Last week a man named as Gareth Williams was discovered at his flat in London in a macabre scene. His body appears to have lain undiscovered for around two weeks and was stuffed into a sports bag. So far there have seemingly been no clues as to the murderer’s identity or even a motive that may give investigating officers a reasonable line of enquiry. No signs of forced entry were apparent at the crime scene. The named man was understood to be an MI6 agent, which makes the discovery even more bizarre.

Was Williams on an undercover operation, but his identity was uncovered leading to his death as a cover up? If this was the case, then why was the agents body not discovered earlier. Surely colleagues would have become suspicious earlier and the discovery would have been made earlier. More to the point. If Williams had been assassinated by the opposition, then surely some sort of untraceable method would have been used to kill him rather than what must have clearly been a ‘butchers job’. Of course with there being no notable forced entry into the flat then the murderer could also have been somebody that he knew who was invited inside his flat and who later attacked and killed Williams. Could it have been a work colleague with something to hide or maybe a partner who committed this gruesome act as a result of a violent argument?

Whatever your opinion is, one thing is for sure. We probably won’t find out what really happened for another 50 years! And with spies recently being discovered and uncovered in the US, who says the cold war is over. I don’t think that it ever really was, it had just changed shape and gone further underground.

This week we have had many incidents in the news that have all made us think about security and surveillance. Firstly we had the Russian Spying fiasco in the US, which culminated in the exchange between Russia and USA of each others captured spies. Then, more locally we have had the controversy in relation to the CCTV cameras being erected in a predominantly Muslim area of Birmingham.

I think that many cannot believe that in this day and age we have Russians living undercover in the USA. OK, it is understood that these were not really high profile spies, but still, even though their threat to national security may have been low, the ’sending home’ exchange of each others spies sends a message to the other side that the vigilance of their own security services has not slipped. As regards the cameras in the Muslim community. I wonder if there would have been a big outcry if these cameras had been erected in a community with another predominantly religious group. It is my belief that it would probably not have been newsworthy.

Overall, there has always been a mainly subdued opposition to the introduction of ‘Spy Cameras’ and CCTV in the community. Whilst I do believe that we have to be careful not to erect CCTV and spy cameras for the sake of it; most are put in place after much consultation. Most of us do not concern ourselves with CCTV cameras in our streets or in shops and businesses, because we are law-abiding citizens and their presence does not hold any fear for us.

One final thought on this subject. If there had been far more CCTV cameras in place in Rothbury, then there is a distinct possibility that Police would have cornered Raoul Moat far earlier rather than the fiasco running on for nearly a week. I guess that hindsight is a wonderful thing.

Here at Spy Equipment UK we have in the past consistently been asked for a GPS tracking device that was small and discreet enough to place in a handbag or a piece of luggage in order to track the movements of the carrier of the bag. Now, we all know that ladies carry everything, but the kitchen sink in their handbags, so hiding a device in there should really be quite easy shouldn’t it? Maybe not, because in my experience, however disorganised, women still quite often have a system in their bags and even if they don’t, an unusual item discovered whilst rooting round in the bags for the mobile phone or keys would arouse suspicion.

Until now there wasn’t a device compact enough and powerful enough to insert in the lining of a handbag or suitcase without it intruding into the general bag space. However, now at Spy Equipment UK, we have just launched a new extremely compact GPS Logger that is about 38 mm square and thin enough to slip inside the lining of a bag with ease. The iTrail GPS Logger records up to 120 hours of data onto its internal memory that can be subsequently downloaded onto a PC at a later time to give a comprehensive map of movements of the tracker or in fact the item in which it was secreted. With battery-saving technology inside, this device will also lend itself the quick deply vehicle tracking and in some instances it may be possible to hide the device in an unused pocket of a coat.

Whatever you decide, this new compact and sophisticated device is sure to pave the way for a whole host a new applications, devised by those customers who have a need for gathering evidence in this way.

If you look back over the history of surveillance equipment you will see the amazing leaps forwards that we have enjoyed over the past 10 years. GSM bugs have gone from the size of the first mobile phones to no bigger than a car key fob, camera lens have gotten smaller and battery lives increased. This article is a brief look at the possible future for spy & surveillance equipment from Spy Equipment UK.

With the advent of ‘Smart Phones’, and a wider range of operating systems, the conventional Spy Phone software available on the market is no longer compatible. Spy Equipment UK, however, have been working away on this problem for some time and are weeks away from unveiling a new breed of software that will operate on almost all of the latest handsets available. This will allow Spy Equipment UK to offer software packages for use on Blackberries, iPones, Windows Mobile, Android, Nokia and Sony Ericsson handsets to name a few.

