Knowledge Centre.

Trust is everything. From initial contact through to operational delivery and reporting, clients need to have faith in the professionalism, discretion and capability of those trusted with their sensitive information and confidence in meeting their objectives. We are all, without exception, from highly vetted Government backgrounds where access to secret material was necessary and commonplace. Beyond Government service vetting our staff are subject to Non Disclosure Agreements and routine Disclosure & Barring Service checks; their integrity, experience in handling sensitive information and discretion is beyond question. Our deployment administration is exceptional and wholly comprehensive mirroring that of Government departments ensuring security, integrity, continuity and compliance. Why do we go to these lengths? Client protection. Does this cost more? No, these processes reflect how we manage every deployment regardless of duration or objectives. We do not negotiate service level agreements, offer a lower tier service or sub contract operations. Does this cost more than other comparable established surveillance providers? No, whilst our processes are exceptional, our costs are not. Capability. We attract the highest calibre ex Government surveillance personnel to SIS. We often ask candidates "why us"? The answer is always the same. You provide the level of professionalism, experience, capability and administration demanded in Government service. We know we will be working with professionals from the same background, same extensive training, same exceptional experience. Externally this translates to highly experienced interoperable teams capable of achieving objectives across all spectrums in the most demanding circumstances. Our conventional surveillance and technical surveillance teams include covert method of entry and covert forensic retrieval specialists. Highly trained, professionally accredited, exceptionally experienced with access to the full range of leading edge technologies, they offer Government level capabilities and tactics to the private sector. Our counter surveillance team is led by a former UK diplomat, previously tasked with the security of UK assets abroad. Again, Government level specialist capabilities offered to the private sector by exceptionally experienced personnel. Our protective surveillance team draws heavily on our extensive surveillance support to kidnap and ransom investigations, counter terrorism operations and anti corruption enquiries. Through covert conventional and technical surveillance deployment we identify and assess risk, providing recommendations and mitigation strategies. These deployments can be venue specific utilising our forward intelligence team, covert method of entry team and penetration testing together with our covert behavioural detection capability and behavioural detection Red Team. Alternatively, tailored to meet specific individual requirements, we can assess kidnap/abduction risk, and identify potential integrity, corruption, tiger kidnap and blackmail issues facing families, household staff and existing security arrangements. We are the only UK company professionally accredited and insured to provide a surveillance response to live kidnap investigations. We believe we provide the most comprehensive and professional service available, so too our clients. Partner of London office, international law firm. “SIS provided a highly professional and time sensitive surveillance service in a cost-effective manner. Their preparation and risk assessment were exceptional. They delivered the evidence in a manner which could be used immediately in different aspects of the case. I could trust in their chain of custody and approach to data protection. The team leader demonstrated a high degree of commercial awareness and technical expertise as well as the correct level of empathy for the client’s requirements. Their years of experience and dedication to HM Government service is evident. I would without question recommend SIS to a fellow professional advisor or family office.

SIS have supported a broad spectrum of covert operations delivering excellence within our surveillance deployments meeting client objectives and exceeding expectations. Our conventional and technical surveillance teams have provided irrefutable first-time evidence supporting highly sensitive and confidential reactive blackmail and bribery investigations, identified and dismantled organised criminal networks targeting UK supply and distribution centres, supported sensitive Corporate information disclosure investigations and identified the targeting of prominent foreign nationals resident in the UK. Beyond infiltrations, hostile commercial intelligence collection and espionage our teams have also been instrumental in identifying, disrupting and dismantling criminal networks concerned in high value commercial theft, burglary, complex fraud and intellectual property offences, providing our clients with the evidence required to bring surveillance led prosecutions, civil actions and staff dismissals. In addition to providing evidence, our teams established trends, key driving factors, markets and the modus operandi of those involved in such offences providing intelligence to stakeholders guiding future planning, policy and strategies to combat these issues. Our intelligence collection deployments have located, traced and identified control and ownership of assets together with business acquisition and merger intelligence. Proactively we have supported organisations with staff integrity concerns, provided kidnap risk and mitigation assessments to prominent individuals and their families, provided covert overwatch of vulnerable premises and assisted a family office with bespoke risk mitigation assessment and intelligence. We continue to covertly monitor disruptive activism targeting high profile sporting events. Our protective and counter surveillance teams have provided security to financial sector organisations, sporting venues and prominent foreign nationals seeking refuge in the UK from global conflicts. Within our protective surveillance capability are our forward intelligence team, penetration testers and covert behavioural detection officers who, at a sporting event receiving up to fifty thousand guests per day, identified through detection methodology an individual of concern, subsequently identified as “of interest” to the Counter Terrorism community. This individual was covertly monitored and stopped prior to gaining access to this event. One in fifty thousand, testament to the highly specialist skills and professional capability on our teams. None of this would be possible without the highest calibre staff. All from the same background, highly vetted and trained, exceptionally experienced and capable, they are an interoperable team of surveillance professionals adept at meeting objectives in the most comprehensive and cost-efficient manner. Operating in any environment, servicing the most critical and sensitive deployments, our teams offer Government level professional surveillance to the private and commercial sectors.

