Sometimes the sounds are not always in their heads

So, I have this one new client, Dear Reader, let's call him Dinesh. Not his real name.

Dinesh is a somewhat eccentric, if not effete, Indian male living alone in a block of units for low-income earners.

Dinesh has a problem with his neighbours, apparently they are keeping him up at all hours with knocking on the walls day and night in an attempt to, well, I don't know what .  

Anyway, Dinesh is looking at getting incontrovertible proof from an independent third party (that would be me) that this is occurring, so he can take it to the relevant local body authorities who administer the units. Supposedly, they had not been very responsive to his complaints to date. 

You might remember the mixed results from my last feuding neighbours caper.

Well, trying to keep an open mind, I have made several visits to Dinesh's unit and there is more skullduggery going on than a BBC production of a Cold War espionage drama.

What do I mean by that, you ask?

From Bad to Worse: A Surveillance Tale

We've all had those days, Dear Reader, where nothing goes quite right and you would have been better off just not getting out of bed that morning.

This was another one of mine.

Cover for Status / Cover for Action

As you probably know, Dear Reader, one of my favourite areas in the investigations business is conducting surveillance. If I could specialise in just one area, this is most likely it - although I also do enjoy other facets of investigations as well so the choice would not be an easy one.

Today I'm going to to briefly discuss two terms that come straight out of the tradecraft lexicon, Cover for Status and Cover for Action, and how they specifically relate to a surveillance operation.

While these terms are specifically in reference to intelligence operations, they are also useful concepts for your average gumshoe to keep in mind. However, unlike intelligence agencies, law enforcement agencies, or even terrorist groups - we have to rely on fewer resources and, often, with no support.  

Upcoming Reads: Covert Imagery and Photography

I recently became aware, Dear Reader, that Peter Jenkins (the author of the surveillance bible) had just published a tome detailing the finer points of carrying out covert surveillance imagery.

His new book, "Covert Imagery & Photography: The Investigators and Enforcement Officers Guide to Covert Digital Photography" is now available through Amazon. 
 
I shall be ordering a copy forthwith and will post a review at some future date. 

Or not. I'm kind of fickle that way. 

Shiny New Things

For a while now, Dear Reader, I have been stewing over whether I really needed to purchase yet another bag. I mean I have my BlackHawk CIA Garment Bag for when travelling, a BlackHawk Tactical Briefcase (which admittedly, I hardly bother with), and my 5.11 Tactical Wingman Patrol Bag as my standard day-bag and organiser. 

I also had a couple of others but they have been unfortunately lost.

Now, if anything, I need a bag to contain my surveillance essentials. I was getting sick of cameras and the like cluttering up my day-bag, and really want something I could throw it all into and keep it separate from my other gear.

So I have just ordered the 5.11 Covrt (that's not a misspelling) ZAP 6 gearslinger.

Tailing Mister G to the Races

It was Daddy-Daughter day. Apparantly.

The thing about surveillance cases, Dear Reader, is that it can often take you to unexpected places.

Quite literally.

As with this particular case in point. The subject, let's call him Mister G - I don't think I was actually told his name - is a mid-level manager within a national business chain.

It transpired that Company Management had a number of concerns regarding Mister G's work-ethic and wanted some Third-Party confirmation and documentation of his activities.

That is where I came in.

Coffee and stakeouts. And more coffee.

(The above is the first of four adverts from an Australian campaign for Riva Instant Coffee).

Coffee. It is the stuff investigations are fuelled by. And what is better during a surveillance op at 2am than a steaming cup o' joe?

That's a rhetorical question, by the way.

But why settle for crappy instant 'coffee' when there are a number of other options out there serving actual coffee, freshly made in your car...? Like the Handpresso Auto, for example.

Art of Going Grey - Part Three: The Vehicle

In this, our third installment on the Art of Going Grey, we'll look at vehicles. Previously, we had talked about greyness pertaining to the individual and the team, respectively.

While there are a few general rules of thumb in regards to greyness and the surveillance vehicle that will always apply, there are also (at least) two very specific rules to consider.

