Utah Private Investigator Blog - Salt Lake Investigation Blog

I just got back from an out of town case. I stayed in a hotel and this morning at 4:00 a.m. I was faced with the decision on whether or not to check out of the hotel. The thought came into my mind that I would surely be able to break free from the surveillance to check out of the hotel and grab my belongings later on in the morning. I decided to check out of the hotel at 4:00 a.m. before conducting the surveillance and good thing! At 5:49 a.m. the subject left their residence and never looked back. I followed the subject over 200 miles to a different town. That would have made for an extremely long day if I would have had to return for my belongings! Lesson learned. If you need a Utah Private Investigator consider Salt Lake Investigations.

You’ve done your drive by now it’s time to pick your parking spot. I can promise you that this is one of the most important decisions that you will make when you set up surveillance. If you’re too aggressive you may jeopardize the case before the subject even leaves the residence. There are some subject’s that are absolutely paranoid and make notes of vehicles that they don’t know.  Parking to close can ruin your case before you even follow! If you’re too passively and park far away you may never even see the subject or may lose them from the start.  This is why parking could be the most important decision that you make when conducting surveillance.  It is important to note that each case is different and therefore it is impossible to have a set of rules for every situation. I decided to lay out some general rules and you can use your own judgment. Wouldn’t it be nice if you could drive by the subject’s residence three or four times to pick the perfect spot? Many times you have only one drive by opportunity to figure everything out. A general rule is the busier the area the more times you can drive by without being noticed. I have had some areas that were so remote that I couldn’t even conduct a drive by. In that case hopefully you have good vehicle information so you can pick up the subject’s vehicle when they drive off. Avoid pointing your vehicle directly at the subject’s residence where possible. You’re usually better off if you point your vehicle a different direction and turn your neck to view the subject’s residence. Sometimes you have no choice but to point your vehicle at the subject’s residence which isn’t all that bad because it can save you a sore neck. I would also recommend parking in a way that you can see the subject’s front lawn and the subject’s vehicle but not the house. You’re better off if the subject can’t see your vehicle out their front window. Even better would be parking on a different street but still with a view of the subject’s lawn and vehicle. The best situation is nearby busy parking lot. A parking lot is a private investigator’s dream (although if your the only vehicle in the parking lot that’s a problem). The key is to find balance. You need to be aggressive enough to obtain the information needed for your case but not too aggressive as to where you get caught. A good private investigator will continually assess the situation and adapt where needed. Unfortunately, many private investigators don’t give a lot of thought to where they park their vehicles. If you are in need of a professional Private Investigator in Utah please go to www.utahspy.com.

Could it be any hotter? A radio news report was just on and they were talking about not leaving dogs in a hot vehicle. Meanwhile I’m burning up! Today is supposed to be 92 degrees outside but I swear it is 250 degrees in my car. I think I could fry an egg on my dash. I am sweating enough to fill a swimming pool. I guess a good private investigator has to make these sacrifices. The problem is that there are many circumstances where I cannot run the vehicles engine and therefore no AC! One of these days I will find a something that works well at cooling my vehicle. Here is what I found that works….crack the windows(as low as possible), use fans, use a sunshade not only on the windshield but the rear window to the vehicle as well. The sun shades actually work wonders. The sun beating through the window is where 95% of the heat comes from. This is why I always look for a shaded area. Sometimes I attach a sun shade to the side windows as well. I tried to make a home-made swamp cooler with a fan and an ice chest but I am still perfecting it. I recently tried a solar powered fan that you attach to the top of the window but the results were poor. I own a fan that sprays water which keeps you cool but is kind of messy. Anyone have any good ideas???? Need a private investigator?  Try Salt Lake Investigations.

Start early! 6:00 a.m. Oh yes I said 6:00 a.m. You have to get your bed off you back. When conducting surveillance for insurance fraud type investigations it is important to begin early. There is nothing worse than setting up surveillance and finding out the subject is already gone. Upon arriving at your place of surveillance there is a lot of work to do. When you do your drive by write down vehicle make/model/color/license plate number/and unique characteristics of the vehicle. These details are what you will use to ID the vehicle when the action gets going. If there are no vehicles in the driveway it’s possible the subject parks in the garage. P.I’s hate garages. Thankfully, many of the subject’s that I watch don’t use their garage. Notice your surroundings. For example: in snowy months check for fresh tire tracks in the driveway (fresh tire tracks could mean the subject has already left the residence), look for items in the yard to give you information (toys in the yard would tell you there are children and the subject may take them to school), check the length of grass telling you when the subject may need to mow their lawn, or any signs the subject spends time outside. Noticing your surroundings can bring in valuable information and just may help solve your case! Your next step will be to figure out possible exits the subject may use when leaving the residence. Some neighborhoods are nice to P.I.’s and have only one or two exits. Then there are the neighborhoods with ten thousand ways to exit. Figuring out the exits to the neighborhood may help so you’re not caught off guard. Keep an open mind to possible ways the subject may drive. There are times when I have lost a subject because I did not think they could “go out that way”. You may now begin your wait (hopefully not too long). But wait! You need to choose your parking spot. Your parking spot is the most important detail when setting up surveillance. Next time…..where do I park? There is much more to this than you think! Are you looking for a Utah Private Investigator?

Is there any better profession out there? I love being a private investigator. How can you beat getting paid to spy on people? Well, let me tell you what this blog is all about. I am designing this blog for both the P.I. and non P.I. alike. Some of the blogs will be P.I. tips on various subjects and some will be actual case stories. Unfortunately I will be forced to limit some of the content in the stories due to confidentiality with clients but I will try to give you the good stuff. This blog is meant to be both entertaining and educational. I decided that I have too many stories to tell and if I don’t start getting them down on “paper” I will forget them. For now I am starting with this blog and who knows maybe some day I will add a podcast. Look for good things to come and enjoy!  If you are looking for a private investigator in Utah please go to www.utahspy.com.

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