What about evidence gathering? If something is going to be included in court then time and date stamping is crucial and if GPS location can also be incorporated to show where something was taking place, then the evidence whether video or audio will stand up for itself. In the future we are sure to see new cutting edge devices that automatically include time, date and GPS location stamping as a matter of course. Let’s see them wriggle out of that one!

In today’s technology fueled world it can be harder and harder to protect your personal details or personal property. With thieves having access to a range of high tech, covert means of gathering sensitive information about you or your possessions it can be important to be upto date with the means and availability of protection equipment, this is where Spy Equipment UK are here to help you.

The first stop is Spy Equipment UK’s Security Solutions, this section of the SEUK website is dedicated to bringing you the latest in home and personal security items from our range. In the area of personal data security there a re a few options such as the Personal Pocket Safe, a secure data storage unit with a near unbreakable 256bit encryption system. PC Shelter is also an excellent option as this software can help protect you against some of the most common data theft techniques around.  In addition to these there is also SEUK’s White Noise Generation CD, a simple way of disrupting audio monitoring in the general vicinity by filling the background with white noise, making voice detection near impossible. SEUK also offer a range of outdoor camera systems for protecting valuable property whilst you are not around along with an In-car camera and logger system and covert vehicle tracker for vehicle safety and security.

Spy Equipment UK also offer a range of Bug Hunting devices aimed at hunting out transmition type bugging devices, these can be found in our Bug Detection Section and Bug Hunters Sub-Section. These units can detect bugs ranging from 1MHz all the way up to 12GHz depending on the model you go for, however it is worth mentioning that only the highest quality bugging devices would operate near such a high frequency.

So as you can see, it isn’t too hard to keep one step ahead and protect that which is important to you with a little help from Spy Equipment UK.

Spy Equipment UK are always looking to add new quality products to the range and certainly over the last six to twelve months there have been a number of bodyworn camera recording solutions that have come onto the market that provide simple and discreet recording solutions. Here at Spy Equipment UK we have been evaluating emerging product lines and as a result we have now launched a high quality simple and robust covert camera device called the USB Mini Recorder.

This device is made from high quality materials and manufactured to a superb standard. The unit can be clipped into a top pocket which is the ideal height to record a face to face meeting because it looks from the outside like the wearer is carrying a marker pen in the top pocket. The unit could also be clipped into the outside pocket of a bag and this means that the camera can face the recording subject, whilst the operator can be looking elsewhere. Of course placement of this device is not limited to these two scenarios because the device is small enough to be concealed in many everyday objects.

Built into the clip is a decent resolution CMOS camera system and an excellent microphone. There is a concealed Micro SD Card slot taking a maximum card size of 2GB. The USB Mini Recorder captures video/audio onto the inserted SD card, which can be played back and stored onto a computer. Of course not having to rely on a rewritable internal memory means that original evidence does not have to be deleted.

All in all, the USB Mini Recorder is very simple to use and will appeal to both the professional investigator or the amateur sleuth. Whatever your requirement, the USB Mini Recorder is competitively priced and is sure not to break the bank.

At Spy Equipment UK we have to keep up-to-date on the legalities in relation to the equipment that we sell. Any equipment that transmits on a radio frequency (RF), is subject to strict criteria and as such must comply to certain regulations. The government regulatory body in the UK is OFCOM (Office of Communications) and it is this agency that enforce and advise of any existing or new transmitting equipment that is sold in the UK and in fact the EU.

Here at Spy Equipment UK we offer a range of UHF Equipment for export only outside the UK and EU, but many ask, why it is not available to UK or EU member state customers. UHF transmitters have been around now for about 30 years, likewise have been the cheaper FM Transmitter counterparts. FM Transmitters generally transmit on frequencies between 108 MHz and 115MHz of the FM band and UHF Transmitters operate generally between 395 MHz and 430 MHZ in the Ultra High Frequency band. It is not illegal to manufacture, sell for export outside EU or possess such equipment, but it is illegal to switch on an unlicensed transmitter or offer for sale to UK or SE customers.

The FM Transmitters do not comply with OFCOM regulations because the frequencies that they use sit in the range used by Air Traffic and it has been deemed that ground-based FM surveillance transmitters could possibly interfere with air traffic control. As regards the UHF Equipment, OFCOM informs us that the frequency range used is set aside for military use and therefore UHF surveillance transmitters could interfere with their usage. In short, unless granted a licence by OFCOM to operate on the frequency bands specified. It should be borne-in-mind that OFCOM do investigate and prosecute offenders and fines are often in the region of many thousands of pounds, so beware!

Here at Spy Equipment UK we have pretty much always had a range of Wireless Spy Cameras in our range of Spy Solutions. As the consumer demands more powerful and innovative solutions, so the wireless spy camera has been developed to accommodate at least some of those needs.

