How Choose Physical Surveillance Investigator

A lot can go wrong when you pick an unqualified physical surveillance provider, which includes paying thousands of dollars for a poor outcome. Every month, surveillance-gone-wrong stories pop-up, and mostly due to an unqualified private investigator being picked to conduct a physical surveillance. 

Attorneys and security executives (former law enforcement) routinely pick unqualified physical surveillance providers, thus sabotaging any chance of getting needed information and evidence. What stands out the most in the surveillance failures, is the frequency that private investigators are picked for a surveillance assignment who have little or no experience in doing the most difficult investigative discipline in the private sector. For this reason, on all high-stakes matters, we encourage CEO's, general counsels and HR executives to participate in the evaluations to ensure the investigator's performance history and references are checked to ensure qualification for the assignment.

Here are a few examples of surveillance-gone-wrong outcomes: Critical and much needed information and evidence never acquired; a Senior Vice-President of Security for a large corporation fired; private investigators arrested (i.e., planting GPS devices unlawfully on vehicles); a private investigator company's client also named as defendants for privacy violations; law firms losing clients due to contracted (unqualified) private investigators getting burned because of poor performance - all documented example cases.

If you have paid for a physical surveillance and believe an unqualified private investigation firm and/or the field Surveillance-Investigators were not qualified, please contact us for a free consult.

Physical surveillance is one of the oldest and most misunderstood investigative tools in the private sector. It is also the most difficult investigative discipline in the private sector to perform successfully. Before you read any further, please dismiss all the preconceived concepts of PI's following people on television. The Hollywood version is not reality. Not even close. 

There are instances where, say, a an unqualified private investigator or client will have successfully followed someone around without losing sight of the subject, while not being detected. Whether on foot or in a car, this short term success is usually not representative of the challenges of a longer term physical surveillance, nor what it takes to successfully tail a subject over longer distances.

According to ChatGPT, the average daily cost of an FBI physical surveillance ranges from $ 5,000 to $ 25,000 per day, and that can involve helpful tools such as court authorized GPS tracking and aircraft. This average cost is based on surveilling one person. The resources needed to surveil one person provides a real world perspective on how difficult in can be to successfully conduct a moving physical surveillance. Of course, each case varies in complexity and how alert the subject is to his/her surroundings.

In this article, we will provide information from a surveillance practitioner's perspective to help you choose qualified Surveillance-Investigators (SI).

Private sector physical surveillance is an art form and to be successful, requires following a subject without losing sight of the subject, while not being detected by the subject. 

Few private investigators are qualified and competent at the job of SI in the private sector.

If you are about to spend thousands of dollars to hire a private investigation company to gather needed information and evidence, it is important to ensure the private investigation firm (and it's surveillance practitioners) is qualified to conduct a physical surveillance for your specific situation. Assignments vary, from not difficult to extremely difficult.

Four Southern California long-term (over 59 years collective private sector physical surveillance experience) full-time private sector Surveillance-Investigators contributed to this article. The collective goal was to come up with the most important items to consider when choosing a private investigation firm for a physical surveillance assignment. 

The information provided herein, coupled with common sense and logic, should enable a person without any experience conducting a private sector physical surveillance to make the best decision in choosing the most qualified private investigation firm. 

Mike Wolivar has provided consults and seminars on how to choose physical Surveillance-Investigators. He has given seminars to several insurance groups, to include the largest workers' comp insurance company in the U.S., State Compensation Insurance Fund in California. 

An estimated over $ 221,000 million dollars is spent annually by insurance companies on physical surveillance to determine if there is evidence that claimants are exaggerating their insurance claims and/or committing fraud. 

The article link at the end of this paragraph was written in the context of complaints by employers (insureds) who believe that some insurance companies were not conducting effective physical surveillance on their employees suspected of claims fraud. Two prominent national insurance magazines, CLAIMS MAGAZINE and SIU AWARENESS published Mike's article in 1998: Choosing the Right People; Cost Effective Surveillance-Investigations.

CHECKLIST

1.   LICENSING: In the state of California, a private investigator license is required to provide the service of physical surveillance, therefore verify the private investigation company has a valid private investigator license in California: https://search.dca.ca.gov  Note: Persons in the field conducting the physical surveillance should each be California licensed private investigators or valid employees of the California licensed private investigation business.

Watch out for PI firms that say they use "off-duty" law enforcement. There is a good chance that any surveillance-investigator fitting that profile is not a full-time or practicing Surveillance-Investigator and not properly licensed, hence an illegal service with significant exposure to financial liabilities since insurance is unlikely to be valid. Performing services as a private investigator without a license in California is a misdemeanor.

2.   BUSINESS REGISTRATION: Verify private investigation firm (corporation or LLC) is active and in good standing with the California Secretary of State: https://www.sos.ca.gov/business-programs

3.   EMPLOYEE OR SUB-CONTRACTOR: Will the private investigation firm use employees or licensed PI sub-contractors to conduct the physical surveillance?
	
The worker classification of the field Surveillance-Investigator will determine how much more vetting will be needed to ensure legal compliance and the end client's amount of exposure to liabilities. If there is not legal compliance, insurance coverage may not be valid. Watch out for the word descriptions of an investigator "retired law enforcement" with no PI license number listed with name ... often times a red-flag that the SI is not a legitimate employee of a private investigation firm nor a licensed and insured private investigator.

4.   PROFESSIONAL INSURANCE: Verify the private investigation firm has the required general liability (E&O) insurance policy of a minimum $ 1,000,000 coverage.

If you use the investigation firm, you should asked to be added as an additional insured on the private investigation firm’s general liability (E&O) insurance policy. A certificate of additional insured will be provided naming your firm. This is standard practice by insurance companies and Third Party Administrators when vetting and adding private investigation firms to their claims investigation panel.

5.   CIVIL/CRIMINAL CHECK ON BUSINESS AND OWNER: Check local on-line civil and criminal superior court and federal court records to determine if the considered investigation firm and/or its officers have appeared as defendants?

6.   SPECIALIZE IN PHYSICAL SURVEILLANCE: Does the private investigation firm specialize in Surveillance-Investigations?
	
Private sector physical surveillance is the most difficult investigation discipline to perform successfully on a consistent basis. Just as one would not use a primary physician for heart surgery, one should not use a generalist private investigator for a highly specialized discipline, such as physical surveillance.

Part of being a specialist in Surveillance-Investigations is having the requisite skill-sets and equipment, one of which is operating a camcorder in high stress conditions. Whether gathering video evidence of a stalker violating a TRO or real-time recording of a Person-of-Concern for a threat assessment professional or recording vital evidence for a high-value civil lawsuit. 

Skill-sets such as a Surveillance-Investigator positioning her vehicle in a discreet position to successfully secure needed information and evidence is a must. 

Example of basic SI practices: Ensuring an SI has the requisite camcorder skills and proper camcorder equipment (typically 40-60 optical zoom and date/time stamp) is one of the most important items. Another important piece of equipment is having a non-descript vehicle with the right amount of tint on the windows.

7.   SURVEILLANCE AS A FULL-TIME JOB: Do the Surveillance-Investigators working your case perform physical surveillance as a full-time job?
	
Private sector physical surveillance is the most difficult investigation discipline to successfully perform on a consistent basis, and should only be performed by full-time practitioners. It is an art form that requires extensive experience, regular practice and expensive equipment.

8.   EQUIPMENT: Does the investigation firm use the necessary equipment to assist the surveillance-investigators?

Investigation firm's specializing in physical surveillance and their Surveillance-Investigator practitioners should use high-tech equipment specific to their craft. And most importantly, the SIs should all have HD camcorders with minimum 20x optical zoom that will have a visible date-time stamp.

For example, a qualified private investigation firm will have Surveillance-Investigators who use long range HD video cameras; FCC licensed two-way radios; rapid deployable compact video cameras that are connected via data (not wi-fi) and drone capability operated by drone experts. Equipment frequently makes the difference between success and failure of a physical surveillance assignment. 

9.   SAMPLE REPORT & INVOICE: Ask for a sample Surveillance-Investigation report, sample invoice and negotiate pricing for short and extended days surveillance. 

The sample invoice will provide you with those unexpected costs, much like the “resort fees” at some hotels. Typical charges are hourly rates to include gas mileage fees and travel time to and from the physical surveillance location. 

Mileage and travel time fees are typically pass-through costs that go directly to the Surveillance-Investigators. For example, to cover auto maintenance, fuel costs and auto and professional insurances, which are at a premium expense these days for SIs ... especially in California. 

High-level physical surveillance rates in Southern California ranges around $ 115 to 150 per hour plus mileage and expenses. Hourly rates vary and should be based on the quality of the Surveillance-Investigator and the amount of surveillance needed. Hourly rates should be reduced when the surveillance time exceeds16 hours.  For a Tier-1 SI, over 16 hours, the rate should not exceed $ 125 per hour, per SI. (Tier-1 level is highest rate and Tier-3 the lower rate.)

10.   CASE SUPERVISOR'S SURVEILLANCE EXPERIENCE & COMMUNICATION: Case Supervisor: Does the person supervising the SIs have private sector physical surveillance experience as an SI and managing SIs in the private sector?

An experienced case supervisor will be knowledgeable of the local, state and federal laws related to conducting a physical surveillance, i.e., privacy laws. The supervisor will also ensure great communications with the SIs in the field and providing timely updates to the client. 

Just like a sports team or military unit, an SI team needs a qualified experienced manager to achieve positive results and avoid negative situations. 

11.   CREDIBLE REFERENCES: Most important: At a minimum, have the prospective private investigation firm provide you with three credible references who have used the prospective firm for the same type of physical surveillance assignment you need.

Below are notes and asides regarding the Surveillance-Investigation profession.

A physical surveillance assignment to surveil a Person of Concern who has threatened violence at a workplace or school is considered high-stakes, and should only be conducted by qualified high-level performing Surveillance-Investigators (SIs), often referred to a a Tier-1 level SI.

If you are a private investigation company specializing in Surveillance-Investigations, and believe there was a decision made that an unqualified Surveillance-Investigation vendor was unfairly contracted by government or academia, you may want to consider filing a California Public Records Act to secure documents to see who did the selection and if the vendor was qualified. There are some exemptions to to the CPRA, one of which would require that an investigation be completed before the requested documents will be provided, such as vendor contracts and related emails and texts. 

A large number of physical surveillances are conducted by private investigators with little to no expertise or do it part-time, hence the need to ensure qualified SIs are used on any matter of importance.

Former co-worker referrals, sometimes called "tribal referrals": In law enforcement, especially at the federal level, retirees who are private investigators or in security positions will often refer physical surveillance assignments to a former co-worker private investigator with little to no experience (non-merit based decision) conducting private sector physical surveillance and/or use unqualified SIs. The results are usually not good. This practice of putting revenue gains over success of case objectives may not be fraud, but it is certainly unethical. 

Getting burned or not being able to maintain visual contact with the person being surveilled are both failures, and in a high-stakes assignment, serious unfavorable consequences may occur.

A high-level physical Surveillance-Investigator should be getting around $ 70+ per hour on a high-stakes assignment.

Physical surveillance is a necessary tool for most investigative tool boxes. Government agencies from local law enforcement to the FBI to the CIA have full-time dedicated specialized units that are well funded with sophisticated equipment, court approved GPS trackers, aircraft and numerous personnel to conduct high-stakes physical surveillance and gather valuable information and evidence.

According to a ChatGPT inquiry, government physical surveillances cost around $ 26,700 per day and up. The needed resources used by government to successfully conduct physical surveillance on one person well illustrates the difficulty of conducting physical surveillance.

Private sector physical surveillance and government-law enforcement physical surveillance are significantly different; one primarily relies personal traits and skill sets for success, and the other on equipment and technology for success.

In private sector physical surveillance, the numerous and deep resources used by government are not available, so the success of physical surveillance is based almost entirely on an SI’s skill-sets and innate talents, hence the import of choosing a qualified SI. Additionally, just because a person has conducted surveillance as a government employee, it should not be assumed the person has what it takes to be effective in the demanding private sector...rarely does one find a former or current law enforcement person effective at private sector physical surveillance. Most high-level SIs in Southern California do no have backgrounds as government employees.

MEASURING A SURVEILLANCE-INVESTIGATORS EFFECTIVENESS

There are two key industry measuring sticks used by some private sector physical surveillance professionals for assessment and case management purposes:

Surveillance-Investigator (SI) rating. Much like an athlete in sports, an SI's skills, innate talent and effectiveness are wide ranging. Some specialty physical Surveillance-Investigation companies use the following to identify an SI’s level of performance:

Tier-1 level is an SI who is exceptional in performance, has a record of making good split-second decisions in stressful situations, possesses that mystical 6th sense for determining when too close to subject and when too far from subject, and has a minimum of five years experience as a full-time SI with significant experience on high-stakes assignments.
 
A Tier-1 SI will appropriately demand the highest hourly rate. Most of these SIs have annual earnings in the six figures in Southern California. The information and evidence that would otherwise not be obtained makes their cost well worth the pay rate. Tier-1 type SIs will likely avoid the many problems others might create.

Tier-2 and Tier-3 are capable but may lack certain traits needed for that Tier-1 performance.

The fourth rating is referred to as the Unknown and are private investigators who claim to do physical surveillance but do not have a known history. We recommend avoiding the Unknown unless the assignment is low risk and the outcome of the physical surveillance is not that important.

Ratings for the subject being surveilled. The Awareness Rating Scale (ARS) is a subjective measure of the subject being surveilled and how alert that subject is to her/his surroundings. The rating ARS-1 through ARS-5, 5 being the most aware.
  
An ARS-1 on the scale represents a person who is likely not very aware of their surroundings, hence the lowest risk for detecting a tail. For example, the cartoon character with bad eyesight Magoo would be an ARS-1.

ARS-5 is at the top of the rating and represents a very aware subject who is a high risk of detecting surveillance. An ARS-5+ is a subject who actively checks for a physical surveillance, thus requiring extreme measures by the SIs to not be detected. Only Tier-1 level SI's should be used on subjects that are ARS-4 and ARS-5 and up.

How to Choose a Private Investigator for Physical Surveillance (Sub Rosa)