phones can act as carriers for any radiated signal
This means your mobile phone conversations can be intercepted by mistake

Mobile phones can also serve as beacons that allow surveillants (physical/technical) to track you

Turn off your mobile phone AND disconnect the battery to mitigate this risk

ACTIVITY
Design and conduct an SDR
Surveillance Detection Point Cover Stop Surveillance Detection Point

Cover Stop

Start Point Observation Post Cover Stop

Observation Post

Surveillance Detection Point

Abort Route

End Point

Operational Activity

End Point

Questions?

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