Ian Harm

The names and addresses of all vehicle owners in England and Wales are held and electronically stored by the Driver Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) at Swansea. This data is protected by the Data Protection Act 1998 and therefore is not information which is generally available. However, there may be occasions when obtaining the name and address of a vehicle owner from the DVLA is permissible.

The law requires the DVLA to protect the privacy of individual motorists and to ensure ...

A Surveillance Society

There is no doubt that we are now living in a surveillance society. No matter where we go there is the real chance that there will, at some time or another, be a CCTV video camera pointing in our direction.

Passive Overt Surveillance

This type of passive overt surveillance is evident in just about every town and city throughout the UK. Most people will agree that this type of surveillance can be a benefit to us in terms of public ...

Important Sources of Information

One of the most important methods of information gathering to the professional investigator or intelligence specialist is the use of human beings as information or intelligence sources; known as ‘Covert Human Intelligence Sources’, ’CHIS’, Informants or simply ‘Sources’.

Informants and Private Investigation

In private investigations and intelligence gathering the use of informants can be essential to the success of any ...

I read this excellent article on the Law Donut Blog today about Employees secretly recording disciplinary meetings held by their employers. The article raises some great points which are addressed and answered by a Barrister (Ian Mann, barrister of 13 King’s Bench Walk, Temple).

The question is posed from the employers perspective and asks whether during a disciplinary meeting is it lawful for an employee to covertly tape record the meeting. I get enquiries such as this from potential ...

So much of a professional investigator’s success depends upon the skill and ability to collect information, to this end, the ability to interact effectively with fellow human beings is invaluable. Any investigator that cannot relate to clients, witnesses etc will not be a proficient operator. If an investigator alienates witnesses, they will not feel inclined to give information. If an investigator rides ‘rough-shod’ over the feelings of others, makes people feel ill at ease, offended, or defensive, ...