Get Yourself Caught

If you want to get yourself caught doing something you shouldn't - just post it on Facebook (or Twitter or even that dying MySpace).

Some knucklehead ended up in bigtime trouble with child support, because he posted this picture on Facebook (credit photo to Facebook)

You can read the story here:  ABC News Story

Obviously he isn't the smartest of fellows.  He probably even posted this believing it would help him in some way!:

:
Whatever you do - stay safe!

Tunnel Vision

It amazes me how tunnel vision affects investigations.  In criminal cases,  I usually have the benefit of going in after the case has been investigated by the police.  I can see what they did, and I can't see what they didn't do.

What amazes me is how tunnel vision almost takes over an investigation.  It is like the investigators become possessed by something causing them to only focus on one suspect.  While more often than not, they usually have the right suspect, by having tunnel vision they end up missing key evidence and testimony by others.  Think of it this way, if you are looking at the possibility of other suspects, you are more likely to broaden your search for clues and evidence.  When you do this, you are more likely to discover more evidence.  This includes evidence against the given suspect.

When investigators focus on one suspect, they often allow other suspects to go free,  They also narrow the search of evidence so small that some obvious evidence is over looked.  I am not saying these are bad investigators.  What I am saying is that investigators need to be aware of how tunnel vision can cause you to narrow your focus so much that you miss key evidence.   This is a psychological thing that happens "naturally" and investigators need to fight the tendency to have tunnel vision.

Part of the problem is that investigators are pressured to clear cases by arrest, so once they get a suspect, they narrow the search of clues and evidence too quickly.

This was just something that hit me as I am working on a current case.

Whatever you do - Stay safe!

The B-I sitch that Did Not Want to be Served

A few days back I had papers to serve on a woman that I knew was ducking service.  At night, I could see the lights on in her apartment and even see movement inside.  She would not answer the door.

So I tried several times of day to catch her.  I had figured out what car was hers so I sat out from zero-dark thirty to wait for her to go to work or whatever.  After a couple of hours, I see a woman that fit the description given to me walking to the car.

I call her by name tell her who I am and try to hand her papers.  She has that "deer in the headlights" look and tried to ignore me as she gets into her car. (she has two toe-headed kids in tow).  After she opens the driver's door, she gets in and I drop the papers in her lap.  BOOM!  She has been served.

I guess she thought she could "unserve" herself.  She opens the door and throws the papers on the ground.

I informed her it did not matter what she did with the papers, as she had been served.

She then drove off...

I guess she tears up traffic tickets expecting them to go away too.

- Be Safe!

Happy New Year

Well, 2012 went and 2013 has arrived.  I have mixed feelings about business, as it was doing really well, but the holidays gave me a really big slow down. Couple that with a few incidents that took place at the end of the year, and now I feel the pressure.

All is good though, as it seems I can do OK in this business, and I will re-double my marketing efforts for the new year.  Many of them are very simple, but they seem to work.

This year I will start of giving everyone a free tip.  They often ask me how to protect their privacy on Facebook.  That is really easy - don't put anything private on Facebook!  (Seriously, if you don't get this, maybe you just need to delete your Facebook account)

Rockford Files in Real Life

I don't know if many of you remember the Rockford Files.  It was one of my favorite private detective shows in the 70's.  He always had outlandish cases, and seemed to almost always be in trouble with someone, but he managed to solve his cases.

One of the things that was used in the show a lot was, whenever Jim Rockford would start working on a case, the bad guys would find him (which in a strange way always made it easier for him to solve his case).

Well, the other day I had a "Rockford Files" moment.  I was searching for a person to serve process on.  I was warned the guy had violent tendencies and had trouble with the law.  Apparently he has at least two women (current or former girlfriends) deathly afraid of him.  Anyways, after I had been by his place twice and was told he would be in a certain area, he found me.  That's right, while I was searching for him, he came and found me.  He asked me who I was, I told him my name.  He then asked if I was "the process server."  I told him I was and asked if he was (the name of the guy I was looking for) and he indicated he was.

He asked me what the papers were about, I told him all I knew was they were a citation (normal for process service) and something about an "OCA" which is what was indicated on the papers.  I showed him the papers (handed them to him and he took them (at which point he was served)) he then asked me to read what was on one of them because he didn't have his reading glasses.  So I read one of them for him.  He then took the papers and left.

Sometimes when you are looking for something or someone, they find you instead of vice-versa.

Stay Safe!

Starting Out as a PI - How to Survive

I recently started helping some out in developing a PI's survival guide for new and upstart PIs.  Some old timers will frown upon my share "trade secrets" but I am of the belief that there is a lot of work out there for private investigators that work hard and continually are trying to improve their trade craft.

The following are a few tid-bits of information I shared:

The first and foremost thing I learned to do is incorporate.  It wasn't that much to file (I don't remember the cost, but it wasn't high) as an LLC and you really don't need a lawyer to do so - pretty simple instructions from the Secretary of State.  You need this protection. I learned this the hard way from my father's business when he was a Hertz agent.  Someone who got in an accident and it was their fault sued my father.  They didn't win the case, but the cost of defending himself took pretty much all he had saved up.

The next thing I recommend (though some PIs do not want to do this) is get certified as a process server and do this before or as they are waiting to become a licensed PI.  There are a lot of similarities and it can get the foot in the door with attorneys.  The process of becoming a licensed PI in Texas can take quite a while.  Through no fault of my own, it took me more than 6 months from when I first applied and I passed the managers test on the first try.  Maybe I will tell that whole story sometime later.

One key issue that hampered me was I did not know what equipment I needed.  Remember, I was starting out as a private investigator and had not done investigations privately, only as a police officer.  I bought a lot more stuff than I needed, and think more than anyone would NEED, but all the cool stuff made me buy too much.

So what equipment do I recommend? The piece of equipment I use the most, and works for me in all sorts of circumstances is a Sony digital recorder I bought at Wal-Mart.  I can put the thing on record and even drop it in a cargo pocket in some pants and it records conversations perfectly.  I paid all of $69 plus tax.  I did add a 2 Gig card.  The model is ICD-PX312.  Did I say I use this ALL the time.  I replaced the batteries after about 8 months, even though the battery indicator showed they were still OK.

But Guess what?  You can buy it even cheaper today.  Here is an example:

You can find one as cheap as $28 bucks now.  

I have more on this, but I hate long posts - stay tuned and stay safe!

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!