COMPANY PROFILE:
CROPS
pmcimagazine.com
TRAINING:
CROPS SCHOOL OF RURAL SURVEILLANCE
At PMCI we are always interested in looking at unique training courses and programmes
that will let serving personnel or those leaving the military hone certain areas of
their skillset. Recently I was lucky enough to speak to Ben Wall of CROPS School of
Surveillance to find out what they’re all about.
I
had a look at Bens excellent book on Covert Rural
Surveillance (you’ll find a review of this on page
8), and after reading it I was intrigued to find out
more about the CROPS School of Surveillance, how
they came into being, their ethos, and exactly
what they offer in terms of training courses. What
I discovered after talking to Ben was something
very unique indeed!
PMCI: What led you to write your book?
While working full time as a surveillance officer
I started typing out all the skills, drills and selftaught knowledge I had gained over the years.
By the time I believed I had finished two big ring binders
had been filled, and as time went by this turned into four. I
then approached an individual who I have a massive amount
of professional respect for about a possible project, there
was clearly a gap in the market for a training manual for this
specialised skill set. And so ‘Covert Rural Surveillance’ became
a full on project kept a secret by only the very few involved.
Once published it would become the base syllabus to all
of our ‘green skills’ courses, students coming on our courses
with little or no knowledge of the