Blacking out your vehicle

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As every investigator is aware, it is of the utmost importance that an investigator not be seen by the subject of his investigation.  Therefore, it is often necessary to take additional steps to ensure that the investigator remains hidden.  For example, if you are stopped at a stoplight directly behind your subject, you want to make sure that the interior of your vehicle to be as black as possible.  This will make it much more difficult for your subject to identify if he/she looks in his/her rearview or side mirrors. If you can purchase a vehicle with completely black interior, including the ceiling and sun visors, that would be an ideal surveillance vehicle.  However, that is not always possible.
 
The following is a photograph of my vehicle prior to “blacking out” the vehicle:
 
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Below, is a photograph of my vehicle after “blacking out” the interior:
 
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Here are some steps to “black out” your surveillance vehicle.
 

  1. If your seats are not black, PLEASE get black seat covers. As my seats were black, I could bypass that option.
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  3. I used black spray paint to color the side columns and the sun visors.

 
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  1. If your rear doors are beige, as mine were, it is necessary to take steps to ensure that a subject will not be able to see anything if he walks up to your vehicle. As such, I glued some black cloth to the upper portions of the doors.6

 
If you take the steps outlined above, as well as tint the windows of your surveillance vehicle, you are making it that much more difficult for your subject to identify you during surveillance and possibly allowing you to get closer to your subject.


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