The Challenges of Conducting Physical Surveillance Services in Pittsburgh

Conducting physical surveillance can be challenging without having the required proficiency in planning and surveillance expertise.  These challenges are best discussed in the following categories: (1) Technical Challenges; (2) Physical and Mental Demands; (3) Legal and Ethical Constraints; (4) Counter-Surveillance Measures; (5) Environmental Factors; and (6) Resource Constraints.

Technical Challenges of Surveillance Operations

You must have the required training, experience, and skills to conduct physical surveillance successfully.  These skills are:

• The ability to maintain visual contact with the subject without being detected.
• The ability to adapt to changing environments and situations quickly.
• The expertise to operate any surveillance equipment you are using.
• Effective communication to collaborate with other team members.

Physical and Mental Demands on the Surveillance Investigator

Physical surveillance can often require long hours of being in a static location, either inside a vehicle or outside in the environment.  These demands require:

• Being in uncomfortable conditions while sitting and observing for many hours at a time.
• The need for constant focus and awareness.
• The ability to deal with extreme weather conditions.
• Adapting to the lack of regular breaks or physical movement.

Legal and Ethical Constraints to Conducting Surveillance

Depending on the country, and/or state you are conducting surveillance in, there are many complex legal and ethical considerations.  These include, but are not limited to:

• Understanding and complying with privacy laws and regulations.
• Obtaining the proper consent when required.
• Avoiding illegal activities, like reckless driving or trespassing.

Counter-Surveillance Measures

Some subjects may have keen situational awareness or have had some surveillance training.  Some of the tactics used to detect or evade surveillance include:

• If a subject believes they are being watched, they may alter their behavior or movements.
• Subjects may drive or walk specific routes that give them the best opportunity to identify if they are being surveilled or not.
• Subjects may employ technological countermeasures to detect surveillance such as GPS trackers, drones, or hidden cameras.

Environmental Factors Which Make Physical Surveillance Difficult

Depending on where you are conducting physical surveillance, the surrounding environment poses challenges.  These challenges include:

• Crowded urban areas make it difficult to maintain visual contact, and allow the subject an easier time to blend in with their environment.
• Remote areas make it a challenge not to be spotted by the subject as often times you may be the only people in that area.
• Neighborhoods tend to notice unfamiliar vehicles or people and oftentimes have very vigilant residents.
• Sitting in traffic or trying to park a vehicle in an ideal location is difficult in busy areas.

Surveillance Resource Constraints

To conduct physical surveillance effectively, it requires significant resources.  These resources include:

• The need for specialized equipment and multiple vehicles.
• The potential requirement to have multiple team members.
• The amount of time that is often required to conduct physical surveillance.

Why is it Difficult to Conduct Physical Surveillance in Pittsburgh?

Now that we understand the typical challenges of conducting physical surveillance in general, let us look deeper and understand why Pittsburgh adds to these already difficult circumstances.  Pittsburgh’s challenges include: (1) The Urban Environment; (2) Legal and Privacy Considerations; (3) Security Awareness; and (4) Community Vigilance.

The Urban Environment’s Effect on Surveillance

Pittsburgh’s unique urban landscape presents obstacles for conducting physical surveillance operations.  These obstacles include:

• The layout of downtown Pittsburgh is very compact, it has a lot of narrow streets, and many tall buildings.  This makes it difficult to maintain visual contact with a subject without them noticing.  The tall buildings enable the subject to make turns and break the line of sight.
• The steep hills and varied elevation also play a factor.  Stationary observation has limited vantage points due to the terrain, and vehicle surveillance gets challenging as the hilly terrain will constantly break the line of sight to the subject or can give the subject an opportunity to identify surveillance from afar.

Legal and Privacy Considerations for Surveillance Operators

Pittsburgh has very strict legal requirements to navigate through when conducting physical surveillance.  These include discovery rules and privacy laws.

• According to the discovery rules of the Pennsylvania Court system, defendants are required to disclose surveillance materials to plaintiffs after a plaintiff has been deposed.  This can complicate the strategy and timing of conducting surveillance operations within Pittsburgh.
• State and Federal laws restrict where and how surveillance can be conducted.  Any physical surveillance conducted must comply with these laws.

Security Awareness in Pittsburgh

Due to the recent decrease in full-time law enforcement officers in the Pittsburgh area, many organizations in the region are maintaining a higher sense of security, and this can make surveillance more challenging.  Some organizations are increasing their use of private-security and/or advanced security systems.

• Many businesses and institutions in Pittsburgh are increasing their use of private security services.  This heightened security presence can make it more difficult for surveillance team members to blend in or access certain areas.
• Due to advances in security technology and the adoption of these technologies by many commercial and institutional settings in the Pittsburgh area, covert surveillance is much harder to conduct.  These security advances include access control, video management, and visitor management systems.

Pittsburgh’s Community-Level Vigilance

Pittsburgh has a very strong sense of community, and many neighborhoods are very close knit. These can all pose a challenge when conducting physical surveillance in Pittsburgh.

• Many neighborhoods in Pittsburgh have a neighborhood watch or know their surrounding areas very well.  These communities are more likely to notice and report suspicious activities or unfamiliar individuals.
• Local knowledge goes a long way when navigating around Pittsburgh.  Subjects that are being surveilled with a deep local knowledge can easily compromise surveillance activities, especially if the surveillance team members do not know the area well. 

While physical surveillance in Pittsburgh appears to have many challenges to navigate through, none of these are insurmountable.  Professional surveillance members can adapt their techniques to the Pittsburgh urban environment, legal landscape, and security-conscious culture of the city to conduct effective and lawful surveillance activities.  Here at Convoy Group, we have surveillance experts with real world expertise conducting surveillance operations both domestically and internationally while working in the capacity of Military Special Operations and Law Enforcement.  We are a Pittsburgh-based, determined, experienced organization with investigators that possess the capability to conduct, and teach, physical surveillance.