Reminder: Components of Situational Awareness:
Observation
Perception
Description
Memory
Human Behavior
Deduction
By now you should have a good handle on how to work on the skills of Observation, Perception and Description. Feel free to re-read our last article before diving in here.
a. Memory.
i. Tier One observation skills will not help you much if you cannot remember what you saw, why it seemed important and sufficient detail to compare it to other sightings. Putting the Intelligence you collect firmly in the memory bank allows you to quickly spot patterns as they emerge - the same people or cars cropping up in unconnected locations in your pattern of life. One day, a body camera and a vehicle dashcam recording whenever you are out of your castle plugged into real time Artificial Intelligence might take all of the burden off you and provide instant alerts when surveillance is spotted. But the technology is not there yet and not all of us want cameras tracking our every move (as much as the enemy would like us to). So, we need a solid ability to memorize and recall quickly.
ii. Depending on your scenario, it might well be appropriate to take notes of what you spot as an aide memoir - at least when convenient and safe to do so. Perhaps even photographs and video. A surveillance team lives and dies by the logs they write and the camera footage they take. There is no reason professional level Anti Surveillance cannot do the same. Spies have been known to use a voice recorder to log license plates and other data points as they drive their Surveillance Detection Routes so they can analyze the results once back at base. If you have security cameras at home and/or at the office, then there might be useful footage on the recorder. And, certainly, if you spot something on the cameras (eg. before venturing out on a walk or drive) then you may be able to gather vital intelligence by watching the cameras, zooming in on suspicious persons and recording it all. The only danger to avoid is collecting too much data and choking your ability to process it.
iii. The self help section of any bookstore has several guides to improving memory. These have many key themes: do not accept self imposed limitations ("I struggle to remember things"), just work harder to dispel them; you cannot remember what you do not put into your memory - actively concentrate on putting it there (through repetition, association, visualization etc); use exaggeration, rhymes, silly images to make things stick; use acronyms and mnemonics to capture long lists etc. Unlimited Memory by Horsley is a good resource.
iv. There are a variety of memory apps available for your phone which can help. Again, concentration is key to succeeding at these and the more tired, stressed and/or distracted you are, the poorer your performance is likely to be on the screen. The exact same principles apply to when you are on the street: the more you are rested, can concentrate and focus on observing and then remembering what you see, the more successful you will be. A little bit of stress is good: you want to feel the "edge" that comes with doing something Clandestine but you need to keep it in check so that the stress and worry does not consume you. Keep Calm and Carry On.
v. Another favorite are the KIMs games beloved by the military. KIM stands for "Keep in Mind", though it has its origins in Rudyard Kipling's 1901 novel Kim, where they trainee spy is given the task of memorizing an increasingly complex array of jewels on a tray after only a minute of observation. A quick web search will find plenty of options for playing other people's examples but it is super simple to rig up your own game with a friend or two. Place a variety of objects on a table, set a time limit for studying them then cover them up (or move to another room) and try to recall what each item was, along with an accurate description. Increasing the number of objects and decreasing the amount of observation time increases the level of difficulty. So does stretching out the time after observation and before the report on the items is given. See the table of items in the morning but do not list them until the evening (without writing them down in the meantime) after being busy with lots of other tasks.
vi. One variation on KIMs is to create a series of PowerPoint slides, each being a picture of an object. You can vary the speed at which the slides transition and the number of slides to increase the difficulty. Either at the end of the slideshow or later, the student is required to recount as many objects as possible. Strategies include a count for the total number of objects, an acronym formed from the first letter of each object's name and a humorous adjective to go along with each object.
vii. A different variation is used in various sniper training courses. An instructor will plant a variety of objects at varying distances in a rural or mocked up urban terrain. Each object will be partially hidden or camouflaged. From a fixed observation point, students (with or without optical aides) are then given a set amount of time to find as many objects as possible and write them down on a list. Items range from weapons, IEDs and intelligence items to full size enemy troop dummies in ghillie suits pointing weapons at the students. The trick here is to allow the students time after the exercise to see the objects they missed from the observation point so that they can learn from the visual clues they failed to notice first time round. Setting a similar exercise in anyone's backyard with everyday items is very plausible. And while it is more of an observation test, it can readily incorporate a memory component by not allowing students to write down what they see but rather have to remember it all some time later.
viii. For younger trainees, a quick Amazon search will bring up a slew of memory games for kids. They even have adult versions which purport to help protect and grow memory skills. There are several supplements which profess to improve memory too. Prevagen seems to be the most widely advertised and we know of some who say they have definitely benefited from taking it. While there may be a placebo effect to such products, the placebo effect is real and should not be discounted out of hand.
b. Human Behavior.