The covert monitoring, observing, listening and recording of a subject’s movements, associations, conversations, communications and other activities…... From busy cities and transport networks to the most rural of locations, our teams have deployed as professional and trusted evidential and intelligence collection specialists for decades detailing our observations through our processes that ensure integrity and continuity. Our conventional (human) surveillance teams are the most experienced and highly capable operational covert assets undertaking directed and intrusive surveillance available to the private sector. Foot and mobile surveillance represent much of their deployment time, they are highly proficient and exceptionally experienced. All are professionally accredited, having accrued tens of thousands of hours conducting static, foot and mobile surveillance servicing every type of inquiry in multiple, challenging and changing environments servicing critical priority operations on behalf of HM Government across the UK and further. All our operatives are professional evidence gatherers, surveillance photographers, evidential loggists, advanced driver/motorcyclists and urban observation post professionally accredited. Many retain additional specialist skills such as covert biometric collection, tracking, audio/visual technical deployments and covert behavioural detection. We also provide a highly specialist covert method of entry team capable of covertly disarming the full spectrum of physical and electronic signals-based security and separately, a covert forensic retrieval capability. Often deployed against those who are trained in various aspects of covert methodology our teams are highly proficient in identifying counter surveillance and mitigating anti surveillance. Our teams are interoperable, all joining SIS from the same Government background. Highly vetted, professionally accredited, exceptionally experienced our conventional teams link seamlessly with our technical, counter and protective surveillance capabilities. All provide written and oral witness evidence where necessary and provide expert evidence on surveillance practice and the evidential/intelligence value of their observations. They are adept at quickly identifying and recording relevant fact required to drive investigations forward and maximise intelligence exploitation opportunities. Our teams also gather evidence and collect intelligence from static locations such as urban and rural observation posts and/or bespoke vehicle platforms, supported through our technical surveillance capabilities. Within our conventional teams we also provide a highly specialist covert forensic / biometric retrieval capability. From intelligence gathering National Security operations to evidential Counter Terrorism operations, Government anti-corruption investigations, fraud investigations and the identification, disruption and dismantling of organised criminal networks concerned in the most serious criminality, our experience and professional capability in driving surveillance led investigations is simply unrivalled. Our conventional surveillance capabilities are second to none.

The covert monitoring, observing, listening and recording of a subject’s movements, associations, conversations, communications and other activities utilising covert technologies and equipment to assist in the acquisition of critical information, Our technical surveillance capabilities are usually deployed in support of our conventional teams. We work closely with UK, US and EU providers to source and develop leading edge technical surveillance equipment utilising technologies and monitoring equipment that are not commercially available in the UK. Where necessary we commission bespoke, or specialist build equipment. We have access to a vast array of tactical options from miniature tracking devices providing global 24-hour coverage capable of being unobtrusively sewen into clothing to covert location-based beacons, remote listening capabilities and covert audio/visual devices. Our surveillance photographers have access to a wide range of covert and specialist equipment including covert macro, infra-red, low light and 1000-millimetre long range lenses. SIS technical surveillance standard operating procedures do not allow reliance on cloud based or third-party servers for storage of evidential product or sensitive intelligence. Whilst live remote monitoring can be conducted via our encrypted systems, all confidential or evidential material is obtained, recorded and disseminated through a process ensuring it cannot be intercepted, altered or edited providing our clients with the highest level of provenance, integrity and security. Deployments, maintenance and recovery are risk assessed and contingency planned, undertaken by our technical surveillance operatives. Within our technical surveillance unit is our covert method of entry team (CME). Our highly specialist team provides the capability to covertly navigate the full spectrum of physical, signals based and electronic security measures.

SIS counter surveillance deployments draw heavily on our extensive experience deploying against those who themselves are trained in various aspects of covert methodology and hostile intelligence collection. Our team, directed by a former UK diplomat and full-time member of the UK Intelligence Community provides hostile surveillance detection and disruption capabilities to Government standards. Our team provides perimeter security, physical route planning, specialist search (physical & technical), behavioural detection, signals detection, penetration testing and security through bespoke detection and disruption methodologies within controlled environments providing sterile conditions formulated to ensure sensitive information remains sensitive. We are unable to offer surveillance detection services to private individuals but provide these capabilities to commercial/financial sector organisations where specific indicators suggest their legitimate interests, premises or staff may be targeted.

