What is a stereotypical surveillance Observer like?

Hi there. I figured that some of you might be interested in knowing what a typical surveillance Observer is like.  Almost all gamblers that I know are curious about surveillance in the people who work in it. So here's a little primer on what I've learned in the last 25 years in the business

Now I'm going to make some broad, sweeping generalizations here, that are sure to piss off some people in the industry. But let's face it, stereotypes become stereotypes for a reason.The fact of the matter is that many surveillance people are just know-it-alls and blow hearts. What that means is they think they know everything and don't mind telling you all about it and why you're wrong and why they're right and why their opinion matters.

I worked with an observer once who would listen to you talk, about whatever, anything from a surveillance topic to pop culture, to music, to, well whatever, and then he would always say the word, *actually", and then proceeded to tell you what was incorrect about what you just said as if it was 100% fact. He drove me crazy doing this, so of course I pointed it out to everyone else in the department. Pretty soon whenever he wasn't around we started saying "actually" in a mocking tone, just like he would.

In the last surveillance job that I had, I once received a 20-minute plus lecture from the supervisor who was training me, concerning the fact that we had union maintenance workers at the casino, who were the only ones allowed to do certain things. So even though the clock on the wall in the count room was off by 2 or 3 minutes no one was allowed to adjust it except for a union maintenance worker.

Because I was new to the job I just sat there and listened to her go on about it for 20 more minutes, nodding and trying not to fall asleep. What I didn't say was that I really didn't give a shit and that it would have been physically impossible for me to give  less than a shit then I already did.

Of course I am generalizing. Not all surveillance observers are like that. Some are very professional and downright smart. Usually the ones who have a little more education, I'm talking college education, are better than those that don't. Also people who have a broader amount of life experience seem to do better. A level head and a calmer personality also help, as does a sense of curiosity and tenaciousness. It is not an easy job, but parts of it can be fun and fulfilling.

However, in the casino industry, many surveillance observers are just former security officers. Some were supervisors in other departments like the pit or slots. Many times they've gone into surveillance as a way to get off of the floor, so they don't have to deal with stupid customers blowing cigarette smoke in their face. Sometimes, new observers let what little authority they have go to their heads. This can lead to problems.

One of the things all observers have to be on the lookout for is when they get questions from other employees asking them what they should do in a particular situation. The correct answer to that question is not for the surveillance Observer to give their opinion on it but rather to tell the employee to ask their supervisor or, if they are the supervisor, to look it up in their procedure manual. The last thing you want to do is tell them to do something, and then have it turn out to be wrong, and then they get to say "Well surveillance told me to do it".

What you have to drill into the head of every observer is that their job is to observe and report. That's it, nothing else. When they do draw a conclusion about a particular incident, it will be because they have video evidence to back up that conclusion. The output of the Observer, the work product, so to speak, will usually come in the form of a written report, combined with saving of the video evidence to a digital storage locker or some other form of digital media.

Occasional, the casino shift manager will call surveillance and ask for an analysis of the play of a particular player on a blackjack game. Over the next 30 minutes or so, a count check will be done on the player and the Observer will make a preliminary determination. If the surveillance department has a piece of software that analyzes the betting patterns of a player that will be used also. Once the Observer and the supervisor are in agreement about what a players doing then the casino shift manager will be notified. He's the one who will make a determination on what will be done with the player after that.

The reason I'm telling you this, is that it's sometimes difficult for new observers to understand and accept, that things have to be done in a slow and methodical way to ensure a proper outcome. Doesn't do anyone any good to fly off the handle or jump to conclusions. Some new observers can handle that, and some can't. You get some hot heads in surveillance, some people who want to overstep the bounds of their authority. Those people don't last long.

Here is the last thing I want to leave you with. The most important quality than any Observer can have is confidentiality. Nothing will get you fired faster then speaking about what's going on in the surveillance room when you're outside the room. I've seen him servers fired for telling a third-party that that someone else was being investigated. Believe me it will always make it back to the person that is being watched, and they will usually go to their boss and ask why surveillance is watching them.

So I guess what I'm saying is that your typical surveillance observer is a cocky, know-it-all, blowhard, who has to learn to tone it down quite a bit if they're going to do their job right and get along with others. It also helps if you're good with math, but that's the subject for another day.

Good Luck everybody