10 Top Reasons Why Your Business might not be Working as well as you'd like!

Part 1
What is my competitor doing?

Did you, or have you done any research? Many people enter into business with a blind fold on, it's all well and good looking around you and thinking people are doing well and that you can replicate the same, it takes a lot more!

Have you checked out who else operates in your area, doing what you are doing? So many people I come across wouldn't know one of their competitors, yet alone a handful. I can probably name all but one or two, and to be honest those one or two aren't worth worrying about.

So what is the benefit to this exercise, in case you were wondering! The benefit will have a massive impact on your business success, without being too obvious about this, it is suicidal NOT knowing;

a) who your competitors are
b) what are they doing right/wrong
c) what percentage of the local revenue do they have control over
d) what they offer
e) what can you offer that they don't (without the gimmicks)
f) where are they advertising
g) why are they successful (or not!)

This should also be revised regularly, it's no good spending days, weeks, months setting everything up and thinking you are the bee's knees only to find one day your competitor has outdone you. In order to stay in the public eye (especially in your local area) you need to heavily focus on this all the time.

let's look at some of the topics above and break them down...

Who your competitors are...
I wonder how many people reading this know who their competitors really are? When was the last time you looked in the Yellow Pages (book) and realised there were more PI's in your area than you first envisaged! This could be one reason why enquiries and income is low. So how do we change that?

Imagine if you wrote down every conceivable advertising media you could think of that was within your reach (financial outlay or free), only then do you realise that Yellow Pages is a very small pebble in a big pond. It will make no difference at all if you were at the top or bottom but if it was your only form of marketing then you would be totally dependant on it. The reason I say this is because a number of my competitors (bless 'em) only advertise in hard copies (yellow Pages, Thomson etc) I don't see them on the internet, which, as we all know, is now the primary source for information etc.
I am going to repeat myself here but a website is a MUST and a good one is an even muster... hang on, no such word! Oh well, stick that in your dictionary and... [attitude!]

Actually, the last sentence is so typical of failure... why? You ask!

Only recently did I view a website created by a PI (self developed) and I have to say it was awful. Spelling errors, poor grammar, poor graphics, no SEO etc... I could go on!

What that tells me (and your potential client viewing your site) is that you have spent hours building it (dedication, which, is good!) but failed to give a toss about the fundamental aspects of creating the right impression. It tells me that "this will do" and in my book, that simply isn't good enough. You client is no doubt considering employing your services, until, they read some of the context of your site and then they wonder what on earth the statement of service, affidavit or report will look like, especially when it's up in court being read out by officials who would struggle to come to terms with the fact a professional document has been written by a 7 year old.

It doesn't have to be gold plated, but it does have to be right. If you spend that amount of time on something don't dismiss the five minutes it takes to check it over, check spelling, grammar, images etc. You will be rewarded!

So getting back then, look at where your competitors advertise and ensure you do the same, better still, find places where they don't advertise! You will be surprised. There are literally hundreds of free business listing sites... go find them and take the time to list your company and your web link (important)

Look at what they offer that you don't - Some only offer process serving, others only investigation assistance and so on. Get training, get knowledge and get the confidence to offer a broader range of services. If you can't commit yourself due to lack of knowledge or skill, spend some time getting to know those that can, negotiate with them and do a deal. When the work comes in, you either offer a finders fee or you sub it out.

Another task to carry out, which, I have mentioned before, is to visit every one of your legal firms in the area. Take a couple of days out and arm yourself with some quality business cards (no not the cheap DIY printer ones - they look terrible) a set of business cards costs around £25.00 for 250 (give or take) and is worth it as they will last, believe me!
Get in front of the secretary/receptionists and ask questions, have a laugh and build a report but be professional, it's amazing what you will get out of them, such as who does the enquiry work at present? Do they have much call for your services? etc, etc....

Prices: In my opinion, DO NOT advertise your prices on-line, why? Obvious really but here goes. (say it slowly!) If you do then your competitor will have the upper hand - There, simples!

BUT people do still do it, if your happy doing it, fine, but it makes no sense at all. Whilst we're on the subject I have also noted on a number of sites, agents offering packages. Yes, "Packages"
Forgive me if I am wrong but I thought I was in the legal/investigative industry, so why offer "Buy Now", "Half Price", "Discount" DONT!!!
Have you ever seen a solicitor offer half price divorces! Or half price criminal injury cases! or for that matter a "Civil defence package" NO.

