The ACME GROUP SURVEILLANCE UNIT conducts our "undercover" and covert operations, working several different types of cases. Typically we employ this Unit to detect, observe and record fraud-related behavior, often related to insurance and business matters such as medical fraud, insurance fraud, and fraud activity in, and theft from, commercial entities. In addition, this unit is well known world-wide for its conduct of "undercover" and "red team" activities.

Members of this Unit are "trackers", expert at urban, desert and mountain terrain pursuing of human targets. Our clients include U.S. and foreign government agencies, commercial and private entities. Subjects of such moving surveillance have included suspected terrorists, criminals, stalkers, arsonists, suspects of "white collar" crime such as fraud and theft, runaways, and persons needing protection. The mission of this Unit includes locating missing persons, recovery of runaways, static surveillance of facilities and sites to observe terrorist and criminal behavior, and apprehension of fugitives from justice. In addition, this Unit is tasked with service of Orders of Protection, Restraining Orders and Injunctions, as the targets of such legal proceedings are often difficult to locate and bring to ground.

Members of the ACME GROUP SURVEILLANCE UNIT are a "ready team", fully mobile, equipped and motivated to travel to observe a site or follow a target as required. They are all highly skilled, veteran real-world operatives, with both urban (private and law enforcement) and combat environment training and experience.

While at first blush one might think that combat experience has no place in the urban environment, remember that successful surveillance is about a plan, and then a contingency plan, and then an ability to scrap both plans and stay with the target no matter what happens next. Combat experience and training provides the emotional and psychological toughness needed when events require successfully adapting to a rapidly changing environment and scenario. On the other hand, urban experience teaches one to be patient, and to appreciate and follow the rules of engagement in that context, especially concerning liability and other legal issues.

Our surveillance teams are equipped with the latest, state-of-the-art devices for communication, observation, and audio and video recording.

The SURVEILLANCE UNIT is operational world-wide.

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"RED TEAMING":

The Surveillance Unit is also tasked with "Red Team" responsibilities.

The concept of the "Red Team" involves "real-life", spontaneous, unannounced and committed testing of a security environment, for the purpose of assessing three areas of concern:
1. Are the security plan and security infrastructure effective?
2. Does the plan provide for event alternative solutions?
3. What problems arise when the security plan is tested?

"Drilling" security and non-security personnel in a particular environment (e.g., an office building) means a pre-arranged scenario where the personnel know in advance of the drill, and the personnel practice, for example, leaving the building in an orderly manner, learning and practicing what route to use in a typical emergency (fire, flood) situation. The attitude is mostly passive during the drill, with everyone either simply annoyed by the inconvenience, or happy to have a few minutes off from work. Everyone files back in, and the drill is over.

"Testing", on the other hand, is unannounced. The Red Team enters the security environment and attempts to disrupt it, "attacking" a variety of target objectives, such as people in or outside (infiltration), the water or electrical supply (service disruption), or even the structure itself (planting of a bomb-like device). Depending upon the client's objectives, no client personnel are aware of the coming test, either with regard to date and time or nature of the event, or, possibly senior personnel are advised prior to the event. Clearly, testing is most effective when it is truly unanticipated by all personnel.

Only this method of testing can determine the response capability of a security force, and the response of non-security personnel to an event scenario. Typically, after the Acme Group conducts its specialized security awareness and other security training programs for a client (see the SAEF Program™ page), a series of drills are conducted to practice the techniques learned. After the drills take place, a Red Team will attempt to infiltrate the security environment by, for example, placing a bomb-like device within the building. Either the device will go unnoticed (not a good response) or it will be noticed, or even, perhaps, hopefully, the placing of the device will be observed, and a response scenario will begin.

The response events will be observed and recorded by other Team members, and an assessment made of the result. Recommendations are then made to the client for response improvement, plan modification, additional training, as the event dictates.

Our clients request these activities after installation of new security equipment, after training of personnel, at other critical times in a typical security environment, and on an ad hoc basis, whether or not the Acme Group has performed the installation or conducted the training. In other words, we will test any security environment whether we have created it or not. Our purpose is to insure that our client has a working, protective security environment.

The Acme Group Surveillance Unit conducts "RED TEAM" activities world-wide.

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COVERT vs. "UNDERCOVER"

COVERT activity is surveillance conducted without detection by, or contact with the target. The surveillance may include the observation of persons and property, recording still and video images of human and other activity, recording conversations, and the tracking and following of people and vehicles to determine activity and location. This can be risky work, requiring great patience, stamina and self-discipline.

"UNDERCOVER" activity implies that an operative plays a role, openly, assuming an identity and appearance that allows the operative to observe and/or discover the illegal or otherwise inappropriate behavior and activities of a person, and how such activity might be related to property, a business activity or other target of the perpetrator. It is often potentially dangerous, requiring the operative to be creative, imaginative, adaptable, and highly self-motivated to succeed.