A professional surveillance operation generally consists of three distinct and dynamic phases, whilst it is possible for the individual being observed to detect surveillance within these phases, the surveillance team are at greatest risk of detection when the principal (the person being watched) transitions between them e.g., the principal has been followed to a restaurant where they have spent some time (and are static), and then go to leave (become mobile), and now need to be followed; this means the surveillance team must also become mobile. It is this correlation or synchronization of movement, as the principal transitions from being static to mobile, that may alert them to the fact that they are being observed/followed. They may then decide to engage in some overt or covert anti-surveillance measures in order to confirm their suspicions, such as taking an indirect, and out of the way route that nobody else would have a reason to take, unless they were following them etc. In this article I want to look at the different ways someone could synchronize their movements to yours, the ways in which we may make this easy for someone, and ways in which we can both harden ourselves to this, and better detect when someone is doing it to us.

Pickpockets working busy transit stops such as stations on the London Underground or the New York Subway, will often work in teams, with different individuals playing different roles e.g., there may be one member stationed on the mezzanine floor, looking to identify potential targets, such as watching for the person who has a full wallet of cash when they go to buy a ticket etc. They might then point this individual out to other members of the team, who will look to “dip” (pick the pocket of) the target. A common ploy to do this is to select a choke point that funnels people such as the top of an escalator, with one member getting to it just before the target. As they get on, they will suddenly stop, forcing the target to bump into them, causing a moment of confusion and distraction, that can be used by the team member behind the target to steal the wallet. However, the use of two people, means that they double the risk of detection, as two people are needed to synchronize their movement with the target, and although they can use the other people who are also getting onto the escalator to cover and hide their movement, they can’t risk doing this at a time when it is so busy that they might not be able to get to the top of the escalator at the same time as the person they’ve targeted. When someone synchronizes their movement with another, they may allow their subconscious, rather than the conscious mind, to take over the process. When this happens – and they switch off – they become vulnerable to detection, because if the person they’ve tied their movement to suddenly stops they will find themselves automatically doing the same. Persons involved in professional surveillance recognize this danger and have to keep themselves switched on 100% of the time to avoid this happening. This type of synchronization, where a person(s) tries to cross your path at some point – such as at the top of an elevator – is referred to as interception. By understanding how the landscape and terrain effects movement, we can learn to recognize the places where this is most likely to occur, and alter our movement accordingly, such as abruptly stopping as we approach an elevator to see if someone else in the environment mirrors this.

Target Pattern Analysis, is something that surveillance teams use, to determine the habits and routines that the principal regularly engages in e.g., do they always leave their house to go to their place of work at the same time, do they always go to the gym on the same days each week etc. This predictability allows the team to operate more efficiently, and to determine when and where to devote resources. As I wrote in last week’s article, changing your route to and from work as an anti-surveillance measure in most cases, for most people makes little sense if the times you come and go are largely predictable. There are times though when altering times and routes does make sense. A young woman who once trained with me had been the target of a sexual assault – she was fortunately successful in fighting her assailant off and getting to safety – by an attacker who had watched her for several weeks, take the same route on her daily run, at the same time each day. He was able to piece together her route and synchronize his movement to hers by waiting at a spot where she was most vulnerable. Anybody who knows where you will be at a particular time or knows that at some point you will return to a particular spot (such as coming back to a parked car) will be able to wait for you.

Following, Tracking or Trailing is another means by which someone might synchronize their movement to yours. A lot of self-defense training tends to assume that this type of ambush is an extremely common type of synchronization, as it gives an attacker the best ability to approach unseen and then make their attack etc., however there is little to suggest that those employing this tactic do so for this reason. It is more likely that there is a delay between the victim selection/surveillance phases and the movement phase due to making and acting on the decision that the person selected is indeed a suitable victim. This may mean that the assailant is simply having to catch up to the intended target, who has moved in front of them etc. If this is a planned and well-orchestrated street robbery, it may be that somebody is positioned in front of you, who will synchronize their movement to yours by approaching you, so that you are caught between two assailants. If the offense involves more than two assailants, they may fan out both in front of and behind you in order to limit your chances of escape.

Whilst you may identify surveillance, and a person’s interest in you through glances (target glances) that they make towards you, it is largely through a person’s synchronization of movement with you that you can tell you have been targeted. By creating transition phases, where you change your direction and speed etc., you can confirm if this is the case. What you should always be aware of is that in most cases the synchronization signals the attack phase and is not simply an exercise in gathering more information about you, so trying to deal with it in a covert manner is unlikely to be an effective option.