It looks tacky and bloody awful. The only thing it will do is put you in the Walter Mitty bin!

"SAY NO TO PACKAGES CAMPAIGN LAUNCHES SOON" ;-)

We are all victims of doing too much too little. You want to make an impression, an impact but often we end up making things look a total mess. KISS is something I learnt many years ago in sales and it has many variations, one being... "Keep It Simple Stupid" or Keep It Short & Sweet"

Start off basic, don't over do it with the bells and whistles, tell your prospective clients want "they" want to hear, not what you want to tell them. 90% of visitors to a website never read the content, they look at headers and buzz words, such as, "Process Server" and "Affordable, Reliable, Efficeint" (AKA buzz words) then they look at your contact details. The rest of the marketing and glossy image can come later but for now, concentrate on what matters, getting the bills paid.

Next time in part 2 I will talk about how to approach a client and how to make them want you more than you want them!

...I get asked this a lot, so I thought I would share a little knowledge!

And because I have some free time... "hip, hip...."

Although I haven't contributed much recently on the forum lately, there has been a good reason for it. It's a long story and I am certain many of you "couldn't care less" what I have been up to, the fact is, I started my business exactly one year ago this month... with nothing!

I had no capital, no bank loans, very little in the way of credit card funding and only very basic equipment (laptop and phone... literally!)

The company is now doing exceptionally well, to be honest, and this is the truth, I hadn't noticed that much. I get on with work and I enjoy it immensely, which, leaves me little time to realise what is coming in and going out (I leave that up to my skivvy - oops, sorry, I mean "Office Manager", as she likes to be called!)

From the first day I enlisted myself on another forum and had my first contact/call from an established PI offering guidance (thank you Dave (ISW), I really do owe you one!) I never realised then that I had found my forte in life. I was destined to be a professional Investigator but I hadn't realised it until recently.

The business started part-time with nothing more than a laptop and a mobile phone, a printer, some undesirable stationary and terrible logo BUT within a few weeks I had my first Agent to Agent assignment, oh man, I was buzzing!
In November (5 months on) the business went "full time" quite literally utilising 18 hours of my day, promoting the business, improving the image, creating a brand for the company and ploughing every penny back into it to buy materials, books, equipment...

It was bloody hard but then again, I believe in the saying "you reap what you sow". It is a FACT, no doubt about it, that if you want to make something work you have to put work into it. It's all well and good "thinking" you know what you are doing or "believing" you think that what you are doing is the right way to do it. Sometimes, people cannot be told either way, this is where things go wrong!
It's all about using snippets of other businesses success, even looking at the bigger boys and commercial organisations, analysing what they do and simply follow their lead on a much smaller scale.

It's pointless spending hundreds of pounds thinking the ROI (Return of Investment) is going to blow you out the water if it has no purpose or relevance to the industry you are in. Forgive me for saying this and no offence intended to those I know that use it... BUT, in my personal and professional opinion, social marketing is POINTLESS!!! - YES IT IS! If you can provide me with an example of how profitable it is to your business (that being Private Investigation) spending hours a week or day on there I will bow at your feet at profusely apologise.

It may be fun, sometime interesting, you may even make a few friends doing it, BUT, it will not make your business a success, not this one anyway! Don't get me wrong, if you enjoy (and it can be fun and interesting) then that's all well and good but if you are in it because you think it will make your business more profitable then forget it, go and buy some Asprin and bang your head against a wall, why? because it's just as pointless.

There are no secrets to making a business work for you, there are no secrets as to how you can make it profitable, successful or bigger and better than anyone else. It is simply hard work, dedication and motivation. Not sitting on your behind waiting for work to come to you, actually going out there and getting it - I mean go and get it, no, not by advertising, or social networking, or even emailing (which I detest, as I am sure you do when you get tons of junk email) I mean go out there, yes you may have to do some walking!

IT'S ALL TO DO WITH HOW MUCH YOU WANT IT and deciding WHAT YOU WANT!

Some people are happy to earn "beer money" part time, others are equally happy as long as the bills are paid.

One thing is for certain, it has been said many a times and proven in many different ways. I even remember Jorge (PI Guy) mentioning this a while back, IT PAYS TO HAVE A DECENT WEBSITE!
I don't just mean make it look pretty or have fancy graphics (although this can look good if done right) you also need to pay considerable attention and effort to SEO (if you don't know what that is - then get someone to build your site, re-vamp it or take a look at it for you) Believe ME, it pays off to have a good site, rich in SEO and well marketed!

