Surveillance Techniques, Camera Patrols, and Target Observation
Purposeful watching
Effective surveillance is active and systematic, not passive staring at a wall of screens. Understand camera patrols (a defined sequence of preset views with dwell times), scan patterns (systematic sweeps rather than random jumping), dwell time (enough time to actually read a scene), and coverage gaps. Know target observation: establishing a baseline of normal activity so that anomalies stand out.
Describing a subject
Use the head-to-toe method: build a description from the top down - headwear, hair, face, upper clothing, lower clothing, footwear, carried items, distinguishing marks. Note direction and speed of travel, associates, and vehicles (make, colour, plate, damage). Use the clock-face method to direct a colleague's camera: "subject at your 2 o'clock, moving left." Avoid vague terms like "suspicious male" without observable behaviour.
Behaviour, not profiling
Base suspicion on observable behaviour: loitering without purpose, testing doors, repeated return to the same spot, carrying items away from a closed area, avoiding staff. Do not base it on appearance, race, age, or dress alone - that is both unlawful and operationally poor.
Traps
Questions reward specificity. "Man in dark jacket" loses to "man, approximately 180 cm, red cap, grey hooded top, blue jeans, carrying a black holdall, walking north at a fast pace." Another trap is losing the subject while zoomed in - you must keep situational awareness of the wider scene.
Rule of thumb
Zoom out before you zoom in. Always know where the subject is relative to exits and other cameras before tightening the shot. If you cannot describe the subject to a colleague in one sentence, you have not observed them properly.
Worked example
A figure walks past a fire exit three times in ten minutes, glancing at the door each time. Correct action: keep observation, note times, alert a nearby patrol to attend discreetly, and record the description - not to confront over the radio, which may warn the subject.