For more elaborate operations, it may be necessary to establish a multiple surveillance operation, for which your van would make an ideal operating base. You will need more field operatives, at least two per anticipated target, as well as additional equipment and disguises etc. From a driving point of view, the difficulty  arises when the targets travel in one vehicle and then  separate.

As we have previously mentioned, a typical surveillance  van can be equipped with mountain bikes and  so when a target leaves the vehicle that you are following, you can let an operative out unseen to con­tinue pursuit. If the second target has his own vehicle, in urban areas the bike is often sufficient to con­tinue the operation. If this is not the case, such as a rural location or on a dual carriageway, then a deci­sion needs to be made as to which to follow at that point. Generally, if the target vehicle has additional targets on board, you may choose to follow it and leave an operative to try to follow the loose target as best he can.

If he begins to follow by bike, he can always change to a car or taxi as soon as the circumstances  allow - especially if arranged by yourself by telephone. This is often enough to overcome the crisis and the target can be covered safely. However, it is also easy to loose this second target if he has prepared his own getaway previously and you should be prepared for this eventuality. Don't forget you will need to re­ cover your operative at some point.

But what if the targets are all in vehicles, then you need to arrange for a set operation plan for which you will act as co-ordinator. If you adopt this role, take a back-seat in the main surveillance and concentrate on co-ordinating and assisting where possible. However, you need to move with your targets, so choose the most important and follow well back - tailing the tail vehicle ideally. This way, any sudden problem   can be overcome by you taking over and continuing the surveillance.

If the operation is convergent rather than divergent, in that the vehicles all start separately but converge on one point to meet, then the only real problem lies in the number of your own vehicles present at the scene. Ensure that each driver is briefed on more than one targets address and route in order to swap them during the meeting and so vary the vehicle being used to follow the target. Never use the same vehicle both ways if it is avoidable, the risk of detection is always present and on a two-way journey the coincidence of being followed by the same car is often spotted quite quickly.

Whatever the needs of the operation or the number of targets to follow, there is one more impor­tant area to consider, the driver.

Whether it is simply you or the team working for you, the stress increase caused by surveillance is such that you will need to consider providing opportunities for training exercises and for improving the skills previously discussed - observation and spatial awareness. Allow for the fat that different operatives will have wildly differing levels of skill and do not expect them all to have the ability to naturally drive well. If further training is required, try to use professional organisations that can offer practical training in the ar­eas that you require. The typical route of using RoSPA or the 1AM may only serve to reinforce basic driving skills and may not push the skill levels of your operatives sufficiently to be of benefit to your op­erational requirements.