# Occupational Collection Surface **Entity class:** Analytic boundary concept **Domain:** Occupational access / reporting systems ## Definition An **occupational collection surface** is the population of workers whose ordinary duties give them recurring access to places, records, transactions, transportation systems, communications, infrastructure, or behavior that may become relevant to an investigation or public-safety report. Access is not participation. A postal employee, airline employee, truck driver, security guard, banker, utility worker, or records custodian is not an intelligence actor merely because the occupation could supply observations or records. Participation begins only with a report, authorized task, source relationship, legal process, liaison function, or other documented act. ## Relationships - **implemented historically through:** [[wiki/Highway Watch|Highway Watch]], [[wiki/First Observer Plus|First Observer Plus]], and the proposed [[wiki/Operation TIPS|Operation TIPS]]. - **formal-source variant:** [[wiki/Source of Information (Law Enforcement)|Source of Information]]. - **counting distinction:** [[wiki/Intelligence Participation Headcount|Intelligence Participation Headcount]]. - **larger architecture:** [[wiki/Distributed Human-Sensor and Reporting Ecology|Distributed Human-Sensor and Reporting Ecology]]. ## Sources / Provenance - [BLS — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025](https://www.bls.gov/news.release/ocwage.t01.htm) - [DOJ — Confidential Informant Guidelines, January 8, 2001](https://www.justice.gov/archives/ag/attorney-general-renos-confidential-informant-guidelines-january-8-2001)