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When I look back on my surveillance career there were definitely some surveillance cases where I could have done things better.  I could have made better decisions that didn’t resort in a surveillance story where I was freaked out.  But like any surveillance story, there are plenty of things you can learn from.  This can be a funny surveillance story and scary at the same time.  At least it was for me.

Just to provide some context to this story I want you to know that I was aggressive with my surveillance efforts in my early years (very early years). It wasn’t because I wanted to be aggressive necessarily but because it was how I was trained.  It also had a lot to do with client expectations/requirements and limited resources that almost required me to be aggressive in finding out information.  

Also, I will have to be vague in some areas of this story but it will not take away from the story itself.

The Scary and Funny Surveillance Story (At least in my eyes)

The story begins with me traveling to another state that is predominantly rural.  I landed in that state and secured my rental vehicle which was a Toyota Sienna.  

Whenever I travel for work and have to rent a vehicle for surveillance, I always ask for a vehicle with tinted windows.  This usually ends up being a larger vehicle which suits me just fine.

I worked one surveillance assignment after arriving and it went pretty rough. Nothing went right and it just didn’t go well. 

The Second Surveillance Assignment

I then traveled five hours to the area where my next assignment/surveillance was to take place. I prepared for the following day of surveillance and went to bed.

The following morning I arrived at the residence and established a surveillance position without a view of the residence.  There was just no place to park with a view.

Since I had limited access to information those days, and I didn’t know what the person looked like that I was conducting surveillance on, I knocked on the door of the residence.   

This was required by either the client or the company I worked for (confirming someone home by the 4-hour mark).

Through the interaction with that individual I was able to identify them as the individual I was conducting surveillance on.  I then reestablished my surveillance position.  

At some point during the surveillance, I observed the subject of the surveillance interacting with another individual.  They were standing in front of the residence and eventually were observed departing the area with landscaping tools in the vehicle.

I followed the subject and the unidentified individual to a rural semi-residential area.  I let the subject go into the neighborhood area (if you could even call it that) and I did not immediately follow.  

At this point, I can’t remember if I made the next decision alone or after speaking to the client (to get their approval) but either way this is what happened.

I think I waited something like 30 minutes before entering the area where the subject was last observed traveling.  I eventually went into the area and located the subject on an empty piece of land.  The individual with the subject was mowing down weeds on the property while the subject just watched.

I parked with a view and attempted to videotape what I could of the activity outside the back window of the van.  I hoped that the tinted windows were enough to disguise the fact that I was in the back of the van.  As I reflect on this moment I am almost certain the tinted windows just weren’t enough.

After feeling uncomfortable with the surveillance position I decided to try a different tactic.

I departed the immediate area where the subject was located and drove to a rural area down a dirt road where there were trees.  This area was pretty far from where the subject was standing.  

There was now a large bunch of trees and distance between myself and the subject.

I exited my vehicle with my video camera and began walking through the trees and brush looking for a vantage point to video through the wooded area.

As I made my way through the wooded area I got a glimpse of the subject walking towards the outskirts of the wooded area.  He had walked a great distance from where he was standing originally and was approaching my location.

To say I freaked out and was scared would be an understatement.  My stomach sank and my heart started pumping like crazy. I immediately turned around and ran faster then I had in a decade towards my vehicle.  If this individual was to get a hold of me there was going to be trouble.

As I ran back to my vehicle I stepped in some really squishy mud and my left shoe stayed in the mud while I made a couple more steps.  For a moment I almost left my shoe in the mud because I didn’t want to get caught.  I then ran back for my shoe, pulled it out of the mud and continued running while I carried my shoe in my hand.  

I jumped in my vehicle and tore out of the area.  

The case was done and I was burned.

WHAT CAN YOU LEARN FROM THIS SEMI FUNNY SURVEILLANCE STORY 

Making Contact With A Subject 

I think if I could have avoided making contact with the subject I would have avoided it.  But due to the layout of the area and likely the lack of a phone number for the residence (to pretext) I was forced to confirm the subject home by knocking on the door.  This also allowed me the opportunity to identify what the subject looked like but it also opens the door for suspicion and limits possible covert surveillance opportunities should they be available.

I learned later to be more patient as a surveillance investigator and now have a more passive approach.  This has benefited me greatly with not causing suspicion in a neighborhood.  And because of this, I am able to have more billable days (8 hour days).

Parking Too Close

My second error was parking as close as I did to the subject in the semi-rural area to videotape through van windows that weren’t limo tint.  If he wasn’t onto me before that moment he probably was by that point.

I was much more eager to push the envelope earlier in my career to get as much video as I possibly and to outperform the other investigators in the company I worked for. And frankly this was how I was taught and it was also the culture of the company.

If I would have stopped being aggressive at this point I might have been able to continue the investigation. But no, I had to keep pushing.

The Woods Was The Cherry on Top (On the Mistake Sundae)

Going to the wooded area as me going overboard with being aggressive.   And because I didn’t identify the fact that the subject was on to me earlier in the investigation it almost resulted in an incident.  It was stupid and I don’t know what I was thinking.  

I was lucky to get away (literally and figuratively) with only being burned (compromised) on the file. I am lucky something worse didn’t happen other than having a wet muddy sock from running without one shoe on my foot.

Billing Out The Assignment (The bigger picture)

I honestly don’t remember how many days of surveillance I was assigned on this file. I can’t remember if this was the first day of surveillance or not.

The problem with being too aggressive on files is it can ruin the assignment and cost a private investigator future work.  If this was a 3-day assignment and I got burned on the first day then I would lose two days of work.  

In situations where your subject is in a location that makes you vulnerable to getting caught, you sometimes have to weigh the situation and make the best decision you can as to how aggressive you want to be.  Every situation is different and none can be evaluated exactly the same.

Final Thoughts on This Scary/Funny Surveillance Story

I made many mistakes on this file.  I was too aggressive on this file for sure.  I also didn’t identify when the subject was suspicious early on. And because I didn’t figure out that the subject was suspicious I broke Olympic running records while only wearing one shoe.

I am much more careful not to insert myself into a surveillance unless I absolutely have to these days.  I have the ability to identify people many more ways than just contacting the residence and this allows me to be more covert and almost never burn up a case.

I hope you were entertained and learned something from the mistakes in this surveillance story.  I certainly learned a lot from this specific assignment.