In fact, in some cases, it is the difference between no enquiries and receiving 2,3,4 or more per day! - This then leads onto other topics... such as customer relations...

Imagine a trainee solicitor is tasked with obtaining three quotes from an Enquiry Agent for a process serve...

You can either put on your best voice and charm or you can sound like you have just been dragged away from playing on the XBox! - You have one chance to impress the client, if you succeed that client may remember you and use you again, better still, do a great job and they might remember you for life and in 5 years time when the trainee solicitor starts their own law firm, you may just be remembered when the need arises!

Have fun, stay safe and don't work too hard! ;)

Starting a business or indeed running a business is in itself full of all kinds of issues, some good, some bad. SO what do you do when it comes to accepting payment from a client, especially private clients. As a Private Investigator or Detective, or even someone who just offers Process Serving or Surveillance (service based assignments) would seem that getting payment from clients can be fraught with its own issues.

As most of us know a lot of private investigator work is tracing work or desktop based, some covers surveillance assignments and so on. For some of us we rarely get to see the client for one reason or another (it's not possible due to distances or simply because there is no need) so how do you go about getting your money/fee.

Well it sounds simple for some but for others it can be a minefield.

PayPal...
...is one option and probably one of the most recognised brands when it comes to electronic payments. They offer a simple way for clients to pay, simply click a link from your website and you are taken to a checkout screen that enables you to enter the agreed price and any details the client so wishes. PayPal will take a proportion of the fee, this varies and changes but on average it is about 3 - 5%. The downside of using PayPal I have found with private investigation businesses and any other service driven business is that they don't understand our business, or rather, they prefer to see a transaction of goods in order to satisfy themselves that you are not a fraudulent user.

PayPal also have one rule for everyone, whether you are someone selling collectable matchbox cards or a fully fledged business, it appears that everyone endures the same terms and conditions, rules and regulations. The downside of this, as we discovered recently, is that when PayPal carry out their periodic auditing (which according to them is random!) and they don't like the feel of how your account is managed (i.e. you have no physical products to sell or see) they get very nervous and place your account on hold until they have verified your details and conducted security checks. The result however, isn't always a happy one, as we found out. Which, meant that PayPal are now holding on to our clients payments for 180 days.
The moral of the story here is DO read the terms and conditions, rules and regulations etc and have a back up!

Google Checkout
As we have only just joined Google Checkout we can't comment too much but can raise the awareness that there are other payment providers.
Google checkout appears a much better option, we can email clients an invoice in seconds and they can pay with credit card or debit card instantly without having to sign up for an account. Unlike PayPal, if you have for any reason been banned, restricted or otherwise you can no longer register for an account, as we found out some weeks ago from a client who wanted to pay by card and tried to do so through paypal but refused it as the card was registered on an old account they once had.
The downside with Google Checkout is that you have to wait 10 days initially for them to transfer the money into your account once it has been verified, though, after 60 days, they reduce this to 3 days. so not a bad option. As for the fees, these are competitive and in-line with other similar companies offering the same service.

Merchant Bank Account
Obtaining a merchant banking account is no easy task, firstly you have to have an excellent credit rating, secondly you need to ideally have a registered company, and also they prefer to deal with companies that sell products not services so private investigators and the like are classed as high risk. Apparently, Private Investigators are high risk as we tend to bill clients before the job rather than after it. There theory is that, if a client was unhappy they would receive a lot of charge backs (refunds)

The main banks that offer Merchant Accounts (similar to a credit facility) are RBS (Royal Bank of Scotland) Barclays, Natwest - Streamline (effectively part of Natwest) and others. To apply you either register through your own bank or use many other available options such as companies who will do it all for you and set it up for a small fee. If you are lucky to get one you have the option of having a terminal (PDQ Machine) whereby you take payment over the phone or an e-terminal for using the facility online through your PC

Nochex
Nochex is different again, once you have set up your account and verified your bank details they can accept payment on your behalf, there are restrictions and fees on the amount you can accept and withdraw so it pays to read the small print.

