I am in the market for a new car and I want something that not only works for surveillance but something I will actually like, obviously. So, I am absolutely in love with this charcoal gray Mini Cooper. Someone tell me I should get it. 😆

Pic for reference. Also imagine it with tinted windows.

Hi everyone,

Any PIs in here from the St Louis area? I have a question that I’d like to DM about.

Thank you!

So there's really no way to get time stamp on this camcorder without extra paid software/website?

Not just in playback on the camera itself but even when transferred to computer or emailed to client?

Why would a license plate number pull up nothing in Tracers and Delvepoint even though it's clearly the plate number?

Hey y'all, I have a Sony a7iii I use for my personal hobbies and was wondering, has anyone used something like this for surveillance? It does take much better video than my video recorder so besides the form and weight factor, it should be good. I just never heard/saw anyone using a DSLR for this.

Any opinions or experience?

I have found an alternative to IVE for surveillance video editing. The software is called V3 Video Editor from a company called V3 Investigative Solutions. It is quite a bit faster and has some very unique and cool features. I was curious to what you folks are using. IVE, V3 or some other alternative. Not really sure what is out there. They also have a pretty cool digital forensics tool for grabbing metadata and GEO locations.

Just curious on how many people use their mobile phone more often than their camcorder. I was speaking to a few Pi's and they often spoke about how they simply just use their iPhone or Samsung during surveillance. So I was curious what people here use the most?

Looking for some video camera recommendations I can suggest to my investigators that won't break the bank. I know a lot of you are using the Sony FDRAX53, which is great, but hard to find new for under $1K now.

I've gone back through old posts, but Sony and Panasonic seem to discontinue cameras months after releasing them, so it's been hard to find any still in production.

Hello,

I’m a current federal investigator who has been curious about the PI field for awhile. I generally deal with employee misconduct and fraud. I see lots of posts about surveillance work and insurance investigations but I’m wondering about the availability of other types of work that might be more aligned with my experience, whether free lance or for a company.

Curious to hear people’s stories, especially as it relates to the going rates of different types of investigative work.

I've only managed $1000/mo so far with part time SIU work. No surveillance yet.

So I'm juggling legal running, just got licensed to process serve and going back to night security to make ends meet.

Hopefully social media investigations that I'm training for soon will give a little extra but if not any veteran advice on how to most quickly advance pay/P.i skills/find work? Thanks!

~A Rookie

I am a licensed PI in CA and just moved to Nevada. I was wondering if there were any PIs who could answer a couple of questions for me? Licensing, employment investigations, good firms, etc. Thanks!

Rookie here -

Is this a good part time gig to supplement other work?

From the sounds of things it barely pays above minimum wage. For those of you who do it, does it pay by the hour or like I've read elsewhere is it more common to pay by the task/completion rate? Which is better?

Is it good/interesting work that will add a new skill for the future or should i skip it and focus on just getting more field work?

Thanks vets!

A very close friend of mine has mental health issues, sometimes disappearing for weeks at a time due to mental blackouts because of these issues, and they cannot remember anything of what happened after they come back to consciousness

They have disappeared for months now, and while I have considered they may not want to be found, evidence doesn't really point that way. They always told me they would never suddenly leave, and if anything happens for a long time they are just in a black out, but they never mentioned anything about being gone for months

I want to make sure they're ok, but unfortunately I am in the US and they are in Australia. Is there any way I could hire a PI and is it ethical in this case? I understand it is also a possibility I could lose this friend because of this (I don't think it would happen but just in case), but I am just worried about my friend and do miss them

Hello, I have worked for a private investigator in California for about 5 years now and he is a licensed investigator. My boss would like to retire and have me take over his investigation firm. I have been having trouble understanding if there is some other process for me to get my license and add my license to the business so that he can retire and it is under me. Do I need to apply to become a qualified manager as well as private investigator? If so, do I provide my proposed business names for no reason and then just switch my license number onto the existing business? Is my boss my qualified manager? I understand that my boss is the declarant and I am the applicant. Is he meant to fill out a majority of this application or just the majority of the private investigator qualified manager qualifying experience form? Any advice or assistance is greatly appreciated. Thank you for taking the time to read this long post.

My property was leased using a stolen identity. The lessor had the name, dob, and ssn of the victim. I have contacted the victim and a police investigation is crawling along. As it stands today, I do not know my lessor’s actual identity as the information on the lease belongs to a totally different individual who had no clue that his identity was stolen and used for a lease.

