As Private Investigators, much of the evidence we obtain and you as our client rely on for your case is photographic and video evidence. The most common way to obtain that evidence is by surveillance. Surveillance by definition is a close observation or supervision maintained over a person, group, etc., especially one in custody or under suspicion. Surveillance in layman’s terms and in definition for a private investigator is primarily when an investigator follows a subject, the person that is being investigated for insurance fraud, marital infidelity, child custody or other undefined reasons, either by foot, vehicle, public transportation of fixed camera equipment.
CLAIMANT ON WORKERS COMPENSATION CAUGHT WORKING WHILE “INJURED” UNDER THE TABLE…
The idea of following someone seems, by television viewing, simple and always yields a result but in reality, surveillance is a difficult, learned talent that can not be taught in one afternoon. Properly conducting a mobile surveillance is somewhat of a balancing act. One one side of the equation is being too close to the subject you are following. When that occurs, you jeopardize the investigation by being observed by the subject you are following. Once that occurs, you have to terminate the investigation as the element of the unknown has been uncovered and in many states, the laws mandate that you terminate the surveillance as you then become an aggressor and are responsible for any accidents or damage caused from continuing the surveillance. The second side of the equation is being too far away from the subject you are following. When that occurs, you risk the chance of losing your subject in heavy traffic, street lights, and other vehicles getting between you and the subject, separating you and the subject to the point that you lose sight of them and eventually lose them completely.
Other factors that go into becoming an expert at surveillance is learning how to hide in plain sight. What that means is being able to sit in an area where everyone around you can see you but when they look at you, you either look the part as someone that belongs there or have proper shading from overhead clouds that create a shadow on your windows where the people around you cannot not even see into your vehicle with out approaching you. Many times, investigators utilize surveillance vans to block out any possible view from others or tint the windows of their surveillance vehicle to the point that no one could even see into the vehicle if they did approach the investigator. The real skill, however, is the investigator that uses normal vehicle, many times switching vehicle to avoid suspicion, and being able to sit in any area, hiding in plain sight, and maintaining a position where the subject cannot see you and any others that can, leave you alone because it appears that you belong.
During the course of surveillance, other factors that come into play which separate good investigators from amateurs. That skill is called maneuvering. Maneuvering is when an investigator, during the course of a mobile surveillance, can not only continue to follow the subject to and from each location without detection, but can maneuver the surveillance vehicle to a position where video can be obtained, discreetly, at each and every location the subject stops. That means, staying two or three cars behind, or pulling over onto a street location where the angle of view is still obtainable even after the subject stops, or utilizing parking lots, businesses and even private driveways where video can be obtained of the subject, exiting their vehicle, and either meeting with a person or persons or entering a building or private residence. The video clips an investigator takes has to tell a story from the start of the day to the completion of the day in order for the evidence to have its fullest effect. Other investigators that cannot maneuver properly will only obtain scattered video clips of the days events and may not even catch, on video, the only and main evidentiary clip of the day. That is why hiring the right investigator can make or break your case.
In the end, the Art of Surveillance is an acquired skill that has to be learned by years of experience. It cannot be taught. Some investigators have and some do not.
