Time - Stamping Videos - One More Way

I forgot that I had one piece of equipment that I can "time stamp" videos with.  I had bought this over a year ago.  I normally do not use it, because to me, it is just too time consuming.  However, it is the cheapest way out there to make time-stamped videos from HD camcorders.  You just play the video in the Camcorder displaying the date and time when this device is connected between the camcorder and a computer.

You can record the file in an avi file that will have the time and date stamp.  This is OK for short recordings, for longer ones it still works, but it only works in real time.  So however long the recording is, that is how long it takes (plus set-up time) for you to make the recording.

Here is one such device from Amazon:

It is called Easycap.

I hope this works out for you as it has for me.  And

Stay Safe!

Investigating Theives

Recently I was doing some random checks to see if anyone has been re-posting my information.  I do this from time to time to  thank other blogs for making reference to my articles.

The problem is, I found out that someone was out right stealing from me.  I found that the blog found at http://www.securityblogs.co.uk had plagiarized an entire post of my blog and gave me absolutely no credit.  The owner of that blog, according to the whois database, David Rietman, is a thief for stealing my material.  I wonder if he will copy this entire post verbatim as well with not citation.

David, you have no listed way of contacting you besides a phone number - I may be calling you shortly.

Please correct the issue(s) with the post.

Who Needs to Know When I am Making a Recording?

Whenever you are making a recording of an individual (this does not include video with no audio in a public place) usually at least one party to the conversation needs to be aware of the recording.  In other words, you cannot put a device to record all phone calls on a line, unless you are always a party to those phone calls.  Also, you cannot "accidentally" leave a recording device in another room and walk out to record what took place in the other room.  Exceptions to this require a judges order.

In other words, you cannot bug anyone's car, apartment, house, office... you name it.

You can, in one party state (meaning one party to the conversation is aware) walk around and record everything without telling anyone.  You can use a hidden camera and record everything that is going on around you (there are some facilities that can outlaw this).

Some states require both parties to be aware they are being recorded. These states are:

California
Connecticut
Florida
Illinois
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Montana
Nevada
New Hampshire
Pennsylvania
Washington

Assume places like Washington D.C. and other US places to be 2 party unless you can find something to clearly state otherwise.

This means in 2 party states you cannot secretly record any conversation or use a hidden camera with audio. You can use a hidden camera without audio in public places.

Whatever you do - Stay safe!

When You are Not Wanted

Sometimes private investigators get called upon to do a "welfare check" on an individual.  The most common is when there is no family close by and there is an elderly family member that no one has heard from for a long time.  There are other variations of these, but the bottom line is the investigator has no more authority to do a check than any other individual.

I was recently asked to do a welfare check on someone, and as soon as I got to the door to ask about the person, I was turned away by someone in the house that appeared to belong inside.  I had a small concern, but not a large one for the welfare of the person I was sent to check on, but not enough that I felt a need to call the police.

My point is that sometimes all an investigator can do is ask.  If they push the issue any more, they can be treading on harassment or similar charges.

I know this isn't the most interesting thing in a case, but it is the kind of day to day thing an investigator has to deal with.


Whatever you do - Stay safe!

The Growing Trend of Unlicensed Private Investigations Work

I have noticed through what I can see in advertising and promises on the internet, that there is a large increase in people and companies doing private investigation work without a license.

Where I see this glaring increase, is in companies that are offering pre-foreclosure "assessments" of properties for banks and lending companies.  Legally, only 2 types of people can do this in Texas and they are both licensed entities.  You have to have a license to be a Real Estate Broker and also a private investigator.  What is being done is considered an investigation under the law.  It is not a "grey area" or "maybe" could be an issue, this is out right illegal activity in the State of Texas.  You can be fined for doing it and you can be fined for hiring an unlicensed person to do it.

The other commonly occurring unlicensed activity is "skip tracing" by companies and people that are not licensed investigators or investigations companies.  Skip tracing is basically finding or locating a person who has "skipped out" on some type of financial obligation.  I have noticed that process servers are advertising that they will do these locates for a fee.  If they are not a licensed investigator, they are doing it illegally.  Process servers are only allowed to "skip trace" someone that they are actually attempting to serve.  They cannot charge for locating someone.  They can only charge for serving that person.

I am not talking about state or governmental agencies that do similar work, they are obviously not required to be an investigations company.

Why am I concerned?  It is hard enough to do business the right way and compete with others who do business the right way.  It is not just illegal for these unlicensed companies to to this service, it is an unfair advantage, by not fulfilling the requirements to become a licensed company.

Whatever you do - don't hire or use these unlicensed companies, and Stay Safe!

So Many Strange Requests

Lately, I have gotten quite a few strange requests for my services.  These requests have ranged from "muscle" to conducing illegal surveillance.

So just in case you didn't know, here are some things I don't do for pay:

1.  Intimidate people.  I will not go to intimidate or threaten anyone in any form or fashion.
2.  Place a GPS on someone's vehicle besides yours.  When I say yours, I mean that the title is in you name. I also need written permission from you before I do that.
3.  I will not place a hidden camera anywhere in your home to catch your other half cheating on you.
4.  I will not put spyware on any phone that is not yours.  Show me the bill first.
5.  I will not break into an office to look for records (I know this is a common TV PI thing, but it is a felony to do so)

This list may have to be repeated and then be added to.  In case you are wondering, yes, I have been asked to do all of this.


Whatever you do - be safe!

Video Date and Time Stamps

I have heard a lot of misunderstood statements about time/date stamps on videos.  The one that makes me scratch my head the most is For Court we must display the time and date in the video. I really do not understand that one.  The reason I say this is that nearly all HD recorders now used by both law enforcement and professional investigators do not put a time/date stamp on the video.  That means for court someone would have to provide a video that was not how it was recorded originally.  No matter how you want to word this - it means you are providing an altered or modified video.  

I have problems with getting altered videos into court.  You are just asking for a good attorney to muddy up the water of your testimony.  Usually to get video into evidence, whoever shot the video will be asked "Is this video the same as the actual scene when you shot it?"  Fair enough, and easy yes.  Then they need to ask "Have you modified, changed, or edited this video in any way?"  If you answer any other way than "yes"  you have just committed perjury if you used one of the common ways to add time/date stamps to the video. The most common is for people use the video out and play the video with the camera showing the time/date stamp and making a DVD on a Pinnacle Dazzle (or other brands that do the same thing) DVD recorder.  That is no less a modified video that if you used a software program to edit the video so it shows the time/date based upon the meta data.

On a HD video the information is all contained in the file's meta data.  This means you can look at the file and see when it was recorded.  It has other information, such as the quality of the recording, etc.  

The point is, you need to save an original recording how is was saved by the camera.  It is not necessary to save SD cards, you just need to save the files in their original form and keep copies in a safe place.  

You need to have that original form available when you go to court.  You can say how you got the time/date stamp onto the video - but never claim that said video is original.

Whatever you do - stay safe!