One can have a lot of fun with such tails, and it makes their lives more entertaining as well. Keeps up their morale.
For example, back when Germany was divided, every day on the good side, a US Army Cavalry unit would drive on the road next to the wall. The East Germans, in their guard towers, would have to write down every single piece of equipment they were using and wearing. The same thing, every single day. Terribly dreary life.
A witty Cavalry First Sergeant went out and bought enough propeller beanies for his entire unit. Throwing away the beanies, he then issued one little red propeller on a wire to each soldier, to put somewhere on their uniforms, so that they would spin as they went riding.
Well, spying these little red propellers through their powerful binoculars, the East German officers up in their towers about went nuts. Writing furiously, every single one of them sent immediate messages up their military chain of command, creating a short lived but intense military intelligence panic among the East Germans and Russians.
And, of course, watching the watchers, US military intelligence was wondering what in blue blazes was going on, what had lit up East German military intelligence like a Christmas tree. Needless to say, at least on the West side of the wall, after they found out what was going on, there was much glee.
As far as police officer tails go, that can be even more entertaining, because they can notice so much more detail. As long as whatever you do seems to form a pattern, it will get scrutinized. For instance, from a pay phone, three times in one day call a different plumber, and when they answer, ask for “Manny”. When they say there is no Manny there, thank them and hang up. It helps to be creative.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/blog/2009/may/19/bilderberg-skelton-greece
This is a Guardian correspondent arguing for the individual and against identity cards.