11 Surveillance Tips For New Private Investigators – Helping A Reader

Being a private investigator is tough. Being a new private investigator that has the primary job of conducting surveillance can be even tougher. I still remember the trials and struggles I went through as a new investigator and those days were stressful and rough.  Not just mentally but financially. I recieved a message from a new investigator who was having a hard time. The surveillance tips I share to her should help you too!

Being a new surveillance investigator is mentally tough because when things don’t go right on surveillance you begin to second guess yourself.  When you start to second guess yourself you begin to make even more mistakes.  

After you have been burned (found out) by the person you are following or you lose them, you find yourself replaying what happened during surveillance day in an attempt to figure out what went wrong.

Everything I mentioned above is normal as a surveillance investigator.  You should dwell on your mistakes because you need to improve.  You do need to replay the surveillance in your mind and try to figure out where you went wrong.  Evaluating yourself sincerely and determining your strengths and weaknesses will let you know where you need to improve.

Hi there. I am a new PI, it’s my 2nd week, and I have been on my own for one week. I really want to excel in this job and it is very challenging. Every time my subject leaves their house, they turn the corner and boom, gone. I have lost 3 out of my 6 subjects so far and iI am getting incredibly frustrated. I know i’m new, and that getting good will take time. My question is how often do new private investigators lose their subjects when they first start? is this common, or am i as terrible as i think I am. How can I avoid this? and how long did it take you to start feeling comfortable and confident in your abilities?

Alyssa Thomas

First, I just want to commend Alyssa for reaching out to me with these questions.  Many people don’t identify when they need help and many times people don’t know what they need to improve on.  I can imagine Alyssa is getting tired of calling her boss and telling her boss she lost her subject.  And I know it can feel even worse when you lose someone right when they leave their home.  There are many dimensions to being a surveillance investigator and many skills required.  Being a surveillance investigator is an art form.

I will answer these questions separately below.

How Often Do New Private Investigators Lose Their Subjects During Surveillance?

New investigators lose their subjects all of the time or they get burned all of the time.  New investigators are trying to find that happy medium where they can follow someone without being caught. All investigators are trying to find this.

Every day you work you should be trying to correct your mistakes.  I was fortunate early in my career to have a mentor to help me out.  I was also fortunate to work with dozens of other investigators frequently and I was able to see what worked for them and what didn’t.

You are not terrible, though I know you feel that way when a case doesn’t go like you think it should.  You need to realize that not every surveillance is going to go to plan. There are so many outside elements out of your control aside from the mistakes you make.  Over time you will minimize your mistakes and you will only have to deal with outside elements.

So I want you to shake it off, don’t get down on yourself (though it is only natural to do so), and keep reading.

How can you avoid losing the subject you are conducting surveillance on?

New private investigators are generally identified as new if they have worked as a private investigator for less than a year. Regardless of how long someone remains a private investigator, they will lose subjects frequently throughout their career.  Losing people during surveillance can be minimized by can not be eliminated from happening.  

There is soo many things out of a private investigator’s control while following someone it is inevitable. With that being said, ideally, you don’t want to lose a subject when leaving their home.  This will really mess up your surveillance day.  

A surveillance investigator’s main objective should always be to get the subject to their first location. Following your subject to their first location with put you at ease and should make following your subject much easier for you because no one is expecting to be followed from a store.

How a Surveillance Investigator Should Follow Someone From Their Home Without Losing Them or Getting Burned?

I want to start by providing some basic things you should be thinking about on your surveillance.  

Your Stationary Surveillance Position at the Subject’s Residence Should be 5 Houses Away Minimum.

As much as you want to get a view of your subject’s home I would recommend at the very least you be 5 houses away from your subject’s home.  If this takes puts you out of view from the subject’s residence, then that is ok.  

As long as you can see people or vehicles leaving from the residence you are in good shape. Don’t feel the need to be right on top of the residence you are conducting surveillance on. The longer you are a surveillance investigator the more comfortable you will be conducting surveillance from a distance and without a view.

Determine the Routes of Departure (Egress Routes) Before or When you Arrive

When you arrive at your surveillance try to determine the main route of departure.  You need to know which way most people are leaving the area.  This will help you in preparing for your surveillance setup. You can leverage Google Maps or Google Street View to get a sense of the entire area.  

Knowing which way the subject of your investigation will depart will put you at ease if you need to set up without a view of the residence.

If for some reason you can’t determine what the route of departure is upon arrival at the surveillance location you can try a couple of things.

Pay attention to which routes the neighbors are leaving the neighborhood.

I would recommend sitting in your front seat, especially if you don’t have a view of the residence.  You don’t have time to move from your back seat to your front seat when your subject is leaving.  As soon as your subject begins departing you need to start your car and be ready to start moving.