Lets make a number of things perfectly clear. In the UK, by law, wireless cameras are restricted in a number of ways. They have limitations on power output and frequency of transmission. In the USA these cameras are able to transmit on a number of frequencies around thew 1.2GHz range, whilst in the UK, we are restricted to a number frequencies on the 2.4GHz range. In the UK output power is kept to a maximum of 10 milliwatts in comparison to our US counterparts who not uncommonly are able to broadcast using transmitter output power of 1 Watt or above. The result is that in the UK transmission ranges have a claimed maximum of 100 metres. Let’s not forget that this distance can only be achieved under optimum conditions with line of site, so even this maximum figure is almost a dream. In the USA using a powerful 1.2GHz transmitter, broadcast distances of several miles are easily achievable. On top of these criteria, wireless cameras also need to be RoHS and CE approved.

RoHS Compliance - These Regulations implement EU Directive 2002/95 which bans the placing on the EU market of new electrical and electronic equipment containing more than agreed levels of lead, cadmium, mercury, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyl (PBB) and polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) flame retardants.

CE Approval - This determines the extent to which the product complies with the essential requirements for design and manufacturing in the applicable EU directive(s). The letters “CE” are the abbreviation of French phrase “”Conformité Européene” which literaturely means “European Conformity”. The term initially used was “EC Mark” and it was officially replaced by “CE Marking” in the Directive 93/68/EEC in 1993.

OK, so the wireless cameras have to comply with certain EU tests and directives, but some may ask, why the other restrictions. Well, in the UK certain radio transmission frequency ranges have been allotted for various needs. GSM frequencies in the UK ate 800MHz and 1800MHz, our FM radios transmit on a frequency range between 87KHz to 108KHz, then we have Police, Ambulance, Fire, Air, Nautical wavebands to name but a few. In short, the radio frequencies have been divided up this way to ensure that lawful one transmission is  not affected another lawful transmission. Pirate Radio Stations are a classic example that breach this legislation. Use of 1.2GHz Wireless Cameras with a high output power would breach this same legislation, which is policed and enforced by OFCOM (Office of Communications).

Beware. If caught selling, offering for sale or using illegal wireless cameras in the UK may mean a visit from OFCOM resulting in confiscation of the equipment in question and any other equipment that is reasonably suspected to breach any of the directives. If prosecuted then fines of several thousands of pounds plus court costs may be the eventual outcome.

Here at Spy Equipment UK we have decided to give our potential customers advice on how, when and it is best to use our products. Some potential buyers may be unaware as to how they can benefit from items in our range and some will be uncertain as to how to decide on what product or products are best for them.

Part of our Customer base includes private individuals who more often than not have potential maritial or relationship problems that point towards their partner cheating on them. In a previous feed we gave an outline of certain key indicators that a cheating partner will give away. Working overtime, taking up a new hobby that takes them away from the home and more social nights out. All of these will invariably involve them using their vehicle and to a certain extent, dependant upon the nature of the affair that they are having, the location of their vehicle will give a pattern of where they are going to meet with ‘that other man or woman’. This is where Spy Equipment UK’s GPS Evolution Vehicle Tracker comes in. This tracking device can be placed completely underneath a vehicle, where it can be attached using the two very strong magnets that are on the outside of the GPS Evolution. The unit is very compact and looks rather like a vehiucle component and is therefore not ‘out-of-place’ under a vehicle. Once it is in place then monitoring of the device can be achieved remotely from any Internet-connected computer or from any WAP enabled mobile phone, so it is easy to keep up-to-date. Because the data sent out by the unit is stored on our secure tracking platform database, then it is possible to check historic data, when convenient, rather than having to monitor constantly, although it is easy to do both if required.

The GPS Evolution gives incredible results and is simple to use, even for those who are not technically-minded and with Spy Equipment UK also offering a short-term hire service, GPS vehicle tracking is an affordable solution to suit any pocket.

Spy Equipment UK have just released their latest covert tracking solution for hire and what a success it has already been! The latest in vehicle tracking devices is now available to hire rather than buy. After many requests by prospective customers, we are now offering our GPS Evolution magnetic tacking device for hire for 1, 2, 3 and 4 weeks.

This special bespoke tracking solution is the latest and most powerful vehicle surveillance solution on the market today, but with a purchase price of just under £730.00 the unique unit was out of reach of some customers who only had a short-term need for such a powerful tracking solution, which is normally the preserve of specialised users including the Police and Private Investigators. Spy Equipment UK have therefore decided to make the device available for short-term hire to cater for the needs of the temporary user. At £150 + VAT for a weeks hire, the unit is now accessible to a wider range of customers, who would otherwise have had to manage without the benefits that the GPS Evolution brings.

Already in the first few days of release, numerous customers have taken up the offer. So, if you have a need for the best covert tracking solution available, then why not log on to Spy Equipment UK to secure yours now.