Surveillance Overview

Knight Detectives prioritise all of our customers, consistently providing investigation services in a professional manner. Our Surveillance Agents are diverse and come from a variety of Police, Military and Investigative backgrounds. They can blend into whatever community or surrounding that is required to achieve the task. Our surveillance agents use the latest technology and equipment to capture the best evidence for your case. Our surveillance is conducted within the guidelines set out by The Association of British Investigators (ABI).

There are three basic types of surveillance methods:

  • Physical Surveillance
  • Technical Surveillance
  • A combination of both physical and technical

A team of agents will physically follow the “Target”. The agents can be on foot or in vehicles. We use a variety of vehicles from vans, motorbikes, cars, cycles etc. The agents use surveillance tactics evolved from UK Police and Government Agencies. Whether the “Target” gets into a car, onto a train or goes into a restaurant, we will be watching them!

The most common technical device used for surveillance is a vehicle tracker. Our trackers are “hand-built” by a specialist company and once installed, the batteries can last up to six months. Other devices can include cameras, listening devices and covert CCTV cameras.

Our intelligence officers are trained in Open Source Intelligence Gathering (OSINT) and we use Legal Methods to assist with your investigation. New information is always gained from a surveillance operation and when the target meets up with an unknown person or visits an unknown address, we will be right onto the case, using OSINT to identify the new lead.

This is the most common and realistic method used to keep the costs down. For most surveillance operations where the “Target” uses a regular vehicle, we will covertly fit a tracker. Once fitted, we will have information on everywhere the vehicle goes, where the vehicle stops, how long the vehicle stayed there, the route taken to get there and all of this will be with accurate timings. The agents can monitor this data on Laptops, Tablets and their Phones. Once a “lifestyle” of the “Target” has been gained, we can anticipate areas and addresses that they are likely to visit. We combine physical surveillance alongside the technical surveillance, thus requiring less agents and reducing the costs. Our Agents use the latest technology to capture the evidence you need.

An example of combined surveillance:  
“Target A” is being monitored by a tracker with a number of agents following him. “Target A” parks up into a car park and walks to a restaurant. The vehicle tracker shows that the vehicle is no longer moving and the agents “close-in” to the target. “Target A” is then followed walking to the restaurant by the agents, whom will be using covert methods and tactics. “Target A” meets with another person, but they sit to the rear of the restaurant and cannot be seen from street level. One or two agents then enter the restaurant, blend into the surroundings and gather the photographic evidence they need.

Unless the target does not have a vehicle, we will generally adopt the combined method. This method has an advantage for cost and there is less likelihood of an operation being compromised as the Surveillance Agents will not be following the “Target” directly. 

A team of agents will physically follow the “Target”. The agents can be on foot or in vehicles. We use a variety of vehicles from vans, motorbikes, cars, cycles etc. The agents use surveillance tactics evolved from UK Police and Government Agencies. Whether the “Target” gets into a car, onto a train or goes into a restaurant, we will be watching them!

The most common technical device used for surveillance is a vehicle tracker. Our trackers are “hand-built” by a specialist company and once installed, the batteries can last up to six months. Other devices can include cameras, listening devices and covert CCTV cameras.

Our intelligence officers are trained in Open Source Intelligence Gathering (OSINT) and we use Legal Methods to assist with your investigation. New information is always gained from a surveillance operation and when the target meets up with an unknown person or visits an unknown address, we will be right onto the case, using OSINT to identify the new lead.

This is the most common and realistic method used to keep the costs down. For most surveillance operations where the “Target” uses a regular vehicle, we will covertly fit a tracker. Once fitted, we will have information on everywhere the vehicle goes, where the vehicle stops, how long the vehicle stayed there, the route taken to get there and all of this will be with accurate timings. The agents can monitor this data on Laptops, Tablets and their Phones. Once a “lifestyle” of the “Target” has been gained, we can anticipate areas and addresses that they are likely to visit. We combine physical surveillance alongside the technical surveillance, thus requiring less agents and reducing the costs. Our Agents use the latest technology to capture the evidence you need.

An example of combined surveillance:  
“Target A” is being monitored by a tracker with a number of agents following him. “Target A” parks up into a car park and walks to a restaurant. The vehicle tracker shows that the vehicle is no longer moving and the agents “close-in” to the target. “Target A” is then followed walking to the restaurant by the agents, whom will be using covert methods and tactics. “Target A” meets with another person, but they sit to the rear of the restaurant and cannot be seen from street level. One or two agents then enter the restaurant, blend into the surroundings and gather the photographic evidence they need.

Unless the target does not have a vehicle, we will generally adopt the combined method. This method has an advantage for cost and there is less likelihood of an operation being compromised as the Surveillance Agents will not be following the “Target” directly.