Only Have a View of the Subject’s Residence Long Enough to Determine the Route of Departure

There may be situations where sitting with a view of the residence for the duration of a surveillance assignment would not do well for the surveillance as a whole. You as the investigator feel as though a route of departure set up is the safest in not alerting the subject or the neighborhood.

Sometimes setting up with a view briefly can give you enough information to later move to the route of departure. You will either see someone from the subject’s residence depart or as mentioned previously you will see neighbors depart.

Have a Good Beginning to Your Surveillance (Your Initial Video)

Your surveillance position, and how you begin a case is very important.  It usually sets the tone as to whether you will be successful that day or not.  

In the morning hours upon arrival to the surveillance location, I personally videotape the residence while driving passed it so I know what vehicles are there and what they look like.  I don’t stop in front of the subject’s residence in most cases to accomplish this. I do this because I can then refer to the video later to see anything specific related to the vehicles (bumper stickers, dents, etc..). If I can videotape their plate numbers without looking suspicious I will do that as well.   

Anything that stands out about the vehicles will be easy to identify if they depart and you are on the route of departure.

Consider an Obstructed View or Route of Departure Surveillance Position

The best rule of thumb as a surveillance investigator is to try and have a view of the residence from your stationary surveillance position. However, if you find you are getting burned by subjects or losing subjects more often from the residence you may want to consider an obstructed view or route of departure surveillance set up.

Generally speaking, I sometimes look for an obstructed view of the residence to put some distance between myself and the subject’s residence. Due to not having a view of my subject’s residence, people in my subject’s residence don’t have a view of me.  You don’t want your subject or their neighbors seeing your vehicle all day when they know it doesn’t belong in the area.  And then if they see that new vehicle follow them it will be even more suspicious to the subject or neighborhood.

Don’t Get Fancy When Following Your Subject to Their First Location

Don’t get fancy.  You were likely trained to have buffer vehicles  (vehicles in between you and your subject).  There is a time and place for buffer vehicles which I will address but don’t force that to happen. If you have distanced yourself enough from the residence and given no reason to suggest your vehicle is suspicious to the subject or neighbors, you can follow someone without a buffer.

If someone is suspicious of your vehicle then a buffer vehicle won’t change the fact that they are suspicious of you.

I use buffer vehicles on freeways and rural roads.  I don’t use buffers on freeways when it is bumper-to-bumper traffic.  I use buffer vehicles on rural roads because there aren’t enough vehicles on the road and I don’t want my subject to be staring at my vehicle for long durations at a time.

Keep an Appropriate Distance at the Appropriate Times When Following Your Subject

After your subject departs their residence you are not going to immediately pull out and follow them super close. Every scenario is different consider giving it a second before you initiate mobile surveillance.

In a normal neighborhood, you will have a chance to keep them in view while not being super close to the subject. If you know that traffic lights are approaching, that may be the time when you tighten the slack so your subject doesn’t catch a green traffic light and you don’t.

If you can get them to their first location without being noticed (burned or heating up the surveillance), which in most cases you won’t if follow some of this advice, you will be in good shape for the remainder of the mobile surveillance.

A Good Surveillance Investigator Evaluates Themselves Honestly

I am pretty critical of myself. Not in a put me down kinda way but I evaluate my weaknesses, fears, and mistakes. I look at the case or cases and see where I have gone wrong and make adjustments.

Learn from your mistakes.  If you are having a hard time following your subject from their residence then sit further away from the residence on the primary route of departure.  No one is expecting someone to follow them from several blocks away. But be prepared to follow them when they drive passed you. You don’t want to struggle to get behind them because you are unprepared or not paying attention.

You, Will Be Your Biggest Obstacle as a Surveillance Investigator

One of the biggest obstacles in surveillance is you.  Not you specifically, but your brain.  Your mind will play tricks on you. You will think you are burned, or that everyone knows why your vehicle is parked in a neighborhood.  You will try so hard not to get burned that you will sabotage your surveillance and lose your subject by playing it too safe.

There will be times when you need to override your fear to see if it is legitimate. Sometimes your fear will be founded. More times than not it will not be.

How Long Will it Take for a New Surveillance Investigator to Feel Comfortable?

I probably felt confident in my abilities in my surveillance abilities after approximately 1 year of working as a surveillance investigator. I can also say I am 100 times better as a surveillance investigator than I was after 1 year.

Every day you work surveillance you will learn something new.  You will get better every day if you are self-aware and learn from your mistakes.   Everyone feels a lack of confidence when they first start as a surveillance investigator whether they admit it or not.

Absorb all the information you can as a private investigator for as long as you are in the industry. The learning does not stop at any point. 

I still remember the day I felt as though I didn’t need help from my investigation mentorship.  You will remember that day too.  I think the time it takes to feel comfortable is different for everyone.  As time goes on you will have some good surveillance cases with lots of videos and that will help you build your confidence.   Your confidence may waiver from time to time but it will always grow.