Oklahoma Private Investigator Essentials for Conducting Surveillance
Whenever an Oklahoma private investigator is going to conduct
surveillance for a client, there are several things he or she should do to maximize
success. The professionals at Oklahoma Judicial Process Servers www.OklahomaJudicialProcessServers.com suggest that these include items that private
investigators should do before, during, and after conducting surveillance. By following these best practices, private
investigators will help their clients get the biggest bang for their buck and
the most success with their cases.
Meanwhile, Oklahoma City private investigators will also profit through
customer referrals and continued business with the clients they already
have. The following is a short,
non-exhaustive list of things every Oklahoma private investigator should
follow:
Properly Assessing Clients’
Needs:
Private investigators need to begin by properly assessing
what the real needs of their clients are.
By having a checklist and/or via a thorough conversation, the private
investigator and the client can work together to determine the best course of
action, can troubleshoot, select the best methods, analyze budgets, etc.
This assessment also includes the responsibility that private
investigators have to not unnecessarily spend clients’ money, if they are
visibly suffering from a mental illness.
While most private investigators are not dually licensed as therapists,
sometimes such indicators of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), schizophrenia,
etc., can sometimes become blatantly apparent.
Good judgment and common sense are key elements.
Determining the
Appropriate Number of Private Investigators for the Job:
It is also necessary to determine the right number of
private investigators for the job. How
many Oklahoma private detectives are really needed to complete the surveillance
successfully? What will best work within
the client’s budget? These are all
questions that an Oklahoma private investigator and his or her client should
discuss together in advance.
Signing a Contract
That Clearly Outlines Everything:
Signing written contracts can often help eliminate
confusion, can limit liability for the private investigator, and can generally assist
everyone in staying on the same page from the beginning. Verbal agreements/contracts are often very
difficult to prove, and they can lead to unnecessary conflicts, unrealistic
expectations, and confusion.
Obtaining a Retainer
in Advance:
In most circumstances, clients should pay their private
investigator in advance. This helps keep
clients from trying to cheat a private investigator. If, for example, an Oklahoma private
investigator spends fifteen hours conducting surveillance on a house where a
person lives and no one ever comes back home, the client may not want to
pay. This can potentially lead to a rather
large and unnecessary legal conflict.
Private investigators will want to make sure that all personal or
business checks clear prior to starting services.
Preparing, Bringing
and Maintaining the Proper Equipment:
Oklahoma City private investigators should always bring what
they are going to need for the case. The
following constitute a few of the many important items that private
investigators generally need:
ü
An abundance of surveillance tapes
ü
Various recording devices
ü
Charged batteries for the recording devices
ü
At least one cell phone
ü
Cell phone charger
ü
Flashlight with strong batteries
ü
Notepad and Pencil/Pen
ü
Food, drinks, and something to urinate/defecate
in
ü
Tinted car windows
ü
Pillow, warm/cool clothing, blankets, etc.
ü
Phone numbers for local law enforcement agencies
ü
Address, identifying information, photos, etc.,
of the area and people being watched
ü
Car that does not readily stand out from the surrounding
vehicles
ü
Gun or other protective equipment for which the
private investigator is licensed
This is not an all-inclusive list. The needs for each surveillance case may vary
greatly, and they should be brought on a case-by-case basis. It always helps to have something on hand and
not need it than to need it and not have it!
Alerting the Police
and Other Oklahoma Staff About Your Presence:
Private investigators who call the police in advance to let
them know about their presence can benefit in many ways. Once the police already know the general
location of the private investigators, their physical description, a
description of their car, how they can be reached by phone, etc., they often
feel better about the situation. This
can potentially benefit both the Norman, Oklahoma private investigator and the
police.
If someone calls about a “suspicious car” or an “unusual
person” outside of a home or business, then the police may or may not come out
to investigate the matter. However,
sometimes the police, if they know about the private investigator in advance,
may simply drive by the car without stopping, getting out of their car with the
lights flashing, etc. This can really
help to save a private detective’s cover!
However, it is important to remember that privacy laws which protect the
client still apply when interacting with the law enforcement personnel.
