The following are some steps you can take to decrease the risk of detection:
o
The dome light can be disconnected.
This will keep the light from showing
when the door is opened.
o
Wire the head lights and license plate lights so they can be turned on and
off separately. This presents a different traffic pattern to the subject.
o
Operate the radio microphone as discretely as possible.
o
Clear violations of traffic laws with local law enforcement agencies.
When conducting night surveillance, sometimes it is hard to follow the right
vehicle.
A well-placed piece of reflectorized tape on the rear of the subject's
vehicle will assist in making it more distinctive.
For one-vehicle surveillance, you must remain close enough to the subject to see
his actions, but far enough away to avoid detection.
When the subject stops his car, one team member should follow on foot while the
other parks and observes the subject's car.
While waiting in the parked car, he
can sit on the passenger side and appear to be waiting for the driver. He could
shift to the back seat or use any other actions that might project disinterest in
the general surroundings.
When a subject turns a corner, you have two choices. You may keep going straight,
cross the intersecting street, and make a U-shaped turn (see Figure 2-13).
The
subject will not be alarmed by a car turning into the street behind him from a
direction opposite to the way he was going before he made his turn. Or, you may go
straight, cross the intersecting street, and then go around the block. The subject
will not be wary of a car coming from the front.
For a two-vehicle surveillance, the technique is similar to the AB foot
surveillance. Two cars can tail the subject on the same street. Or, one car can
be on the same street and the other car travel abreast on a parallel street (see
Figure 2-14).
The surveillant vehicles can also alternate the A position.
This
lessens the chance of raising the subject's suspicions.
To do any of these maneuvers, keep radio contact between the surveillant vehicles.
The team in the car right behind the subject's vehicle is always in control, giving
instructions to the other cars.
Fixed Surveillance Techniques
In a fixed surveillance or stakeout, it is the subject that remains stationary.
The surveillant must be mobile and be able to move about considerably, especially
if the area has more than one exit.
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MP2004
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