Although I am going to give some references to close protection, this blog is mostly for the private citizen who is or could be; a victim of stalking or harassment, or who may be at risk from a violent attack.
This blog post is also only going to look at being surveilled by a single individual and not from a team of operators.
From the counter surveillance procedures you have been running around your home and work area you now think it is possible that you have someone following you. What you have to do now is confirm that someone is actually following you and then be able to lose them. This is of course not going to stop them following you again but if their motive is to kidnap, rape or kill their target, (you) then being able to spot them and lose them is going to make their job all that much harder.
One thing I learned from an early age was that if you are passing your home while being followed then get inside, don't walk past it or detour just get inside.
I was about 12 years old walking home from school, about a three mile walk. About a mile into the walk I noticed a man following me, the closer to home I got the more scared I was getting. I turned down the back alley to my home and so did the man. I walked right past my back door, round the block, did a runner and thought I'd lost him. I walked round the corner into the alley again and bumped into the same man who was walking out of the alley, the same man who was following me. Luckily I bounced off him, i ran round the corner of the block and got to my front door. The only thing I heard was the man shouting after me 'Don't worry I know where you live' I didn't walk home on my own for a while and never saw him again either.
My point being that if you are under surveillance then it's a good chance they know where you live, so don't worry about not getting into your house for fear of giving away your address. It is or should be your castle. You can see chapters on Home Invasions in Meditations of a Modern Warrior Vol 2.
So firstly you have to confirm you are being followed. Some predators will be open about following you, intimidating you, letting you know you are being followed, others though will be more covert. You will have to use a veriaty of ways to identify them, flushing them out into the open. You are going to have to be able to do this in all locations, in all weathers, at all times of the day or night and while either walking, driving or travelling on public transport.
This blog post is also only going to look at being surveilled by a single individual and not from a team of operators.
From the counter surveillance procedures you have been running around your home and work area you now think it is possible that you have someone following you. What you have to do now is confirm that someone is actually following you and then be able to lose them. This is of course not going to stop them following you again but if their motive is to kidnap, rape or kill their target, (you) then being able to spot them and lose them is going to make their job all that much harder.
One thing I learned from an early age was that if you are passing your home while being followed then get inside, don't walk past it or detour just get inside.
I was about 12 years old walking home from school, about a three mile walk. About a mile into the walk I noticed a man following me, the closer to home I got the more scared I was getting. I turned down the back alley to my home and so did the man. I walked right past my back door, round the block, did a runner and thought I'd lost him. I walked round the corner into the alley again and bumped into the same man who was walking out of the alley, the same man who was following me. Luckily I bounced off him, i ran round the corner of the block and got to my front door. The only thing I heard was the man shouting after me 'Don't worry I know where you live' I didn't walk home on my own for a while and never saw him again either.
My point being that if you are under surveillance then it's a good chance they know where you live, so don't worry about not getting into your house for fear of giving away your address. It is or should be your castle. You can see chapters on Home Invasions in Meditations of a Modern Warrior Vol 2.
So firstly you have to confirm you are being followed. Some predators will be open about following you, intimidating you, letting you know you are being followed, others though will be more covert. You will have to use a veriaty of ways to identify them, flushing them out into the open. You are going to have to be able to do this in all locations, in all weathers, at all times of the day or night and while either walking, driving or travelling on public transport.
While in a car or on foot there are two things to keep in mind when looking for a tail, they must be close enough to not lose sight of you or to lose you but far enough away to not be seen. So for a car we will be looking at 3, 4 or 5 cars behind and on foot it will depend on the amount of people on the street, the type of street and the light for example.
While travelling on public transport; the same rules apply in anti-surveillance as they do for self protection, where and how to sit and stand, movement between carriages if on trains or tube, movement between seats if on buses etc.
Below is a short list of basic techniques that will help you spot potential surveillance.
In Your Vehicle
While in your vehicle all actions that you take should be done done as smoothly as possible, by this I mean that it should be done as if you are driving normally. Unless of course you want to let the person know you have spotted them.
* Accelerate quickly but keep within the speed limit.
* Pull over, let the vehicles pass. Watch the vehicles as they pass, note make, model, colour. Note
who are in the vehicles, especially lone drivers. To make it easier you can record the vehicles as
they pass on your phone.
* Do a U-Turn. Again you can record the cars that were behind you on your phone as you now
pass them.
* Signal left - turn right and Vice Versa. Note who does the same.
* Drive all the way round a roundabout, signal at each junction point, note who does the same.
* If on the motorway leave it until as late as possible to indicate and pull off, then immediately get
back on the motorway. Accelerate fast off the motorway and immediately slow down on slip road.
Get back on motorway slowly to give you time to notice who does the same.
While walking
Just like in your car all actions should be done as naturally as possible. Unless again you want them to know you have spotted them.
* it may be that the person has got ahead of you so you need to start pigeon holing people, do the
clothes match the person in that area at that time. It can be hard to pull off a disguise so think;
why are they there, do they look comfortable, do they look like what they are portraying?
* Stop and look in store windows, use the reflection to scan behind you.
* Do an about turn, notice who is walking towards you.
* Do the same but cross the road first.
* Stop in a coffee shop, take a window seat and scan the area. If people come in after you; scan
your wifi or Bluetooth to see who comes up. Do it again in another coffee shop, see if any names
match.
* At a bus stop wait until the last minute to get on, then get on or get straight back off again. Let
everyone else on first, change your mind and walk off, stop and see who gets off before the bus
sets off.
So you have now flushed out the person following you, now it is time to lose them.
