METHOD MEN: GANGS & POLICE USE SIMILAR TACTICS

Cops, Crooks Keeping an Eye on Each Other

The Police, it seems, understand local law enforecement.

Or, at least in the context of counter-intelligence techniques
employed by Abbotsford gangs, the famous British band understands what
local officers are up against -- because some days it feels like every
move they make, someone's watching them.

Ostensibly mirroring traditional police observation methods, organized
crime has taken a page out of law enforcement handbooks by keeping
tabs on the officers themselves.

"As a result of an investigation, or warrant, we have found [gangs]
have created counter-intelligence profiles on the officers that are
tracking them," Abbotsford Police Const. Ian MacDonald said.

Because of this spy vs. spy behaviour, police must keep tight control
of operational information or risk jeopardizing ongoing criminal
investigations through leaked intelligence, he said.

"If you know who is coming after you, it gives you an advantage,"
MacDonald said.

"Knowing the types of vehicles police drive, specifics about hours
worked and locations being frequented, all those things come into play."

With a plethora of counter-intelligence technology readily available
from storefront retail operators and online distributors, criminals
can get their hands on the best high-tech gear money can buy.

Sgt. Shinder Kirk of the RCMP Integrated Gang Task Force said while
criminals have been keeping tabs on cops for decades, they also use
the same intelligence-gathering techniques for potential targets and
business ventures.

The concept is an old one, but it goes hand-in-hand with running a
criminal enterprise, he said.

"It's almost a standard operating procedure to gather information . .
. certainly in the gang world.

"It's an evolutionary process, we now have various social media to
source information from on the Internet," Kirk said.

"The exchange of information within the criminal underworld occurs
much more frequently than it previously did when it was by word of
mouth or written form."

Marijuana grow operations continue to employ sophisticated
closed-circuit camera technology to warn of police, or rival gangs
approaching the property, MacDonald said.

"We've found CCTV in some locations where there is no on-site
recording device . . . the video feed is either to off-site or it's
over the Internet.

"Not only do you know your actions - or anyone's actions - are being
observed, but they are being observed from a remote location," he said.

Utilizing this type of monitoring system affords criminals plenty of
heads-up time to react if rivals are engaging in a grow-rip, or if
police are surrounding the grow-op, MacDonald said.

"If [criminals] were in a situation where they wanted to barricade
[doors] or arm themselves, it can afford them time to do that."

Surveillance can be a double-edged sword for criminals, MacDonald
said. Police usually seize any equipment present and often any
recordings of criminal activity can build prosecutors a stronger case.

"If bad guy is on video engaging in criminal enterprise, now we have
video of that, he said.

"And depending on how much footage is there, they sometimes capture
the comings and goings of their colleagues."