Art of Going Grey - Part Two: The Team

You might recall that a few weeks ago, Dear Reader, I posted Part One of  this series exploring what the term 'going grey' meant as well as some practical advice on what certainly wasn't grey in regards to personal accoutrement.

This eagerly awaited installment will take that a little further and examine greyness in the context of the team. Part Three will cover vehicles.

Read on.

The Art of Going Grey - Part One

If you are involved in the business of conducting physical surveillance, the phrase going grey should already be in your lexicon.

So what does this mean and how does it apply?

More importantly, what happens when you don't go grey?

Quick Review: Panasonic HC-V250 Camcorder

Hello again, Dear Reader. I just thought I would post a quick review of a piece of kit I recently purchased since I've had a few days to play around with various settings and get to grips with functionality etc.

Basically, a job came up where video footage is sought as evidence and, believe it or not, this really is the first time I've actually needed a video camera during surveillance.

Which is a little embarrassing because I didn't have one.

True story!

However, I did some quick internet research as to what was available at the usual large retailers and settled on the Panasonic HC-V250.

And?

Handy Surveillance Rule-of-Thumb

*

So, every now and again one topic again arises, Dear Reader, in regards to carrying out surveillance.

Usually, the scenario goes something like this: Douchebag Client wants X hours surveillance on the Subject. The Subject's home address is known, little else is. Douchebag Client instructs you to obtain video/photographic evidence of said Subject's escapades and expects you to put in 12+ hour days surveilling him/her.

Alone.  

So here is my handy rule-of-thumb in regards to the above scenario:

A Simple Plan

Well, today's little surveillance case did not go quite according to plan.

The job was rather straightforward enough; I was subbing for another investigator who needed someone on the ground. His client was claiming ongoing harassment from her neighbour - who allegedly has been throwing stones continually at her roof on a daily basis and has, almost literally by the sounds of it, driven her mad.

Ein Kleine Überwachungsmusik

Seriously fitting music for a long rainy night's surveillance in Bad City. Or any city.

Anatomy of a (Mostly Successful) Follow

I had a big day recently, Dear Reader, on a surveillance case following a subject from the only location we knew where she would be at within a particular timeframe.

The mission was to obtain a visual ID on her and commence with the follow to determine where she was staying and whether or not she was meeting anyone else. 

The Client prepared a detailed brief along with supplying photographs of the Subject and possible Third Party.

And this was my very first client-set value-based billing case.

So how did it go?

Mobile Surveillance Training Film (1974)

Despite this film being 38 years old, very little has changed in the way of the methods used.

Note that the emphasis is on not being burned (ie detected) so there is an acknowledged higher risk of losing contact. It is better to lose contact and try again later than to blow the whole operation by being detected.

This film covers the pickup and follow phases of mobile surveillance, but not the housing.

Pre-surveillance tips: The little things

Well, Dear Reader, after my last post regarding 1-up surveillance you might think I'm a hypocrite for doing exactly that the last couple of days.

Hell, I never said I was perfect!  And sometimes I feel like eating.

Got the Surveillance Blues

I have a bit of a complaint to make, Dear Reader, and it concerns one of my most beloved of activities.

Surveillance!

Now the complaint isn't really directed at anyone specfically, perhaps it is more of a disgruntlement towards the industry itself, or at least the general trends in regards to conducting surveillance operations.

Once upon a stakeout

Actually, Dear Reader, this post probably should have had the title from the last.

Funny how things turn out.

It all started out simply enough, as it does, with a relatively straighforward surveillance assignment on Sam's (not his real name) wife. Sara (not her real name either) was staying in town overnight after a work function, but Sam had found some evidence pointing towards Sara's plans for a risque rendezvous at a nearby motel with person (or persons) unknown.

"I've seen things you people wouldn't believe"

Well, be that as it may Roy Batty, there are a number of things I have yet to see while out on a long and lonely night of surveillance.

For the most part, it would seem that non-PIs out there think surveillance is all like this (a scene from Horrible Bosses):

Seriously?

It's more like this: