Surveillance Equipment

One of the greatest and most challenging of all surveillance jobs is that of the private investigator.  Although law enforcement agencies of all sizes also have a variety of surveillance jobs, being a private investigator offers many different branches or responsibilities so you would always find yourself challenged and never bored.  Some of the areas in which surveillance jobs performed by PIs involve include:

• Pre-employment verifications or background checks
• Celebrity or high profile individuals protection
• Copyright infringements
• Computer crimes
• Missing persons
• Child custody cases
• Spousal infidelity

Regardless of the job function, surveillance jobs are in abundance.  What makes this so intriguing is that some of the surveillance might be done by finding covert locations and sitting for hours watching and waiting for something to happen, or using a number of high-tech gadgets.  Of course, most surveillance jobs are a combination of the two, using good, old-fashioned physical work coupled with technology.  In either case, the goal is to stay out of sight while gathering pertinent information.

Let us say that you were interested in a number of surveillance jobs specific to spousal infidelity, a large and growing area of need.  In this case, you might actually follow the spouse suspected of cheating, using binoculars, hidden cameras, and listening devices.  In addition, you might find that you need to establish yourself in the same location, perhaps sitting next to the person in a bar, in the next booth over at the restaurant, standing next to him or her at a phone booth, etc.

When it comes to surveillance jobs done by private investigators, you will find that computers and computer software is essential.  Obviously, if you were a licensed PI, you are going to have access to a number of websites and databases that the average person would not be able to enter.  This wealth of information is going to help you do your job and well.  However, you will also be able to retrieve important information by using a variety of public record sites too.

In addition to special training, the right tools, and good strategies, surveillance jobs also means using a creative but common sense mind.  There will be numerous times when you are required to think outside the box to find the information you need.  For example, if you were looking for a runaway, you are going to have to get into the mind of a teenager while maintaining an adult’s perspective of the situation.

The number one thing to remember is that doing surveillance jobs as a private investigator means always maintain focus on what the client needs.  After all, you are going to be hired by people and firms to perform a variety of tasks.  Therefore, you will need to keep the mind focused and start being creative about finding the right solution.  Using knowledge and experience combined with tools of the trade will allow you to do your job well so you end up with a happy client.

Surveillance jobs might involve corporate work.  In this case, you might find yourself needing to do investigations on potential and existing employees, as well as outside customers, vendors, suppliers, etc.  This might mean identifying any employees drinking or taking drugs while at work, stealing money, supplies, or equipment from the company, cheating on reported time worked, and so on.  In this case, you are looking for answers that can save the company serious money and potential lawsuits.

Additionally, corporate surveillance jobs might also cover areas of financial crimes being committed, which might include embezzlement, cheating on taxes, boosting expense reports, and other similar issues.  The goal is not only to stop crimes from taking place but to prevent them from happening in the first place.  In other words, you are given a great opportunity to educate the client as well.

Surveillance might also include working in the legal field.  For instance, there are many times when an attorney needs assistance.  This might be in tracking down a person, researching information, or some other type of help.  Of course, with this option for surveillance jobs and others, you would need to be up-to-date on laws on a city, state, and federal level so you always follow strict guidelines while getting the data needed.

Finally, different types of surveillance jobs will pay on a different scale.  The type of case you would be working on, the level of involvement you would give, and even the types of equipment used would set the level of pay.  In some cases, surveillance jobs require special skills and training but not always.  Therefore, if you are interested in getting involved with surveillance of any kind, you should check out all the possibilities, choosing the field or fields that you find most interesting.

	19-02-2009 21:53
	This is very nice, can you tell us how to get hired by insurance companies for surveillance work as a PI?

Felipe Lerida