Customer Reviews

Secrets Of Surveillance: A Professional’s Guide To Tailing Subjects By Vehicle, Foot, Airplane, And Public Transportation

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2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As a licensed private investigator, college instructor of private investigation courses, and an experienced covert surveillance operative, I can personally tell you that most of the techniques described in this book are of little value to private sector investigators like myself. The vast majority of techniques described assume that the "surveillance team" has an unlimited supply of resources and operatives (i.e. a law enforcement team). Anyone with even remote covert surveillance experience knows that this will seldom (more likely never) be the case.

Most private sector covert surveillance operatives (i.e. private investigators) work alone or in teams of two (when and only when the Client can afford it of course). Therefore, the vast majority of the techniques covered in this book are of little use to most private investigators. There is some (emphasis added) good information in this book, but certainly not what one would expect based on the title.

If you are looking for a title that actually contains useful (emphasis added) surveillance techniques/procedures, I would highly recommend: "Covert Surveillance: The Manual of Surveillance Training" by Peter Jenkins (ISBN: 0953537803). I have had the pleasure of reading this fine text, which I consider to be the only covert surveillance techniques/procedures book worth recommending. Unfortunately, I have been unable to find a copy for purchase.

As always, check with your local library or bookstore to see if you can read/review this or any title before deciding to make a purchase. This method has effectively allowed me to make the most of my investigative library budget.

I hope you found this review helpful. [...]

An excellant book for those who are interested in or who actually employ surveillance techniques. This book provides the reader with an insight into the basic mechanics required to conduct Surveillance operations. If you are new to this game, then this book will assist you in gaining a good grasp of the basics. However, if you are looking for the intricacies of the techiniques to become an effective operator, then you may be let down somewhat. In order to balance this review, the book is let down by the lack of any photographs which would have been ideal for illustrating issues or techniques the writter wanted to impart. By way of example: The discussion on Disguises and the application of using wigs and false facial hair would be greater served using photographs. This would have been invaluable and would assist the non-oporator to full grasp what is actually required. In addition, the lack of templates for such things as Photographic or Video logs would have been a useful tool to be included in this book. Nevertheless, it is a good book and well worth reading.

First, this books does have some interesting ideas and is worth buying. However, it is written at an intelligence level that would insult a bright sixth grader. Also, it assumes you will have half a dozen people involved in the surveillance of one person and is not aimed at an individual working at surveillance alone.

This book is OK, but all the information is described in huge blocks of hard to follow copy with very few diagrams or case studies. You could probably get the same quality of stuff from an open-source search on Google. The methods described are at a basic to intermediate level.

I bought 'Advanced Surveillance" by Peter Jenkins as well and would recommend you buy it instead. You'll get far more value for your money! The techniques in this book (Advanced Surveillance) are at a far higher level and are described in more detail with lots of diagrams, case studies and examples.

I work plainclothes in law enforcement and found this book to be very practical. I thought it was very well written. I can tell that the author has to have real world experience because only somebody who's worked the streets could lay this out so clearly. I picked up some very useful tips that my team either never knew or just overlooked. I highly reccomend this book to anyone in a related field. I would've liked a little more detail on establishing a good
observation post. And it is a little heavy on the unlimited resource end like the 4 member teams and the communications vest. Other than that it was definitely worth the read.

This book seems to be very much to the point, in my opinion. There is not a lot of padding like some books in the genre. Very practical. Some things seem to me obvious, but there are lots of those delicious little tid-bits that make you say to yourself, "wow, I should've thought of that myself" - but never did. The book is not written in 'jargon', but uses everyday language anyone can understand, and it is easy to remember. There are diagrams that make things clear. I think this is quite a good book.

ACM IV provides the finest product available at its price. Not only is the value worth the purchase of this book in and of itself, but the material is absolutely top notch.

During the course of my 25-year career, I spent my share of time conducting surveillances. I know many of the ins and outs.

The entire ACM IV series should be a part of every tradecraft professional's library. And the pages should be dog-eared.

I think every person interested in having a career in surveillance should get this book. You will never look back! Excellent in showing you how to go about a surveillance operation.

The techniques covered in this book are written in the 90's with a basic outline of techniques used on a team of agents. Not very practical for one or two-man teams as I was expecting. Most of the techniques covered in this book, while requiring several operators, can in fact be performed by one or two people thanks mostly to advancements in technology.

In summary, this book has general information that can be tailored to your unique surveillance situation, however it is outdated and not the best resource for experienced professionals.

A very thorough book on all aspects of surveillance. Many tips and useful information for anyone in the P.I. business. A very informative guide.