Also, it is always important for those conducting private
investigations to let at least one other staff member know where they are at
any given time. This way if something
bad happens and things go south, someone else can at least know the private
investigator’s general whereabouts. Private
investigators should also check in with someone else from time to time.
Selecting a Decent
Observation Point:
Private investigators should always try to choose an
observation point whereby they will attract the least attention to
themselves. Of course, they can only
assume a position/location they have the right to be on (i.e., a public street),
and they may have to move or change places from time to time.
Keeping Free of
Distractions:
While conducting surveillance, it is imperative that private
detectives keep themselves free from distractions. Playing with cell phones, sleeping, or other
unnecessary items are disruptive to the process. It can take mere seconds for something to
happen, and it is vital that these precious moments are not lost to an “LOL”.
Taking Integrity
Shots/Footage or Collecting Continuous Video Footage:
Often surveillance can take many hours to complete. Clients and judges often want to know that
their Oklahoma City private detectives were there the entire time. If clients do not want and/or need their
private detective to run continuous video footage the entire time, then
integrity shots become important. One
can obtain these by simply turning on the video camera, stating the date, time,
location, what is happening, etc. The private
investigator should also have the camera’s setting to where it should automatically
note the date and time on the video, too.
Integrity shots are quite helpful for a variety of reasons.
Many clients who do not want continuous footage run on a
place want to know that their private investigators did not go home. By taking integrity shots, a private
investigator can show that he or she was indeed there at the location at the
intervals noted on the camera. This way
the client cannot come back and demand money for surveillance the private
investigator supposedly did not conduct.
Judges also like to see integrity shots for similar
reasons. They, too, want to know that
the private investigator did not just pack up and go home. That way someone under surveillance who
arrives home at 10:00 p.m. and stayed there all night, would have greater
difficulty in court claiming she had left at midnight. This would be particularly true if the woman
had parked her car or truck outside in the driveway the entire time. The judge could easily ask, “Why then, do we
have video footage of your car being parked there all night?” Once again, integrity shots can help for many
reasons!
Use Night Vision
Camera When Appropriate:
If it is even remotely possible that surveillance could occur
when it is dark, then special video cameras can certainly help! Cameras with infrared detectors can help
determine if people arrive home at night.
While they cannot provide clear visual images of the faces of those
entering and exiting an area, they can at least help show that people arrived,
left, etc. Once again, these can become
helpful to clients who are seeking to know the truth.
Effectively and
Timely Communicating Information With Clients:
Private detectives should take the time to communicate with
their clients on a regular basis. The
amount of communication may vary from client to client. Some people may want continual updates
whenever possible, while others just want to know the final result. Oklahoma private detectives who communicate
information and evidence discovered during their surveillance with their
clients, can also help collaboratively determine the best course of action for
the rest of the assignment. Oklahoma
private investigators should always discuss the amount and type of information disseminated
and to whom, before beginning surveillance.
Writing Effective Reports
& Delivering Evidence:
Oklahoma City private investigators should take care to
ensure that the reports they write for their clients are clear, concise, truthful,
and to the point. Those working for
private detective agencies should take great care to only state the facts and to
eliminate opinions and commentaries from their reports. These are legal documents that could very
well end up in a courtroom as evidence, so they need to be as accurate and
professional as possible. Also, private
investigators should take care to turn over any other evidence that belongs to the
client (i.e., video footage), too.
Testifying in Court,
if Asked:
Oklahoma private detectives who have served in the field
long enough will likely attest to the fact that courtroom testimony sometimes
becomes very necessary. Sometimes an
attorney will need more than a written report, and testifying is often
considered a billable part of the written contractual agreement. This is sometimes just a routine part of
surveillance and is something a private investigator needs to prepare for.
These are just a few of the many things that those operating
an Oklahoma private detective agency should consider. Sometimes items on the aforementioned list
may not apply. In other circumstances,
one might need to add extra items not mentioned above. However, by following this general list of
necessities, Oklahoma private investigators and their clients will generally
enjoy much more success!