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The purpose of a surveillance detection program is to enhance the prospects of preventing a terrorist act by recognizing pre-operational hostile surveillance directed against government facilities and personnel, business facilities, critical infrastructure, high profile special events, and/or key executive personnel. Proper organization, training and supervision of surveillance detection personnel are essential elements in attaining success. Specially trained police or law enforcement units, local direct hire guards, contract guards, or local security companies specializing in surveillance detection can provide the personnel pool necessary for establishing a surveillance detection program. Surveillance detection is also an integral part of an effective dignitary protection program. Roving patrols in residential, business and other areas of concern, and along all routes of travel, are an essential part of the program. Cooperation with local law enforcement authorities will facilitate program success.
Terrorists conduct pre-operational surveillance to determine the suitability of a target for attack. Time is on the terrorists’ side. They can be patient. It is known that the pre-operational surveillance conducted prior to the bombings of the American Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998 most likely occurred during several years prior to the attacks. Target surveillance can be long-term. Ultimately, terrorists identify the point of greatest vulnerability for an attack. However, they invariably make mistakes and an effective surveillance detection program can identify and exploit these mistakes. The focus of a good program should be to identify indicators of terrorist surveillance activities, distinguish the ordinary from the extraordinary in the process, report suspicious activity, analyze the information collected, and ultimately disrupt or prevent an attack before the terrorists enter their operational phase. The key to success is keen observation by the surveillance detection team members, timely and accurate reporting of suspicious activities and incidents, use of a database in the information collection process, and solid analysis of the data that is reported. There must be an analytical component in the program to discern trends, irregularities, and unusual activity from the information reported by team members in the field. Surveillance detection team members observe and report. Their actions are mostly passive in nature. They should not take direct action unless they are trained, equipped and authorized to do so. That is the job of the appropriate local law enforcement or security services.
Critical Incident Solutions has a full-time staff of professionals with an unmatched depth of expertise in surveillance detection. They are considered subject matter experts based on numerous years of practical field experience from previous employment with federal agencies responsible for foreign and domestic counterterrorism programs. Our staff will conduct training for limited numbers of authorized personnel designated to participate in a Surveillance Detection Program within their respective agencies. Training courses will include both classroom instruction and practical field exercises. Instructors will brief participants on the indicators of pre-operational hostile surveillance, techniques for effective detection of these activities, methods of reporting and analysis of information, and procedures for facilitating direct response actions by authorized personnel. Participants will get the opportunity to demonstrate lessons learned in the classroom as they assume surveillance detection roles out in the field as practical exercises are conducted. Skills obtained during training will enhance the ability to protect government facilities and personnel, business facilities, critical infrastructure, high profile special events, and/or key executive personnel for all types of threat conditions. |
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