“The fastest Lens in the West”

If you’re a serious amateur or budding professional in a surveillance platform, a CROP rural observation post or green option and really want to get the money shot then personally I believe this is the DADDY, which will help you get it!

Before we into the meat and bones you might want to read  Surveillance Photograph Getting the Money Shot “Canon EOS 7 D” first where you will get some general advice regarding camera types.  The 7D is a seriously impressive piece of equipment the Auto Focus system will blow you away!

So lets look at why this is one of the most versatile lenses on the market for surveillance photography.

Ergonomics – Are fantastic, it really is built like a tank and will withstand many knocks and scrapes that inevitably happen inside your observation post whilst conducting covert surveillance. This is the VW of Lenses and built to last!!

Image Stabilisation IS – Phenomenal, camera shake is today still the biggest cause of a bad image, IS will help to reduce that problem by cleverly working hard to compensate for movement.  It has a whopping 4 stop IS system which means shutter speeds four stops slower than normal can be used without causing a blurred image.  In an observation post we do not always have the luxury of a tripod so image stabilisation really is something to seriously think about as we often only have seconds to whip up the camera to get the money shot.

Image quality – Again Phenomenal, I’ve heard many people saying “the quality doesn’t really matter for surveillance as long as we can ID” I can see what they are saying but, the better the image quality the better the image can be enhanced if needed.  Surely we want to present the client with best possible product?  The glass on this lens is nothing short of quality and will provide outstanding results!

Ultrasonic Focusing – Lightening speed ultrasonic motor focuses very quickly, accurately and importantly, quietly.  Whether we are in the rural or urban environment noise and movement will give us away so this is always worth thinking about.

Speed – F2.8 aperture allows you to get the first & last light “money shot” I use mine from the back of my surveillance platform which reduces the light levels by at least two to three stops which means that if I was using an F4 or F5.6 lens the shot would be virtually unachievable.

Size – This lens is small enough to throw around no problem, I have carried it into a shopping centre under my jacket and pulled it out at the last safe moment and secured an image without being noticed, using only the street furniture as camouflage.  I can use this from my surveillance platform with no problems at all; anything bigger would prove more difficult.

In Summary – I was still unsure as I was parting with my hard earned cash (£1800) if I was making the right choice.  I wanted the largest focal length I could afford to allow a good stand off distance to be achieved.   I had to compromise on focal length for speed, which in the commercial surveillance industry from experience was the right choice for me.  Looking at all of the above and the fact it is water/dust proof and been used from many rural observation posts it is one piece of kit that goes with me everywhere!!

Ultimately it is expensive and if you are the type of individual who will only buy kit providing there is an instant return then this daddy is not for you!

You will have to do many jobs to get your money back, personally for me on a professional basis the ability to be able to review a workable image of good quality in lowlight situations and promulgate this to the team in minutes has made it a worthwhile investment for me.  Happy Snapping  :-)

Thomo

Lateo Surveillance

See why “Surveillance Photography is making a come back” at the following link.

Is there anything that I do not like about the industry? Of course there is, there are always going to be certain things that annoy you, some of which you may be able to influence, others not so but one thing I really do not like is the ‘no footage, no fee’ merchants that seem to be proliferating the circuit right now.  Why is this becoming more and more common amongst surveillance and PI companies? Does anyone think that it is it a good thing? Is it really the way that we should expect clients to pay for our services? Why has it become even a consideration amongst professional operators? Are the people that are happy to carry out this sort of work doing the industry more harm than good or are they just so confident that they will get some video that they are happy to work on this basis? Is anyone really that good?

This sort of way of doing business tends to be most common amongst the personal injury sector where footage is absolutely key. We are not arguing with this, not at all. Your clients will not see the planning and preparation that goes in to your jobs, they will not consider the time that you get up in the morning or that amount of time that you spend writing reports or editing video. Footage and good quality footage is all that they are interested in.  No footage, no fee seems to have become a big bargaining tool amongst those that are desperate to get in with the big clients who place out this sort of work. Look at it from the clients point of view, what have they got to lose? On the face of it nothing, nothing at all and potentially everything to gain……potentially. You have to ask yourself though, to what lengths will the ‘team’ will go to in order to get that all important video. Would they perhaps consider employing tactics that may draw suspicion when the case is looked at a little closer by defence council? Once you lose your credibility in this game then forget it. Pack up, go home and do something else. Would there perhaps be a case of people not doing assignments at all? I mean just not turning up at to massage the client and make them feel that they are getting incredible value for money? What else goes on when agencies take on work under this basis? In most cases the companies that work on the no footage no fee basis charge their clients and inflated fee if they achieve a success for them; I do not think that anyone would have an issue with rewarding success but you have to ask yourself to what lengths do these people go to in order to get that all important video?