i. Whether it is agents of a police state or other types of criminals, it is human surveillance against us that we want to detect. No surprise, therefore, that we need to be accomplished students of human behavior. We have already listed some of the tell tale giveaways of surveillance operators (Surveillance Part 3 What to Look For). Surveillance is an unnatural activity and the person doing it must deal with strong feelings of self consciousness. They are very concerned with being "burned" ie. spotted and exposed. The stress of constantly assessing whether they have been compromised can lead to mistakes. Demeanor is key: maintaining a cool, calm and plausible facade while underneath the mind and pulse are raging is very difficult, even sometimes for seasoned, professional operators. Criminals, terrorists and basic law enforcement, for the most part, have only a rudimentary understanding of surveillance tradecraft and can be expected to make many more mistakes. The following dissections of behavior necessarily get a bit bookish, as it is the best way to acquire a lot of new information quickly. You can, however, readily find videos on each topic to provide additional insight.
ii. We should study the science of body language so we can pick up on the additional clues to someone's demeanor. A professional surveillance operator will never want to be engaged by their target in conversation - they will never want to be that close or become that memorable to them. A predator criminal, however, might well strike up a conversation as part of their "interview" of a potential victim or as a distraction for an accomplice. But even when talking a person only communicates verbally less than 35% of the total information up for grabs. And when you are observing someone from a distance, 100% of what they are communicating is non-verbal. Being able to read the subtle clues as to where their attention is really directed, whether they are faking a relaxed posture or trying to hide hostile intent could make all the difference in the world between recognizing you are under hostile surveillance and believing (wrongly) that you are "clean".
iii. Two must read books on the subject are: The Definitive Book of Body Language (Pease) and What Everybody is Saying (Navarro). Both authors have several other books which can be profitable if you develop a strong interest. They also have many useful videos and even their own channels on YouTube which represent another rabbit hole of discovery and reinforcement.
iv. Deception is another valuable area of study. How to tell when people are lying, being furtive or hiding their true intentions. A surveillance operator has to deceive the world around them. They need to blend in and become the "Gray Man" whom no-one notices, despite having to do weird things like sit for hours in a static overwatch position or keep a moving target in sight. For a criminal, deception is a way of life, tricking a target, avoiding law enforcement, covering their tracks etc. Most material on this subject focuses on detecting verbal lies and does so by looking at non verbal clues (tone and voice pitch, body language, micro expressions, eye movement/neuro linguistic programming) as well as more obvious verbal clues (rambling, disjointed statements, changing story, too many pauses, denial of factual information, slips of the tongue, overly polite, mood swings, excessive complaints, memory failure).
v. Should we somehow end up in a conversation with a suspected member of a surveillance team or a predator in surveillance mode, all of these factors will apply in helping us determine if they are trying to deceive us. If they are accomplished at what they do, they will have already constructed a good, plausible "cover story" for being where they are and doing what they are doing. But it will be a lie and their ability to get away with it depends on two factors: how convincing they are in deploying it; and whether you believe it. The truism from the spy world is that "Cover is in the Eye of the Beholder" ie. no matter how clever and fitting you think your cover story is, if it does not pass the sniff test of the other party, your cover will be blown. The more skilled we make ourselves at detecting lies, the less of a victim we will be. Lie Spotting by Pamela Meyer is a good place to start. If you want another rabbit hole to go down, Spy the Lie by Houston et al, takes a somewhat different view of conclusive deception detection that is worth appreciating.
vi. Identifying deception from a distance is much more about interpreting gross body language and centers around the mistakes that someone intent on watching others can make. The person who is bobbing around the corner trying to maintain a view, the one sat on the bench superficially reading a newspaper but fixated on looking over it (or holding it upside down!), the pedestrian you force to pass you on the street as part of your Surveillance Detection Route who refuses to make eye contact and looks awkwardly away, the driver you overtake who visibly shrinks in their seat and hides their face. The Hollywood instances of the gumshoe detective pretending to tie a shoelace or look in a shop window's reflection happen too.
vii. All this people watching can become overwhelming. Prioritization is often essential, particularly in busy environments. Despite its negative reputation in this silly politically correct fake world the Left has constructed, profiling is an absolute must. It works for the Israeli airline El Al as they scrutinize passengers and it will work for you too. In the criminal context, those who will do you great harm if given half a chance come in certain flavors without even having to consider race. Clothing, haircuts, headgear, jewelry, tattoos, the effects of drugs, vehicles, associates, mannerisms and the way they talk all say a great deal about where someone fits in society. The gaunt tweaker in the hoody who is incessantly scratching their arm deserves a great deal of attention as they zig zag through the neighborhood looking for an easy score. But do not let your guard down for the more professional criminal crews. Landscaping companies provide almost the perfect cover for casing suburbia: even in the most exclusive gated communities no-one pays much attention to those diligently cutting grass and raking up leaves. You might be horrified to learn the criminal records of many such workers and that they make way more money from their night time pursuits having worked out who is away on vacation and where the best points of access are. But the clues are there for anyone who takes the time to look at the individuals on the crew.
viii. Rapists, serial killers and terrorists are better at hiding among us. But their need for surveillance is greater and more methodical. And so the profiling we conduct should be more diverse. Have you studied the sex offender's registry for your neighborhood and memorized the faces of those who live in it? Do you know the warning signs that someone is a sociopath or other flavor of dangerous personality? Navarro's other book Dangerous Personalities is a good start point.
