My First Ever Spot
Picture the scene. I’d only known I was a Super Recogniser for about two weeks and I’m on the world’s first Super Recogniser training course. I’m in a classroom, listening to a mocked-up briefing, with images of ‘villains’ and a back story of their criminal activities. I’m able to look at the faces in those images for a few moments. Then I’m out on the streets in search of those faces in the crowds.
We were given a reasonably small area to cover to give us half a chance. However, it was a busy market full of tourists, local business people, and traders in lunchtime chaos.
My heart was racing, we only had a short time to find our persons of interest and I had never felt the unexpected rush of adrenaline that accompanies the ‘hunt’. It wasn’t long before I found my first target, he looked similar to the image I’d seen. I quickly followed him, grabbed a couple of covert photos for ‘Command’ as evidence, and then continued my search.
That’s when I spotted him. He happened to be walking past me in the opposite direction. The fresh-faced young guy with the messy blonde hair. Only now he’s got a beard, slicked back hair, and is quite obviously a lot older. Even then, there was absolutely no doubt in my mind, it only took a split second to recognise him. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up and I felt my heart race. Keeping calm and maintaining composure, I subtly changed direction and kept eyes on my target. I waited until it was safe to carefully grab an image of him for proof of the identification. It was such a rush!
After the exercise ended, I chatted with the ‘target’. He was completely stunned that I’d found him and when I showed him the photos I’d taken of him he was shocked. He hadn’t felt that he’d been spotted or followed.
It was an exhilarating experience, being part of a team of Super Recognisers all making unbelievable IDs together.
Would YOU like to try your hand at being a covert operative, looking for ‘villains’ and making IDs of your own? Why not join me on my next Covert Exercise Training Weekend where you’ll get to learn basic surveillance techniques, then go off into the crowded streets to find and follow your targets. For more information click here: www.facedetect.co.uk/courses
The passing of time, aging, or significant change of appearance can’t foil a Super Recogniser!