So you’re considering a career in private investigation. Well, you don’t have to jump in with both feet right away. You can work as a part-time private investigator and see how it feels first. Most private eyes who’ve been in the business for several years will tell you that a great deal of what they do involve surveillance activities from their cars. Cases they generally take in have to do with infidelity issues and insurance claims for (often) bogus injuries.

Top 10 Surveillance and/or Investigation Techniques

Don’t go into private investigation totally clueless. If all you know about private eye work you gained from watching detective shows and spy movies, do some more research. Read up on the subject and consult with pros that have been in the business for years.

Here’s a list of 10 investigation and/or surveillance techniques worth considering as a private investigator wannabe:

• The lack of moisture or dew on vehicles during the morning hours could indicate that they were moved sometime the previous night.
•  You can find out if a residence is a multi- or single-family home by counting the number of electric meters.
• Minivans are perfect for undercover surveillance. Get one that has tinted glass so you can go sit in back unnoticed.
• When tailing someone in the city, stay close to the vehicle’s bumper, but allow one car between you to act as a buffer in slow-traffic areas.
• Verify that you’ve got the right address by checking the mailbox name or taking a peek at mail if some are sticking out.
• If the person you’re tailing stops at a house, drive past them and turn or park in an empty driveway to make it look like you belong in that area.
• Accurately measuring a person’s height might be tough, especially if you’re not supposed to let the other person know you’re watching them. Estimate the tailed person’s height by comparing it with that of whatever vehicle he gets into or exits from.
• Stakeouts can last several hours and happen in less-than-ideal conditions. You might find yourself stuck staking out someone in a place where there are no convenience stores nearby so always keep a couple of rolls of toilet paper in the car.
• Use voice recorders or pen and paper to take detailed notes. Be sure to write the date and times, the makes and plates of vehicles present, vehicular movements if any, people showing up and other data. Clear notes are extremely important for both you and the report you’re going to give your clients. As a private investigator, there might be instances wherein you’ll be asked to testify in court so notes accuracy is crucial.
• When taking videos, you’ll be stop-starting the camera multiple times. Create clear borders between video clips by putting your hand over the camera at the end of each recorded segment. See to it that the camera settings, specifically the time and date stamps, appear on the tape. Always take a panoramic shot of the vehicle and location. This is for purposes of verifying that the person in question was indeed there.

Private investigators spend a lot of time on surveillance. This usually involves hours of watching nothing happen, followed by brief seconds or minutes of pounding excitement. Make sure you make those small windows of adrenaline-pumping excitement pay off by using and following appropriate investigative methods and techniques.

Re-Tweet This Post