ix. Profiling applies to surveillance teams too, though in different ways than you might think. It used to be that your average US police unit was mostly white males doing "two up" (driver and passenger) mobile surveillance. The select, trusted federal officers who would be tasked to watch so called domestic terrorists will still be predominantly white but they have progressed to driving "one up" (driver only) and will have plenty of females from which to draw. They do, however, mostly use hand held radios and, increasingly, cell phones for their communications. True covert communication systems with hidden microphones and earpieces are rare. The cars do not have a government "look' on the outside (gone are the days of the unmarked crown vics) but the interiors are fitted out in a standard law enforcement low profile fashion, with radios, sirens and hidden emergency lights. The typical Hollywood van on the corner that might house video cameras, cell phone intercept and tracking equipment is very much still in use.
x. Narcotics units are much better (out of necessity) on the diversity front and at fitting in to the reality of the street. Some state and local units have developed a high degree of expertise in surveillance, such as LAPD's Special Investigation Section (SIS) which works to connect hardened criminals to major crimes. Most cops and especially federal LEOs, however, struggle to properly conceal their pistols as they are too used to being the authority figure and have genetically bought it to the thin blue line mentality. They will make token efforts to cover the firearm with a garment but end up a long way from true concealment. It is a useful tell.
xi. In the criminal vein, there are a raft of threat and pre-attack indicators which fit into the surveillance phase and which are well worth knowing. Just as there are steps, checks and perimeters a SWAT team goes through before it does a raid, so too criminals prepare, move and conduct rituals before they attack. If you give someone cause in a bar to stand up, stretch their neck and shake their muscles loose you can guarantee that the fight is on. There are lots of videos on YouTube and edgier websites such as LiveLeak of real fights (including the whole series of Cops and other police shows) which you can use to study the moment before a criminal launches their attack. After watching a couple dozen of these, you will begin to cue in on the indications that something is about to happen and become well versed in predicting the exact moment of attack as all the warning signs which lead up to it.
xii. Watch for touching and stroking of the face. This grooming of ears, nose, hair etc indicates deception and the attempt to plan moves behind what they think is a neutral facade. Quick furtive looks either for escape routes (in the police scenario) or witnesses, cameras or authorities (in the predator scenario) is another give away. The eyes will show the attacker's intent whereas the hands will show the weapon of choice. The balled up fist being retracted for a punch, the hidden hand at the waist line reaching for a knife or gun, the raising of the arm as the weapon is extracted from a pocket or belt: picking up on these moves buys you precious seconds to escape or counter attack. In God We Trust, but everyone else keep your hands where we can see them. Another strong indicator is the shift of weight and lowering of center of gravity as the predator moves into a fighting stance. Often the body is angled at roughly 45 degrees as part of this maneuver: it facilitates a strong kick, punch, knife thrust or crude presentation of a pistol.
xiii. A single indicator on its own cannot necessarily be used to justify action: someone may just be reaching for their wallet after a fender bender and they may be stressed from the adrenaline. But a cluster of them in context should give great cause for concern. There are lesser indicators which are easier to confuse with more innocent explanations such as rapid blinking/trembling/shallow breathing (all point to an agitated state), posturing/puffing out the chest (intimidation), avoiding eye contact/feint move (to reduce your guard and ambush), thousand yard stare (someone programmed for violence and in their "zone") and focused attention (the culmination of their ritual preparation, immediately before launch and often directed at wherever they are going to strike).
xiv. A study and understanding of the criminal mind can pay dividends as it ties back in to the surveillance they conduct, the process for selecting victims and how to bolster the deterrence that you project. Two quick reads worthy of your time are the classic "Inside the Criminal Mind" (Samenow) and "The Games Criminals Play (Allen/Bosta). We have no control over the motivation or intent a predator brings to their hunt but we do have a say in the rest of the process. Victim selection is the marriage of intent (robbery, rape, murder etc) with predilections (blondes, children, fat businessmen, tourists) and risk analysis (who is the least aware, who satisfies the predilections the most, who looks the weakest). Sweeping generalization but criminals are not known for being particularly intelligent or hardworking: they want an easy score, one in which they can dominate the victim and get away unscathed.
xv. To that end (getting away unscathed), surveillance is key: they want to isolate the victim by watching and waiting patiently for someone who is away from the crowd. The more isolated the better. It may be sufficient to have a target approaching a dark alley on a quiet street but, more often than not, the predator will want to validate their choice by conducting an "interview", engaging in a low key dialogue. Got the time? Got a light? Money for gas? Can you help me push my broken down vehicle? The objective is to gauge the victim's level of resistance and/or have a pretext for moving into attack range. Presuming the selection is confirmed, the attack will follow immediately unless they are going to follow their target to a more favorable location. And no-one should ever let themselves be taken to a secondary location: nothing good ever happens there. But that is the subject of a different article.
xvi. A final quick word on deterrence. Paying attention to surroundings, being confident and looking self assured all project an image of someone who could be difficult to attack: most criminals will look for an easier mark. But there is a danger of over doing the deterrence posture by strutting around and making eye contact with everyone on the street. Over confidence can be interpreted as a challenge to someone who thinks they have something to prove, especially in front of their peers (eg. other gang members). You will want to be more gray than that. And being gray will be a full, separate article.