Surveillance and Counter-Surveillance Techniques
What this domain tests
Tradecraft plus discipline: planning, movement, documentation, and knowing when to break off. Maine exam items favor judgment questions over gadget trivia.
Planning
- Build a subject file: description, vehicle and plate, residence, work, known associates, routines, and restrictions.
- Reconnoiter the start point so you do not arrive cold.
- Confirm legal limits: no trespass, no entry onto posted property, no device attached to a vehicle without authority, no conduct that reads as stalking.
- Kit: charged cameras with time stamping, log, fuel, change of outerwear, backup vehicle or driver.
Movement
- Vehicle follows use leapfrog and hand-off so no car stays in the mirror; keep one or two cars between you and the subject.
- At choke points, drop back and pick up again rather than closing distance.
- Static surveillance at a known address beats a risky follow.
- Foot surveillance keeps at least a block; never make eye contact or match pace.
Counter-surveillance
- Subjects test for tails: sudden U-turns, stopping without reason, driving past their own turn.
- Watch for the same vehicle appearing across days; vary cars and routes, and never post case details online.
Worked example
The subject pulls into a dead-end residential street. Reasoning: entering behind him guarantees detection and risks a confrontation on private property. Stop short, log the time and address, watch from a lawful position, and pick him up when he returns to the arterial.
Traps
- Continuing after being made.
- Tunnel vision on the subject vehicle and missing the meeting.
- Reconstructing the log at day's end instead of in real time.
Key points
- Reconnoiter before deployment.
- Leapfrog and hand off to stay unseen.
- Static coverage often beats a risky follow.
- Break off when compromised and document why.
- Log in real time with timestamps.