BACS
Probably the most effective method of them all, simply provide your client with your bank details and more often than not the money is transferred within a couple of hours. There are no fees or charges either (unless it is a payment received from an international client)

There you have it, a taster of what is available for anyone who is stuck in a rut or can't think of a better way of receiving payments from private clients. Needless to say, we are steadily converting over to BACS payments for all our clients, private and business, where possible of course!

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 that personal data is used fairly and lawfully. However, whilst the vehicle register is not an open record, there are a limited range of circumstances in which data can be used properly for other purposes.

Read more

Radio equipment for the Private investigator

After reading various posts on different PI forums there seems to be a fair bit of confusion as to what is the best radio to get for the Private investigator. One of the most vital pieces of equipment you will need if you wish to perform a surveillance operation is good reliable radio communications.

Yes you can use mobile phones but you can't always get through and also, unless you are on a conference call can usually only speak to one person. Mobile phones are for use in lulls in radio comms. E.g. nothing has happened for some time and you need to relay a message that is not going to tie up the net, then use your phone. Note: Very slowly a system called PTT (Push to talk) is being rolled out in the UK with some commercial users using this system. Basically it’s a feature of a mobile phone that allows it to be used as a radio but without the range restrictions. However, I doubt very much that this will be free and will have the same restrictions of network coverage, another good reason for sticking with radio.

Out of radio range (usually means one of you has got held up) then use your mobile. Live commentary? Radio only!
Okay so what radio will you need and where should you purchase them from?

I have heard people say that they bought "a lovely little set from Argos for 20 quid" they will go on and say that they were great radios for the price etc. First of all you do not want to be buying cheap radios from Argos. These are the PMR 446 Licence free radios that every kid on the block had for Christmas, 8 channel jobs. This means that if you are using these radios on say, channel 1 any kid (or adult) that has a set of these tunes in to channel 1 quite innocently and is in your vicinity then he is going to be hearing your transmissions with great interest. Not only that but these radios being licence free are restricted to half a watt ERP (Effective radiated power) which is not good enough for our needs as the range is far too short. Most sets do not have a removable aerial either which means using any sort of vehicle mounted antenna is out of the question.

What you need is something designed for professional use. First of all you will need a radio licence. You will have to apply to ofcom and fill in a form stating the use of the radios. As they are radios not used at a fixed site you will require a UK general licence which covers the frequencies of.

Low VHF
Mid VHF
UHF

The licence costs around £60 and you can use any number of radios on that licence.
Radios are either VHF or UHF, you take your choice. Note this is in no way a statement condoning the practice of not bothering with a licence but its fact that if you don't then no one is policing the airwaves, checking that every transmission is being used by a licenced operator. If you fool around interfering with legitimate users then yes you will draw attention to yourself. But the law is the law so you should adhere to the rules and purchase a licence.

Personally I would not bother with the low VHF frequencies as the lower the frequency, the larger the antenna that is required, resulting in a large antenna at these low frequencies. The Mid VHF is more practical and it’s said that VHF glides through open spaces better than UHF.
UHF is supposed to be better at cutting through buildings in built up areas and requires a smaller antenna. I must say here that radio is an unpredictable science, sometimes you can be amazed at the ranges that can be achieved, other times you can be dismayed at the lack of range. Usually there can be an explanation such as a high vantage point for achieving long range and being in a dip for short range but sometimes there is no obvious explanation for the range extremes. Whilst we are on the subject I have heard statements like “We get ten miles range with our handhelds” Ok maybe if you are on top of a tower block on one side of the city you may achieve this, especially if the other chap is on a high vantage point too as radio works on line of sight. But in real life situations you are going to be getting a lot shorter range on a 5 watt hand held radio. So how do taxi drivers etc. get such extreme ranges being able to communicate all over the city with good clean signals? They use what is known as a repeater.

Basically a repeater can be an antenna system on top of a hill top or block of high rise flats that rebroadcasts the radio transmission it hears from a mobile unit. Example, A council worker driver wishes to tell his colleague who he knows is going to go on a certain route later and witnesses a car accident that is likely to congest the road for several hours and he wishes to tell him of the hold up. As he is seven miles away his transmissions will fall short and he won’t be heard by his friend or at best will receive a very scratchy signal. So a repeater is utilised, how this works is like this: Pete sees the accident and transmits on his radio on 459.950 (the frequency the radios are programmed to transmit on) the signal is easily heard by the high up repeater system and is re broadcast on 453.150 (the frequency that the council radios are programmed to receive on) as the repeater is high up and higher powered than the vehicle radios it is easily received on Bob’s radio and the message is clearly received. This system is called Duplex. Think of it like this, you and a friend are working on a house, your friend is in the front garden and you are in the back garden. You wish to relay a message to your friend in the front garden but the house is blocking your voice to your friend. Now if there was another chap on the roof he could hear you and relay your messages to your friend and vice versa.