The lessor subleased the house to someone else who I believe is working with him. I’ve met this sublessor every time I was at the property, but not the lessor. Apparently, this is a rampant criminal scheme these days.

Eviction is ongoing. The sublessor is still on the property and won’t leave. I don’t have details of the sublessor, but I have his picture and a video of him referring to the lessor as his brother “who is not at home because he is at work”.

My objective is to identify the actual lessor and pin all the unpaid rent and any damages on the fellow. Needless to say the police is not even trying to pretend that they are interested in this case.

Additional Info: Initial deposits were made via checks. First month rent payment was made via Zillow rental manager. Lessor has an active Google voice number that he uses to communicate, and a yahoomail that he used for the lease. City: Houston

Is anybody here a Claims Investigator or an SIU Investigator? If so, how do you like it?

I know the persons name, I know where this person resides, this person went by 3 names/aliases, I need to find out this persons arrest records/criminal records. Sources tell me this person has 5 prison numbers. I'd like to find out what the convictions were. Cashapp scammer, takes identity through means of stealing social security numbers or manipulation/befriending a group of persons as a target to access of finding information. A source has told me they have been in federal court for 2 years in a identity theft case, stole her children's ssn numbers and runs a online casino/bookkeeping scheme. I need more evidence concerning these claims. Is there a way I can get help?

Looking for a licensed PI to help with an infidelity case next weekend in Bristol. Reasonable prices...bonus if can do multiple payments. Husband will be meeting his lover and I am needing to gather evidence for court.

Colleagues,

PPIAC is pleased to present their annual 2-day CIDI event over November 8-9.

CIDI (Colorado Investigative Development Institute) is an online event, providing foundational and/or refresher information on the basics surrounding investigations. CIDI is taught by PPIAC members, assisting attendees with understanding investigative-related topics that often fall through the cracks in conferences. Attendees will also be able to ask questions to the presenters.

CIDI was created in 2019 as a way to assist brand-new investigators in getting their start in an Unlicensed state.

The program now serves to give new and seasoned investigators courses on several investigator basics, providing both direction and detail on topics that deserve more in-depth attention. Topics this year include: PI Standards (Licensed or Unlicensed), Interviewing Basics, Finding Your Niche, How to Search Public records Like a Pro, and more!CIDI is a two-day event over Zoom.

For PPIAC members, the price is $99.00. For guests, the price is $179.00.

To sign up, go to https://ppiac.org/ and click on the registration button.

We hope to see you at CIDI!

Anyone here have any real-world experiences and can recommend a service similar to ChatGPT that provides data security and allows you to upload discovery documents and then utilize AI in a ChatGPT setting to make inquiries and such?

Has anyone found a watch they like to use for covert video and audio? I wear a watch regularly, and I don't know why I didn't think of buying one to double as a covert camera until now. This would be an everyday carry item for me.

Must have features:

-Record audio and video with the time and date stamp.

-Actually function as a watch and display date and time

Bonus features I'd like to have, but could live without:

-If I can hook up an external battery to it and just wear a long sleeve shirt over, that's perfect.

-Loop record and/or high data capacity

-Water resistant

So now that I know one doesn’t need a class B license to work for an agency with a Class B it’s own,

In my state one requires 2 years experience in order to obtain a class B w/o Law enforcement/military background or with out a degree.

What are some good nationwide agencies I can contact about entry level positions?

30 years old no college degree. 7 years consistent work experience of mortgage processing and marketing jobs. Applied to all the nationwide PI firms for a position in Houston with no response

Why do private investigators not have to confirm or even know the identity of their clients?

Hey guys, hope it is ok to post this question here.

I was wondering, is one allowed to work for a company or agency that is licensed in PI work ( class B license ) in order to get the experience required to get my own?

If this is the case, to any of you with your own experience doing this as a job, what sorts of agencies should I look for ? For are things to watch out for that are good or bad/suspicious in the descriptions ?

What’s the best way I can start out in all this ?

I haven’t had contact with my father since 2015, I was a child then. He divorced my mother a year before she died and moved states.

I really just want to know if he is still alive or not.

I have been searching for years.

I figure it would just be a quick search on one of the fancy databases you guys get access too like TLO.

I just need closure.

Thank you.

I’m sorry , if this is not allowed, I am just at a loss.

Having browsed through this sub if found alot of uses resources but most of them are geared to the US. Does anyone know any databases are great for Canada. Any other resources for a Canadian PI would be highly appreciated.