Former covert operative Fabian Lord takes on the role of 'Control' as the lead consultant guiding viewers through a brief history of surveillance and tactics that will be in use throughout the series.
Control (Fabian Lord) discusses the history of surveillance throughout the centuries and the various techniques available and in use by governments and militaries all around the world. We have a clear insight of a day in the life of a covert surveillance operative.
Each surveillance operative has to meticulously plan with excruciating detail to ensure they have contingencies for almost every eventuality. In our first case study, we go through a client briefing assessing what information is required in order to conduct a thorough operation. Control (Fabian Lord) then briefs the surveillance team. We follow the team out into the theatre of operations to conduct a full residential reconnaissance using ground observations and satellite imagery.
The team go on location to test various pieces of surveillance equipment, the toys. Vehicle trackers are deployed and tested in an operational capacity demonstrating how operatives use equipment in the theatre of operations in exactly the same way espionage agents deploy the equipment in the field.
Control (Fabian Lord) and the team show what it takes to conduct both foot and mobile surveillance. A case study takes the team into a commercial theatre of operations where they first conduct a thorough reconnaissance, followed by a period of covert surveillance on a target.
Having mastered observation and surveillance skills, Control requires the team to set up a stakeout in a fixed observation post. The surveillance operatives progress through the 5 stages of the Surveillance Cycle whilst monitoring a target between their residence and their place of work. What could possibly go wrong?
The team receive a call from an upset housewife who is concerned about her partner's erratic behaviour and regular disappearances. Control undertakes a briefing and conducts an initial reconnaissance of the new theatre of operations. The team are then deployed to the operational area and eventually establish the cause of the partner's peculiar behaviour.
The operatives take ordinary members of the public through fast-track training in the classroom, teaching them the skills and techniques used by some of the world's elite espionage agencies, covering spycraft, surveillance methods, legal issues and putting them through a series of simulated high-pressure problem-solving exercises.
As the new team members complete their Spy School training, they're taking out into the field to conduct a live surveillance exercise where they will hone their skills at 'going grey' and not standing out whilst conducting both foot and mobile surveillance on a real target. They must complete their mission objectives without being detected by their target.
