At Darwin Securities, we provide a variety of investigative services for our clients, including private surveillance in Tampa. We also regularly partner with law firms that are working on cases involving, fraud investigations, marital infidelity cases, child custody cases, or workers’ compensation investigations. In this brief article, a surveillance investigator in Tampa will discuss surveillance investigation services in more detail.
What is a Surveillance Investigation?
Surveillance investigations involve utilizing a variety of methods in order to conduct and collect evidence including:
- Field Observation: In many legal cases, a subject needs to be physically observed to gather information and obtain evidence. These types of undercover investigations often include stakeouts, tracking subjects on foot or by vehicle, wearing disguises, and employing other covert tactics. An investigator will become familiar with all the relevant locations related to the investigation and deploy a strategy to ensure their discretion.
- Electronic Research: Running an extensive background check is a common form of electronic surveillance. Other examples include monitoring a subject’s social media profile, researching fraudulent activities the subject is engaging in, and managing a database of the collected evidence.
- Utilizing Technology: Investigators are aware of all the relevant laws related to conducting an investigation and understand when it’s lawful to obtain evidence through a technical medium. Dash cameras, digital cameras, surveillance cameras, microcameras, and trail cameras are often utilized to capture video footage for an investigation.
Why Law Firms Hire Surveillance Investigators
Law firms rely on surveillance techniques for a variety of reasons including:
- Obtaining Evidence: Investigators can discover ways to obtain evidence that can be critical to a case. This can include everything from physically collecting evidence at the scene to speaking to individuals related to a case, such as coworkers, neighbors, friends, family members, and witnesses.
- Thorough Background Checks: Investigators can perform extensive background checks on subjects and also learn crucial information related to their personal life. This includes their hobbies, daily routine, schedule, and even their close work and social relationships.
- Recordkeeping: An investigator can document relevant facts related to a case. An investigator can keep accurate records related to a subject’s activities and the places they visit on specific dates. This recorded information can be extremely useful to legal counsel during court proceedings and depositions.
There are many critical aspects to conducting a successful surveillance investigation including developing a plan, utilizing state-of-the-art equipment, understanding all relevant laws to ensure you are collecting court-admissible evidence, and having all the resources prepared well in advance of an investigation. A private investigator is not only a crucial element to building a case against a subject, but they can also provide a compelling testimony during a trial.
To schedule a consultation with a surveillance investigator in Tampa at Darwin Securities, please submit our contact request form.