Foot Surveillance

Foot surveillance is usually undertaken by two or more individuals. Normally, one surveillant remains close to the target while the other stays at a greater distance. The second surveillant may follow the first on the same side of the street or travel on the opposite side. The positions of the surveillants are frequently changed, most commonly at road junctions. This requires that you be alert not only to those people behind you but also to those across the street and in front of you. If you see the same person more than once over a certain distance, even if that person is not seen continuously, surveillance may be suspected. Individuals who are alert to the people in their vicinity will eventually detect the same surveillant over a period of time.

One complicating factor is the use of disguises to make the surveillants look different. One indicator of the use of a disguise is a shopping bag or some other container for a change of clothes, particularly if the bag is from a shop not found in the area or the container somehow seems out of place. Pay particular attention to shoes and trousers or skirts. These items are less easily and, therefore, less commonly changed. In lifts, watch for people who seem to wait for you to push a button and then select a floor one flight above or below yours.

 
Detecting Foot Surveillance

Some of the most effective methods for detecting foot surveillance  are:

1. Stopping abruptly and looking to the rear
2. Suddenly reversing your course
3. Stopping abruptly after turning a corner
4. Watching reflections in shop windows or other reflective surfaces
5. Entering a building and leaving immediately by another exit
6. Walking slowly and then rapidly at intervals
7. Dropping a piece of paper to see if anyone retrieves it
8. Boarding or exiting a bus or train just before it starts
9. Making sudden turns or walking around the block