Is this really in the clients best interest? Personally speaking we do not intend to go down this line of billing for personal injury cases. What we do is play fair with our clients, we do not charge an outrageous daily rate but we do charge a fee based on a professional service carried out by experienced professional surveillance operators. We are honest with our clients, if we get a poor result and it is our fault then we do not charge the client, we take it on the chin and come back again another day. If we have done all that we can in order to active a result but one has not been achieved then the client is billed. If we get a success and come in under budget then we play fair with the client and let then know. We do not play around with the reports or the timings. Honesty is the best policy. There is no doubt about this. None.

When it comes to surveillance operators we have seen it all over the last 35+ years. It is important to maintain your standards, maintain your integrity and be as motivated on day 2000 as you were on day one.

No footage not fee? Not for Argus Europe……..so please do not bother asking!

Getting better or worse?

Where will the situation with the security of the worlds shipping end up? How much faith is there in the nations, who’s shores are prone to piracy, and their ability to actually make a stand against what is going on? Is there maybe some sort of vested interest in many of countries that are ‘prone’ to such waterborne attacks that is preventing any worthwhile measures being taken against the pirates? This certainly seems to be the opinion of many people that we speak to throughout the world but Noel Choong of the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) suggests that countries such as Malaysia are actually taking steps against pirates in their part of the world and this has to be good news! World Maritime News

Will countries such as Somalia follow suit? Will the maritime security circuit disappear as quickly as it seemed to appear or is there just too much at stake for the shipping companies to avoid the ‘unnecessary expense’ of waterborne security advisors. As far as we are concerned security on ships is here to stay and quite rightly so but of course the industry will go through a change as it becomes more and more accepted in the shipping industry.

Throughout your career as professional Close Protection Officer you will find that you will be more or less suitable for a variety of jobs, there is almost no getting away from this. Ex Military….work in the sand right? Maybe but it doesn’t mean that you have to or that you always have to, so do not be pidgeon holed either by yourself OR by those that would wish you to remain in the sand so that you are not applying for positions that they themselves think are solely for people such as themselves. What Annabel Kantaria’s article should highlight to you is that you must look beyond London and beyond the hostile environment (HE) scene for those employment opportunities that you desire once you have become a fully qualified and licensed CPO.

Working in the worlds most desirable places will certainly not suit all those who choose a career in Close Protection,  some will never be able to fully remove their desire to live life in a way more accustom to the military and there is really nothing wrong with this but do not think that this is the only way to make a living as a CPO. The Close Protection industry is global, there is no doubt about it and UK CPOs are amongst the most sought after throughout the world. The UK has a reputation as being amongst the premier providers of security and this reputation can aid you in your search for worthwhile and interesting employment overseas. So, the next time you are on a task in some swish part of town and have thoughts of being elsewhere think twice and remember the bad times about being in those types of places!

There are couple of steps that you could put in place to avert this sort of thing happening to you. Firstly, do not just hand over information to a client, private or otherwise. Assess that person and their reasons for the enquiry and make a decision about the reasons for the investigation. Are they genuine? If the case is similar to that of Mr Y and Mr X then the other thing that you must do is get in touch with the 3rd party first and tell them that you have been tasked by the named long lost friend who wished to re-establish a friendship and is it ok to pass on your information? Make it clear to your client from the outset that should you be successful in finding said person you will be getting in touch with them and making them aware of the situation. The person whom you have located may prefer to get the contact details of your client and get in touch with them rather than the other way around. To this end you must also ensure that your client is happy for their information to be passed on and if they are genuine then this really should be no problem.

Audit Trail

Why not use Evernote to keep your case notes on? This way you can make it quite clear that in your opinion your client is genuine as are their requests at each phase of the investigation. Keep a diary of your meetings and telephone conversations, you do not have to keep volumes of information, just what is relevant, highlighting any concerns that you may. Evernote can also be used to keep a record of all of the information that you have been given by your client and any actions carried out by you. When you find information that may be questioned by the authorities such as telephone numbers and addresses you can show an audit trail to prove that you only used open source intelligence (OSINT) to gather your information. It is a bit like showing your workings out in a Maths test, points may be awarded even though the correct answer has not been arrived at!

Flexibility and Adaptability

I feel that this is one of the strong points of Evernote. It is cross platform, has mobile applications, a web interface and also online backup. You can be out with a client and take all of the notes that you require, perhaps some images and by the time you get back to the office they are already there with your secretary who is making preliminary enquiries on your behalf. All of a sudden that 2 hr drive back to the office can be full of productivity and not just you thinking about the case………..but if you do come up with a great idea on the way back you can make a voice note or take a picture and Evernote will sync that for you also!

How secure is Evernote?

