Surveillance

01 Is the Client's purpose legal, moral, and ethical?

As you can imagine, our private detective agency gets an interesting amount of characters walking our doors on a daily basis. Most of these folks just need help. Some of these "clients" have ulterior motives and are seeking the services of an investigator to stalk someone or otherwise carry out activities that a professional P.I. would find to be unethical or illegal. For this reason, a good investigator has to vet the client and assess whether there is a lawful purpose for conducting surveillance. This isn't always easy because some of the "clients" are really good at being deceptive and/or playing the victim.

Surveillance is an invasive activity for the individual being watched. Investigators have access to personal information including vehicle records, driver license information, relatives and associates, addresses, emails, phone numbers, and myriad other personal data on the subject of the investigation. It is critical that the client be subjected to a fair amount of scrutiny to make sure they have a legal need for the requested surveillance and that it is ethical to do so. We often conduct a basic background check on our client to ensure they do not have a history of domestic violence or stalking behavior. We also consider the likelihood that our objective is actually attainable. Does the client have a realistic objective and can we, as professional investigators, actually resolve this matter successfully? Out of every ten people who come to us for P.I. services, we might only accept 60% of the cases.

02 Optaining information from the Client

This step is pretty straightforward, however, if it is not done properly, the entire case can fall apart. At this phase, a professional investigator will obtain any and all information about the target that might prove useful. 

• Where do they live?
• Where do they work?
• What type of car do they drive?
• What do they look like (photo of the subject)
• What route do they travel?
• What is there favorite hangout? 
• What is their typical routine?

These questions seem tedious to clients, but if this step is done well, it will ensure success on the case. Sometimes a piece of information can make the difference in success or failure in the surveillance.

If you are planning on consulting with a Private Investigator, you must understand that being open and completely honest is vital. Professional Investigators have a strict requirement to maintain confidentiality, so you can rest assured, the information is confidential.

03 Why hire Mintz Private Investigations?

We take on the most challenging cases even when the subject suspects he/she may be followed. Once we locate our subject, most likely we NEVER lose sight of them.

It is a dangerous job, and our experienced investigators follow discreetly behind the vehicle while taking video. Not only do we follow the subject in his vehicle, we will also continue the surveillance into any public establishment, ie: restaurants, hotels, coffee shops, etc. where we will obtain photos covertly and try and get close enough to listen to their conversions. Often, we hide in bushes, change uniforms, go undercover, deliver flowers, dig through trash, establish creative ruses, and most importantly, deliver results!

Chances are this is the first time you are considering using the services of a P.I. Even if your issue is sensitive, challenging or embarrassing, don’t hesitate to call us to discuss your matter. Trust us, in our years, we’ve heard it before! During our initial consultation, we will let you know the strategy, cost, time frame, and likely outcome. We only take cases where there is a reasonable expectation of success.