Our protective surveillance deployments identify risk and vulnerabilities whilst providing an unassuming covert overwatch for individuals, families, venues and locations. We provide pattern of life monitoring to assess kidnap/abduction exposure and situational awareness, stalking, and other forms of adverse targeting of individuals, their families and household staff that could directly or indirectly undermine existing security measures, compromise reputational values and identify potential integrity, blackmail and abduction issues. In addition, our protective surveillance team provides the only professionally accredited public sector covert behavioural detection officers (CBDOs) in the UK. Our team, all of whom have substantial counter terrorism experience, deploy to detect hostile reconnaissance, hostile intelligence collection activity, criminality and activism by recognising behavioural indicators within specific environments identifying, assessing and mitigating potential threats. Our behavioural detection Red Team supports venues existing security facilities to examine and assess in-house detection capabilities, responses to threat detection, risk mitigation and contingencies. We also conduct covert method of entry and penetration testing of the physical security for venues, commercial and residential premises to assess how any vulnerabilities may be compromised by internal and external threats.

The Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA) provides the legal framework defining surveillance, surveillance activity and other covert tactics such as undercover operations and communications interception. Covert surveillance is defined by Sec 48(2) RIPA, as “the covert monitoring, observing, listening and recording a person’s movements, conversations, communications or other activities, for a specific purpose or planned investigation, where private information on any individual is likely to be obtained. This is referred to as directed surveillance. In plain language, covertly following someone, in public, as part of an investigation. The legislation places justification thresholds on investigators considering the deployment of covert tactics in that they must be (and documented as such), · Proportionate. · Legal. · Accountable. · Necessary. Covert surveillance becomes intrusive surveillance when it is conducted within a dwelling or private vehicle. The justification thresholds for intrusive surveillance are considerably more stringent. This is based on the principle that there is a higher expectation of privacy in homes and private cars. In plain language, covertly watching and/or listening to someone in their home or car is intrusive surveillance. (But only if what can be seen or heard is consistently to a level of being in that room or car). There are some definitions within this that become important to understand and apply. Covert is any action taken to ensure, or attempted to ensure the surveillance (observing, monitoring, listening, recording etc) is not detected. This includes technical surveillance such as covert cameras, recording and tracking devices. Overt cameras such as security or local authority CCTV cameras are not governed by Sec48. Dwelling. This is a frequently referenced term in UK law. It means where someone lives. It could be a house, flat, houseboat or hotel room, generally if someone is living there it would be considered a dwelling. We specifically include hotel room as this, together with working environments can become a contentious issue. RIPA is about managing intrusion and balancing the Right to Privacy with legitimate investigation requirements. An example. During the course of an investigation ‘A’ is suspected of supplying ‘B’ with confidential and sensitive corporate information. Every week they meet in a pre-booked hotel room where it is suspected the information is transferred. Would it be necessary and proportionate to monitor events in that room? Yes. It is highly relevant to the investigation, there are no other less intrusive means of evidencing that transaction, monitoring within that room confined specifically to A and B’s use of it, the evidence obtained supporting a potential criminal prosecution. If we change the circumstances, that A and B meet weekly at the hotel as part of an extra marital affair, would monitoring the events in a hotel room be acceptable? No, in fact any investigator monitoring the events in that room in those circumstances could commit the offence of voyeurism under the Voyeurism Act 2019 & Sec68 Sexual Offences Act 2003. Having an affair is immoral, but not a crime. Directed surveillance is applicable to all public areas of the hotel, such as reception, bar and restaurant. Conducting surveillance in a hotel room, where there is clearly a higher expectation of privacy, is intrusive. It is the place (and occasionally the information acquired or likely to be acquired) that makes surveillance intrusive, not the tactic. Equally, although RIPA does not legislate surveillance activity specifically within the workplace, careful consideration must be given when supporting corporate internal audit investigations and staff-based issues. There is a delicate balance to be achieved in supporting Corporate investigations, managing collateral intrusion issues, protecting brand and product integrity, identifying and mitigating issues whilst promoting a safe, secure and productive working environment. From the outset investigators considering covert surveillance within the workplace may assess the justification thresholds for intrusive surveillance are met, purely based on a higher expectation of privacy within the workplace than in a public areas. Collateral intrusion is the acquisition of private information on any individual not connected with the investigation. Private information is any information about a person including gender, ethnicity, age, disability etc. An example of collateral intrusion would be where a covert camera is positioned on a door and indiscriminately records everyone entering and leaving. RIPA also defines the acquisition of legally privileged, journalistic, medical and religious material as sensitive. Covert surveillance activity likely to acquire sensitive material as part of a legitimate investigation requires special measures and when relating to legally privileged material by default meets the intrusive justification threshold. Why is compliance important? Client protection. The purpose of surveillance is to inform. To collect intelligence and gather evidence providing clarity and irrefutable information, information that can be used. Surveillance is a highly effective, cost-efficient investigative and intelligence collection tactic when obtained within the law. Surveillance is worthless and unusable if obtained illegally, leaving both corporate and private clients open to criminal allegations, litigation and adverse publicity. It is that simple. Both the Association of British Investigators and Institute of Professional Investigators, representing many private investigators in the UK have now, three years after we advocated RIPA compliance, now advised their members to comply. We provide all this at no additional cost. Our clients do not and should not pay a premium for compliance. There is more to surveillance than following someone from A to B.