There is always a weak link in any system and anyone that tells you otherwise is overly confident in their product or their system. Evernote is a paperless filling system, something which i love, but its likely that there will always be the need for some sort of physical paper trail, indeed some people love volumes of paper held within filing cabinets but is that really safe? Offices get broken in to, papers misplaced (just ask HMG), fires occur…..the list goes on. Sure, computers can be lost and stolen, hard drives can become corrupted and files infected so for me there is no absolute safe system. However, because Evernote can sync with a central server, if your computer does fail then you have a back up so that you can continue on with your very important case without any detriment to the client. If your computer is stolen you can go online and delete what you have (or copy elsewhere) and of course you can choose to keep a local copy only if you really do not wish to sync over the internet. If you make your notes on a mobile device such as an iPhone or iPad and you loose the device you can of course use the remote wipe feature to get rid of all of your phones data but of course you still have the data and can re-store it your mobile device once a replacement is sourced.

Evernote is a great application for productivity and comes highly recommended by me!

What can you do to get to become the go to guy?

1. Answer your mobile phone! Not just between 0900 – 1700 but whenever it rings and wherever you are. Take it to the toilet. Have it close by during meal times. Sleep with it beside your bed with it switched on. ALWAYS have your mobile with you!
2. If you cannot answer the phone then ensure you have a professional sounding answer phone message or even an auto-responder ‘app’.
3. Do whatever you can to deploy for people when they ring. Take a short notice, short duration task to show that you are willing. If you cannot do the task yourself, offer the caller an alternative and thank them for making the call. Do this and they may ring back.
4. Before deploying ask relevant questions about the tasks but do not make the first question “how much”!
5. Do a good job. Stay longer than initially asked for and do not ask for more money before you agree to stay. Over deliver.
6. Do not be brought down by any ‘doom lords’ already on the task. Set high stands,  others will be forced to up their game or ship out.
7. If asked to follow up with any reports then do so in a timely fashion and make sure that your report is as good as it can be.

Ensuring that you adhere to the list above is only the start, you really must ensure that you approach every day as if it were your first day on task, at least from a positivity point of view. Many an experienced operator have found themselves deleted from people’s speed dials because they become tired and comfortable…do not let this happen to you!

This side of the business is so important, we have mentioned many times in this blog and will no doubt revisit the subject again to reinforce the seriousness of being a professional operator.

The maritime or marsec industry as it is known on the circuit has become big business over the past 2 years due to the prevalence of such attacks. The sums of money involved when a vessel is taken over by the pirates simply eye watering making qualified and experienced security personal onboard ship an absolute must . The fact that the owners of the vessels have seen fit to employ private security contractors to help thwart the pirates is a clear sign that the threat in the region remains constant and real. Has this tactic been succesful? Well,  the numbers of attacks in the East African area down on previous years but there is also the presence of Western Military in the area to consider when looking at the figures.

Will the EU’s ‘intervention’ in to this arena cause a knock on affect in the private security industry? Maybe……would you trust the safety of your cargo and crew to the domestic security arrangements of some of the most unruly countries in the world or to a highly motivated team of security advisors with a proven track record? The shipping companies themselves will of course have a big say in who does what and they will (as ever) have an eye on their budgets but given the vast sums involved it would seem rather naive not to engage the services of the best possible security.

Business week have written an interesting article on this very subject.

• too old
• too young
• too large
• too small
• too experience and yes you guessed it
• too inexperienced

It therefore stands to reason that you will, on occasion be the wrong sex (for the job) so do not let this get you down…….it happens, get over it and move on to the next task where your sex is not an issue. Can female close protection officers be an asset to a CP Team? Yes, without doubt! Can a female close protection officer do the job better than their male counterparts? Of course they can! Is every male CPO a shining light in the industry? No, they are not, far from it in fact but many think that they are and are often shown up by ‘the fairer’ sex whilst on a deployment.

As a female CPO (or an aspiring female CPO) would it be a good idea to have a role model? In my opinion, a role model is always a good idea, or in my own case several role models. Take the good bits from various people and you will have a great (perfect?) role model and something to aim for, to aspire to and to one day maybe surpass!

Regardless of your sex, take a look at this article and then sit down and have a think about where you are, who you are, what you are doing and what you aspire to and like i tell the guys and girls who attend our courses, plan your work and work your plan!

Some of you may be aware that we have blogged about this subject before so for some more inspiration then take a look at this post.

Those keen on conspiracy may well draw various conclusions from the meeting that took place soon after the death of Mr Williams, you can read more about that one the Telegraph website. It will be interesting to see what the outcome of this case is, hopefully for the family involved there will be some sort of closure.

If you own a company yourself it is not uncommon for the company/person/authority doing the employing to ask for CV’s of those within the company so that they can see the experience that will be utilised on the contract. There is always an exception to the rule, contracts are of course handed out on recommendation only, handed down via a network and via various other means but do not rely on this, it is not the norm so aim off and ensure that you are prepared where others are not!

