Getting The Most Out Of Your Surveillance Dollars

Like many other private investigator functions, physical surveillance has many variables that affect the cost and outcome.  Providing your investigator with as much information as possible and having a basic understanding of physical surveillance can dramatically improve the chances of your investigator getting the results you are after.

The first notion that needs to be dispelled is that real-life surveillance is the same as what is depicted on television.  A television investigator spends a measly two minutes parked at the end of the driveway, with the car motor running, and then follows directly behind the person when they leave the house.  And then somehow, magically, the television private investigator ends up with the evidence that is needed to solve the case.  On television a private investigator can charm their way into any exclusive private country club during a surveillance with a mere smile and a wink of an eye.  Not so for the real-world investigator.  In the real world, surveillance takes proper planning and is hard work that can last anywhere from a few hours to days, weeks, or even months.

In the real world, you need to determine who you want watched and what type of activity you want documented.

Is the person being watched on a recurring schedule, with a known location, and has no idea someone will be watching them?  While this is rarely the situation, it would not take an army of investigators to document their movements.  One investigator should suffice.

If, however, the person to be placed under surveillance has no set schedule, an unknown destination and has an idea that someone might be watching them, then the need for additional resources is warranted.

What activity are you hoping to document during the surveillance?  Is the activity a onetime event or an activity that happens on a regular basis?  Will the activity occur in a publicly accessible area or behind closed doors on private property?

If the person is an employee who is meeting with an unknown person, at an unknown time and location to sell stolen company property, then the investigator will only have one opportunity to get the evidence.  The need for additional surveillance team members is warranted.  Whereas when a cheating spouse is meeting their paramour for the usual Tuesday afternoon rendezvous at a known location then multiple investigators are probably not necessary.

How important is it that the investigator not be seen by the person being watched or someone else, a nosy neighbor perhaps?

If the situation dictates that under no circumstances is the subject under surveillance to know they are being watched, then the need for additional investigative resources goes up.  A decision needs to be made as to whether more investigators are involved in the surveillance, thus lessening the chances of the subject knowing they are being followed.  Or would you rather have a single investigator conduct sporadic surveillance over a period of time?

Do you know exactly who it is you want watched?  While this may sound like a strange question, in the world of investigations it is not usual to conduct surveillance on someone who has not been previously identified.  Perhaps, the reason for the surveillance is to identify the person.

Do you have a current picture of the subject? Do you know what vehicle they drive? Do they work? And, if they work, do you know their schedule?  Are you sure of their current address and phone number?

For example, recently I was assigned to conduct a surveillance on very short notice.  The case involved watching a sixty-year-old Hispanic female in a large apartment complex in Tucson, Arizona.  You need to understand that according to the Pew Research Center over 30% of the population in Arizona is Hispanic.  In certain areas of Arizona, the percentage of people who are of Hispanic origin is significantly higher.  No contact was allowed between me and the people at the apartment complex.  I was to just sit and observe. The case file had no photograph, vehicle information or any other useful identifying information.  Furthermore, no specific apartment was listed, and the subject went by several different names all of which were very common.  Even though it was a last-minute rush job, I advised the client who was a national company, that it would be better to hold off on the surveillance until a proper background was done.  I knew that with a little time and effort a proper subject profile could have been developed.  My request was denied.

Was that an effective way to conduct surveillance? Absolutely not.  The client was in such a rush to get the job done and move the file off their desk that they did not consider how prudently they were spending their surveillance dollars.

What is your budget?  Clients are often resistant to spend the money for the proper number of surveillance hours or the right number of surveillance personnel and end up severely limiting the chances of success.  Because of their reluctance, the client can end up dissatisfied with the results which is never good for the client or the investigator.

I would like to provide you with one final cautionary note.  I would advise you to be skeptical of anyone you intend to hire who claims that they can follow anybody, anywhere and that they have never been spotted or lost the subject they are following.  No investigator is invisible no matter how many years of experience they have, except for the television detective of course.