Sadly enough, as a professional & licensed PI, this is the sort of situation that has become fairly common.
I don’t do surveillance much anymore, mostly because I am getting to old to sit in a 100+ degree car for 12 hours at a time. But things like this have also lessened my willingness to accept surveillance jobs.
When I first started almost 20 years ago, we seldom had people calling the cops on a “suspicious vehicle.” But in the last decade it has increased dramatically. Increased fear over child kidnappings has been much of the cause, whether warranted or not.
Pre-texts exist to help mitigate the problems if a nosy neighbor approaches the surveillance vehicle (like magnetic signs and business cards that state “Traffic Evaluation” or other service businesses). When an LEO approaches though, a pretext is unwise, instead we show our ID & license and say we are on a job. We do not, and are not required to, ID who we are watching or why (we actually have some rules in place by DPS that forbids us from breaking client confidence without certain circumstances). Most cops are understanding.
Protip: If you’re a PI, don’t look like you could be a child molester.
You mean like these guys? https://www.facebook.com/pages/Tribute-to-survivors-of-child-sexual-assault-by-law-enforcement-officers/180584842010594?sk=wall
Like.
Sadly enough, as a professional & licensed PI, this is the sort of situation that has become fairly common.
I don’t do surveillance much anymore, mostly because I am getting to old to sit in a 100+ degree car for 12 hours at a time. But things like this have also lessened my willingness to accept surveillance jobs.
When I first started almost 20 years ago, we seldom had people calling the cops on a “suspicious vehicle.” But in the last decade it has increased dramatically. Increased fear over child kidnappings has been much of the cause, whether warranted or not.
Pre-texts exist to help mitigate the problems if a nosy neighbor approaches the surveillance vehicle (like magnetic signs and business cards that state “Traffic Evaluation” or other service businesses). When an LEO approaches though, a pretext is unwise, instead we show our ID & license and say we are on a job. We do not, and are not required to, ID who we are watching or why (we actually have some rules in place by DPS that forbids us from breaking client confidence without certain circumstances). Most cops are understanding.
“we actually have some rules in place by DPS that forbids us from breaking client confidence without certain circumstances”
LSNED. Thanks.