Saturday, March 17, 2012

SURVEILLANCE WORK: PI’S VS COPS

A number of people have asked me about the differences in vehicle surveillance work between law enforcement agencies and private investigators.  Probably the biggest difference is that law enforcement agencies usually use at least two or more vehicles in tailing suspects while private investigators usually do it alone with one vehicle.  The difference comes down to money and resources.  Law enforcement agencies usually have specialized surveillance teams with multiple detectives and vehicles.  They can spend days tailing suspects.  Private investigators have to work within a client’s budget and time table.  Rarely does it ever happen that a client can afford to pay to have two or more surveillance vehicles on a case.  Even rarer is when a client can afford multiple days on tailing someone.  Usually it’s one or two days.

In a multiple vehicle scenario, you can have vehicles switch off on the tail, put someone ahead of the suspect’s vehicle, and even parallel the tail.  With multiple vehicles it’s much easier to tail a vehicle when red lights, congestion or other traffic problems arise.  Law enforcement agencies even have helicopter and fixed wing aircraft to assist in the surveillance. You can start out for a couple days of ‘loose’ tailing, and then begin to tighten it up. For the private investigator, usually none of these advantages exist.  It’s usually the one lone investigator tailing the subject. 

 Even though it may seem that the deck is really stacked against the private investigator in this area, there are many outstanding vehicle surveillance specialists out there.  Some have prior law enforcement backgrounds while others learned it on the job (OJT).  They get good by doing it.  They know when to close up on a vehicle in anticipation of a red light or traffic congestion.  They know when to hold back and/or get in an adjoining lane so there not ‘bumper locking’ the tail.  They know when to pull over after turning a corner and yet keep the tailed vehicle in sight.  They know how to get the best photos and video to make their client’s case. 

Because there is usually no margin of error for the private investigator working alone, he or she just has to work harder to get the right results.  And that’s just what many of the really good surveillance specialists in the private investigation field do day in and day out.