Surveillance is increasingly being considered by clients to monitor the movements of an individual in order to gain information. Whilst surveillance can be used as an effective tool in many investigations, in order to obtain the best results and be cost effective, certain issues must be considered before the operation commences:

 

1. Carefully consider what the objective of the surveillance is. Would any sightings materially affect the investigation as a whole, or is it just for information? Is the intended objective achievable and does it fit within an overall legal strategy?

2. What type of surveillance is required? Is it simply to confirm that somebody is at an address at a given time, or are observing movements to another location to see where they go important? Will they travel by foot, public transport or car? If so, this will require the availability of an appropriate surveillance foot operative skilled in these activities.

3. What intelligence is already known about the subject and their movements? Does the intended surveillance correspond to a known or suspected meeting or movement? Surveillance can be valuable in obtaining information or evidence to confirm that the subject visited a location or met a another individual, but to run surveillance on a speculative basis without pre intelligence in the hope that something may happen can be frustrating in terms of results and expensive.

4. Finally, always ensure that any surveillance is always conducted by legal means and observation supported by written, timed activity logs and photographs to support the findings in a court of law if required.

 

 

Posted date 20-07-2010