10 Successful Surveillance Tips for Private Investigators

by Scott B. Fulmer

Surveillance is an art form, not a science.  Unfortunately many of its best lessons are learned through trial and error.  Whether you conduct insurance, defense or domestic investigations, surveillance is a large part of your day as a private investigator.  The following 10 suggestions will help you conduct a more cost-effective and successful surveillance.

1. A Detailed Intake Sheet  Start by gathering as much information as you can from the client up front.  This sounds pretty obvious but you'd be surprised.  Many clients simply want to give you the subject's name, age and address and leave it at that.  A detailed intake sheet draws together information above and beyond the industry standard: information such as doctor appointments, therapy appointments, marital status, number of children, hobbies, etc.  This allows for a clearer picture of the subjects routine and helps you avoid re-inventing the wheel out in the field.  This information, together with a search of public and proprietary databases, will save you time and allow you to provide your client a more cost-effective investigation.  More...

How to Keep Your Family Safe By Using the Information in This Book

Interview with top notch Private Investigator

Enjoy this interview and learn new private investigation tips.

Worried Moms

                     A worried mother
                   does better research
                        than the FBI !

The Importance of an Investigator’s Job

As our entire nation watched another terrorist attack take place on American soil, we saw a couple of things happen.  First of all, people forgot about themselves and the danger they were facing and concentrated on helping those around them.  It was a beautiful picture of what has made America great for all these years.  Ordinary everyday people worked right alongside medical professionals, and no one pointed out the difference.

As people were moved from the scene to the hospitals and the street began to clear, investigators of different kinds began to move in and do their job.  It was up to them to secure the area to keep the evidence from becoming contaminated.  This is the first step in making sure that the individual or individuals who perpetrated this terrible crime can be brought to justice.

It is the job of the investigators working the crime scene to find evidence and to conserve it.  They look for anything they can find to prove the case in court.  They must be extremely careful not to leave their fingerprints on evidence that is found.

Over and over investigators have asked that people come forward with any information that might help them find the perpetrator.  Pictures that were taken, suspicious actions or words or mere suspicions are being looked at with the greatest of care.  It is not always a large, important clue that solves the case. This is the important job of an investigator.

Is There a Person That Gives You the Willies?

In a neighborhood in South Dakota, a mom and her three kids lived in a nice neighborhood.  Because she was a widow, the community was very helpful and supportive of her when she moved in.  They would bring her homemade meals, desserts and even offer to baby sit while she found a new job.  Of course, this woman was very happy about the support and such that she received.  She never thought about doing a personal investigation on anyone to discover a secret of anyone.The man who lived next door would often come out and talk to her over the fence.  She enjoyed gardening, so she would weed the garden and plant seeds while they chatted.  The woman noticed that her daughter enjoyed talking to the man as well.  Several times she watched the man laughing at her daughter's 8 year old jokes over the fence.  For some unknown reason, it made the hair on the back of her neck stand up.

After a couple more times of watching her daughter talk to this man over the fence, the mother informed her daughter that she was not to stand outside and speak to the man anymore.  When her daughter asked why, she didn't have a reply.  In fact, she even asked herself what made her feel so strange about the man talking to her daughter.  He had been nothing but nice and probably just felt sorry for the little ones losing their dad the way they did.  Without trying to alarm her daughter, the mom simply told her that it wasn't polite to hold the man up all day, chatting and bothering him.

Searching on the web one day, the mother came across a website where she could search public records.  The explanation of the site piqued the mother's interest and she had a thought.  Knowing the next door neighbor's name, she decided to check him out.  Because the website said that you could discover secrets about someone just by knowing their name, the mother decided to satisfy her curiosity.  She typed in the name and within seconds she was directed to a page full of secrets discovered  on this very 'nice' man.  In fact, she received his local and national criminal and civil records, his phone number, his address, and his arrest records.  It turns out that a few years ago; this man was convicted of touching a child under the age of 8 for sexual purposes - he was a local sex offender!  The mother was absolutely horrified.  She could not believe what she was reading and that no one had told her anything.

Deciding it must be a mistake, she checked the local sex offender list and sure enough, he was there.  The mother alerted the police that the man had been speaking with her daughter, and decided to move.  She was so thankful that the website had been there and that she had been feeling strangely about him.  Without those two things, she didn't want to think about what might have eventually happened.  If you are suspicious about someone, please do what this mother did and check it out.  You never know what kind of tragedy you can prevent.

Counter Surveillance: A Cleaning Run

At one time or another, every private investigator, private detective or individual will need to do a cleaning run.  This simply assures him that he is no longer being watched or followed, because no one knows where he is at.  This may be used to protect a client or to protect himself under certain circumstances.

The ebook, Cleaning Runs Advanced Security Tradecrafts by Christian McLeod, explains in detail how a professional can lose surveillance.  You will be taught the important elements that are included in a run, and then you will be taken along on a real Cleaning Run with a professional intelligence officer that is being tracked by a surveillance team so you can see how it is done.  By the time you are finished, you will know how to lose a follower.

You will learn how to examine the follower and how to detect surveillance.  Details concerning the run such as the details planning the route, schedules, methods of transportation and other important information will all be clearly explained.  If you need this type of training, this ebook is exactly what you need.

Countering Hostile Surveillance: Detect, Evade, and Neutralize Physical Surveillance Threats

Being a Private Investigator

Written by:  Barton Archer

Many people have glamorized visions of what it is to be a private investigator.  Car chases, beautiful women, and blazing gun fights capture the imagination.  And the imagination is where such notions belong.  Books, TV, movies and other media reinforce these images.

Real private investigators are basically fact-finders.  Their job is to locate information for clients who would not be able to locate it themselves.  Sometimes it involves researching records, examining documents, or conducting surveillance.  Surveillance operations can involve several hours of boredom in search of maybe a few minutes of activity.

Private investigations can cover a wide range of activities.  The insurance industry employs investigators to look into possible fraud, such as false worker's compensation claims.  Corporations use investigators to research potential business Partners, also known as due diligence investigations.  Lawyers often have investigators, either on payroll or on retainer, to work on their cases.

Another thing to keep in mind is that there are actually several different types of investigators who work in the private sector.  Traditional private investigators are essentially freelance fact-finders who offer their services to a variety of clients, ranging from lawyers to suspicious spouses to corporations.  More...


Private Investigator Entry Level (02E): An Introduction to Conducting Private Investigations