Behavioural sciences have been a prominent factor in Government security and surveillance operations for many years. Commercially the uptake has been slow, perhaps through a misunderstanding of the capabilities of detection officers and how their skills in interpreting human interactions within certain environments can provide critical warning of hostile intent, detect and preempt criminal activity and identify hostile reconnaissance. It is also indispensable in providing protective and counter surveillance services. Following a sharp increase in terrorist activity in the UK and specifically the mass casualty attack at Manchester Arena in May 2017, the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill, also known as Martyn's Law is currently before Parliament and likely to become legislation this year (2025). This will place a legal obligation on venues to strengthen the security of public events, take steps to mitigate the impact of a terrorist attack and reduce harm should an attack take place. Prevention and early detection is a key component in keeping the public safe and where professionally trained and experienced behavioural detection officers are an invaluable asset within wider security arrangements. We provide the only Covert Behavioural Detection Officers commercially available in the UK. Their counter terrorism, risk assessment and mitigation experience is substantial. Deploying seamlessly in support of existing security teams they provide a wealth of experience in terrorist methodology, attack planning, contingencies, emergency service responses and interoperability.

Behavioural Detection Red Teams provide venues, premises and retail centres with the necessary opportunity to examine their behavioural detection capability, assess its effectiveness specifically within relevant environments and how this function integrates into existing security arrangements. Where the facility exists to utilise temporary structures such as knife arches or manned security cordons, assessment of where and how these can be used to enhance indications. Behavioural detection will only be as effective as the training undertaken, capability of staff in applying theoretical knowledge gained through that training to real world situations, security processes aligned to rapidly respond to BDO concerns and internal administration processes to record, monitor and evaluate relevant information. Our Behavioural Detection Red Team are the only covert behavioural detection officers (CBDOs) available in the commercial / private sector. Their experience in Counter Terrorism covert operations is substantial. Working with venues we can provide bespoke evaluation opportunities based in real world experience. What does hostile reconnaissance really look like? What behaviours are exhibited by those intent on achieving their aims? What differences are there in terrorist methodology? How will you respond, coordinate resources and mitigate risk when faced with suspected threat? We can help.

Yes, if your previous surveillance provider has encountered problems achieving your objectives we can help. Our teams can mitigate anti surveillance and identify counter surveillance HOWEVER, please consider. Any observations that follow a surveillance compromise will almost certainly only evidence the changes in a subject's behaviour resulting from that compromise, and may be unlikely to meet the initial objectives for some time.

In the UK we all have a defined legal Right to Privacy (Article 8 ECHR Act 1998) and protection from intrusion amounting to harassment/stalking. The Right to Privacy is reduced if there is reasonable suspicion of involvement in crime and/or specific other matters. Even so, the surveillance methods used need to be a proportionate response to the matter being investigated and necessary to prove involvement. If an investigation meets this threshold the use of a device providing geographic information only is unlikely to be assessed as a disproportionately intrusive tactic, provided it is only deployed for the time necessary to acquire the required information and does not accrue private information on any other unconnected individual. It is worth highlighting key considerations at this point. The device only provides information on the device. A car with a tracking device installed reports solely on the movements of the device, it does not identify who is using the car. Evidentially this is weak and uncorroborated information. The device will require monitoring, maintaining and retrieval. There are costs attributed to this. Tracking devices can be a useful tactic in building intelligence assessments and in assisting conventional surveillance teams. Used in isolation the information provided by them is uncorroborated, evidentially weak and specific only to the device (not the subject). There are other legal considerations including how the device is deployed and handling the information it provides.

Our surveillance operatives and teams are only available for daily or weekly tasking. Whilst tasked to a project they are unavailable for further tasking and committed to meeting client objectives. A working day is a consecutive ten hour period within twenty four hours, though our teams routinely deploy for extended periods beyond ten hours.

Interception of communications is a criminal offence in the UK. This also includes opening mail, listening/recording/monitoring phone calls, and accessing unopened voicemail / messages / emails. Business communications monitoring is lawful.