Your CV really is a vital part of you, especially when you are initially starting out so it is essential to make the very best first impression that you can, get this wrong and you could end up with a very long wait for your first interview never-mind your first job!

What should it contain? Well, there are various opinions on this, some I agree with and some I do not and no doubt some of you reading this will no doubt disagree with me! Listen, I am far from a CV writing expert and do not profess otherwise, however I do see a lot and do on occasion get involved with CV sifts and interviews. Is a security industry CV different to other CVs? Yes, I think it is but we can discuss that later in the blog.

What could it contain?

• your name
• your email address
• SIA licence number
• your mobile phone number
• a personal profile
• work history (reverse chronology)
• courses taken
• relevant qualifications
• personal attributes
• key skills and competancies
• inoculations (with run out dates)
• personal details such as driving licences, health, passport run out dates
• hobbies and interests
• information that is asked for within the job advert

The observant amongst you may well be thinking “why has he not said x and y”, well like I said at the top of the blog post I think security industry CVs should not contain certain information and for me 2 of them are your home telephone number and your home address and there are a couple of reasons for this. If you are applying for a job in London but live in Glasgow some recruiters may well reject you just for this reason (providing that they have sufficient good applicants) thinking that it is not worth your while. Well, when you are after that all important foot in the door it is more than likely going to be worth your while so why rule yourself out if it is not necessary? The home phone number is pretty much the same as the dialling code will giveaway your rough location. Another reason for not including your home address/number is one of personal security (persec). Now, sending your CV to a well known security company is one thing but sending it to a little known or unknown company is another. I know that people will say “do your due diligence on companies first” but that is not always practical, especially when fastball deployments are called for, so in these cases send off your CV but with the obvious persec details removed. If your CV is looked at favourably and things progress then of course the company involved will require this information but not at the outset.

A photograph or not?

If the advert specifies a photograph then a photograph should be included but it is not as simple as that. The Career Transition Workshop (CTW) people may advise your otherwise but lets talk real world here…..if the person hiring wants a photo then attach one or you are extremely unlikely to be sifted. Right or wrong this is the way it is. But where photographs are concerned there is more to it than this! I have seen photographs on CV’s of people in their holiday attire, with big ginger operational Afghan beards (looks ally right?), in their front room with the TV in the background showing a early evening soap – the lot. How difficult is to have a photograph taken either in a booth or in your own house against a plain light coloured wall whilst wearing a shirt and tie and being clean shaven? Photographs and CVs are most often requested when the employment opportunity is in the UK, hostile environment jobs less so. If the advert asks for the photograph to be attached (within) the CV the do so as sending it other than it was asked for means that you have not read the advert properly, do not have the IT skills to do so OR both!

What format should it be sent in?

Your CV should be sent in whatever format is requested by the company that has posted the vacancies and no other. Recruiters often use this to see just who can read an advert and who cannot. Attention to detail is vital within our industry so please pay attention. However, if no format is specified then I would send the document as a Microsoft Word document and also as a pdf. Word is the most common word processing programme currently in use and a pdf can be opened by any computer with a pdf reader and these are available for free and most computers come with a pdf reader of sorts.

References?

Personally speaking I hate seeing referees included on a CV. Mr Joe Blog, Z Squadron, Thereford cuts no dice…..if people want references they will ask for them and follow them up so do not waste the space it takes to include that persons address. It does not impress anyone.

CV writer? Good or bad idea?

In my personal opinion everyone has something to gain by having their CV professionally written. Going for that job that you have been after for a while? A job advertisement that you know will attract a good response and you want an edge? I have spoken with many a professional recruiter who has been impressed by a professionally written CV that they have received and yes one or two who do not like them so you cannot please all of the people all of the time. What do you say to the person at interview that questions you about your motives for having a professionally written CV? Just tell them that you are serious about your career within the security industry and that you are happy to invest in yourself. Say that you feel it is going the ‘extra mile’, a cliche perhaps but very true in my humble opinion. Do ensure that you state that your IT skills are at a good level (this is also a must) but that you felt a professional CV would show that you are serious about your career in the industry.

If you do decide to have a professional CV written we highly recommend CV Specifics having dealt with them for several years now. They offer a great service at a reasonable price.

Miscellaneous Points

• do use good IT skills
• do get others to read it and be critical
• do keep it up to date
• do not have an inappropriate email address
• do not call your cv, CV13.doc….use your name and then maybe an underscore and CV or similar
• do send the CV in the format requested
• do pay attention the the specifics of the advert

For another outlook on CVs then you could take a look at the following link……it may help! What recruiters look at!

Whatever you think of this blog and the links provided you must work hard on your CV and keep working on it as you never know when you will be asked to submit one for the job of a lifetime!

Example_CV_001