Some of the techniques listed above will not only let you know who is following you but will also help you lose your tail if done at the correct moment.
As part of my work I have undertaken what is known as Protective Surveillance. This is where you are protecting your principal without actually standing on their shoulder. Close enough to respond if anything should happen but far enough away to not be seen by an attacker or by any surveillance. I have done this for two types of people, those who know I am around and those that don't. Not losing sight of a principal who knows you are there while watching for the bad guys is hard enough, it doesn't matter if the principal sees you. Trying not to lose sight of a principal who doesn't know your there, being at the correct distance to respond without them spotting you, following them while also watching out for the bad guys is a hard task to accomplish.
I can tell you from experience that if you look the wrong way at the wrong time people can disappear in the blink of an eye. I can also tell you from experience how easy it is to find them again quickly.
So with this in mind there are three things to remember if you are trying to lose someone, Timing, Distance and Direction.
Going into shops, getting on off transport, doubling back on yourself, changing your appearance, when to run, when not to run, when to bring attention to yourself, when not to, route planning while on the move, when to hide, where to hide how to leave your hiding location. As long as you follow the three rules above then you can lose anybody.
Here's the thing, once you have lost them what do you think they are going to do? Yep they know at some point during the day you are going to be at work, at home or at a location that you frequent at certain times, that is where they will be waiting so don't switch off when near home or any other area where you feel safe.
Surveillance instructors like to call this a game of cat and mouse, I don't see myself as a mouse and I hope you don't see yourself as a mouse either. The bad wolves out there don't like messing with other wolves that know everything they know and more and if cornered are not mouse like at all. Your counter and anti - surveillance skills though can help prevent you being cornered or trapped.
Do you actively use these skills?
Do you want to learn how?
If you have any questions at all then just ask.
Stay Dangerous
Rock
While travelling on public transport; the same rules apply in anti-surveillance as they do for self protection, where and how to sit and stand, movement between carriages if on trains or tube, movement between seats if on buses etc.
Below is a short list of basic techniques that will help you spot potential surveillance.
In Your Vehicle
While in your vehicle all actions that you take should be done done as smoothly as possible, by this I mean that it should be done as if you are driving normally. Unless of course you want to let the person know you have spotted them.
* Accelerate quickly but keep within the speed limit.
* Pull over, let the vehicles pass. Watch the vehicles as they pass, note make, model, colour. Note
who are in the vehicles, especially lone drivers. To make it easier you can record the vehicles as
they pass on your phone.
* Do a U-Turn. Again you can record the cars that were behind you on your phone as you now
pass them.
* Signal left - turn right and Vice Versa. Note who does the same.
* Drive all the way round a roundabout, signal at each junction point, note who does the same.
* If on the motorway leave it until as late as possible to indicate and pull off, then immediately get
back on the motorway. Accelerate fast off the motorway and immediately slow down on slip road.
Get back on motorway slowly to give you time to notice who does the same.
While walking
Just like in your car all actions should be done as naturally as possible. Unless again you want them to know you have spotted them.
* it may be that the person has got ahead of you so you need to start pigeon holing people, do the
clothes match the person in that area at that time. It can be hard to pull off a disguise so think;
why are they there, do they look comfortable, do they look like what they are portraying?
* Stop and look in store windows, use the reflection to scan behind you.
* Do an about turn, notice who is walking towards you.
* Do the same but cross the road first.
* Stop in a coffee shop, take a window seat and scan the area. If people come in after you; scan
your wifi or Bluetooth to see who comes up. Do it again in another coffee shop, see if any names
match.
* At a bus stop wait until the last minute to get on, then get on or get straight back off again. Let
everyone else on first, change your mind and walk off, stop and see who gets off before the bus
sets off.
So you have now flushed out the person following you, now it is time to lose them.
Some of the techniques listed above will not only let you know who is following you but will also help you lose your tail if done at the correct moment.
As part of my work I have undertaken what is known as Protective Surveillance. This is where you are protecting your principal without actually standing on their shoulder. Close enough to respond if anything should happen but far enough away to not be seen by an attacker or by any surveillance. I have done this for two types of people, those who know I am around and those that don't. Not losing sight of a principal who knows you are there while watching for the bad guys is hard enough, it doesn't matter if the principal sees you. Trying not to lose sight of a principal who doesn't know your there, being at the correct distance to respond without them spotting you, following them while also watching out for the bad guys is a hard task to accomplish.
I can tell you from experience that if you look the wrong way at the wrong time people can disappear in the blink of an eye. I can also tell you from experience how easy it is to find them again quickly.
So with this in mind there are three things to remember if you are trying to lose someone, Timing, Distance and Direction.
Going into shops, getting on off transport, doubling back on yourself, changing your appearance, when to run, when not to run, when to bring attention to yourself, when not to, route planning while on the move, when to hide, where to hide how to leave your hiding location. As long as you follow the three rules above then you can lose anybody.
Here's the thing, once you have lost them what do you think they are going to do? Yep they know at some point during the day you are going to be at work, at home or at a location that you frequent at certain times, that is where they will be waiting so don't switch off when near home or any other area where you feel safe.
Surveillance instructors like to call this a game of cat and mouse, I don't see myself as a mouse and I hope you don't see yourself as a mouse either. The bad wolves out there don't like messing with other wolves that know everything they know and more and if cornered are not mouse like at all. Your counter and anti - surveillance skills though can help prevent you being cornered or trapped.
Do you actively use these skills?
Do you want to learn how?
If you have any questions at all then just ask.
Stay Dangerous
Rock
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