So how does this all work for a Private investigator? We do not have such a luxury we will be using what is called Simplex, where the radios transmit and receive on the same frequency at a lower power, usually 4-5 watts handheld and 25 watts mobile. I will discuss later how to increase your range on such a system.

You now have your licence and ready to purchase some radios so where do you go? Well you could go to a PMR (Private mobile radio) dealer (Think it’s now changed its name to PBR-Private business radio) and pay top end prices or you could look on eBay. There are countless radios for sale on there from cheap Chinese radios to top end Motorola’s. So what about these cheap Chinese radios? Yes they are cheap but surprisingly good. I have purchased Puxing 777 radios for a very cheap price and they are very good value for the money giving excellent range and features.
Another word of caution here. By law all radios have to be type approved which means they are suitable for transmitting without causing interference on adjacent frequencies etc. these Chinese radio are not type approved. This does not mean they are not up to the job in fact they are more than capable. When a radio goes out of production it is also no longer type approved but does that mean it's no longer up to the job? Of course it doesn't. Again no one is policing this, and there are still people using gp300 radios which are still at this time considered one of the best pmr radios ever built but as it's no longer produced, technically it has no MOT! But again the law is the law!

There are numerous models of radios out there from Icom, Yaesu, Vertex, Motorola just to name a few, most of which should be up to the job. If using handhelds you want at least 4 watts which is the norm for UHF or 5 watts for VHF.
Mobile (car mounted) 25 watts. (Although this will infringe your UK general licence rules which is restricted to 5 watts) Again no one will probably know or care but again the law is...You know the rest.

CTCSS/DCS
Most Commercial radio users use a sub audible tone programmed into the radios that will open the squelch only on radios with the same sub-audible tone. Their own
radio system will all have the same CTCSS (Continuous tone coded squelch
System) or DCS (Digital coded Squelch) tone. This ensures that if any one
else on the same frequency but with a different tone transmits within range
then their radios will not hear any interference from those radios. This tone is
transmitted along with your voice but as stated earlier is sub audible so is not
heard.

A good example of this is a community repeater, not used as much today as they were a few years ago could have several users on a single frequency. So lets say there was a community repeater on say 453.050 MHz you could have say Bobs taxi’s, Sids skip co. and a veterinary surgeon all using the one frequency but as long as they all use different CTCSS tones, Taxi co. on one tone, skip co. on another tone and the vets on another tone, then they would be able to use their radios without interfering with each other.

So now you see the importance of having this set up on your radios? It would be no good you being on a job watching a worker from Morrison’s and finding you are on the same frequency/ctcss tone as Morrison’s who also use UK general frequencies. However, even if you are on the same frequency but using a different tone you should not interfere with each other. Don’t be fooled into thinking these CTCSS/DCS tones make your transmissions secure because they don’t. Motorola calls this feature PL or Private line which can cause some people to feel that their transmissions must now be private i.e. secure.

To make your transmissions more secure it helps to keep radio traffic down when it’s not needed. Surveillance voice traffic stands out like a sore thumb and anyone using a receiver such as a radio scanner will soon lock on to you with interest as your voice traffic will add a bit of excitement to their day. Even another radio user can tune in that is on the same frequency but using another tone. What normally happens on a radio that is using the same frequency is although their radios remain silent due to being on a different sub tone, on some radios the tx/rx (transmit/receive) light on top of the radio will flash red and a lot of radios have a squelch defeat button that when depressed lets in the audio from the other users radio!

To further secure your transmissions try to avoid using specific road names as you may find some unwanted guests turning up for a nose and most probably compromising your position.
Also remember if using 25 watt radios, although this is great for longer range comms, it also makes you fair game from eavesdroppers from further a field.

If you want to get serious about avoiding your comms being compromised you should consider some form of encryption. The Puxing radios mentioned earlier in the Puxing 777+ guise offer basic voice scrambling which should lock out all but the most determined of eavesdroppers. It has been said that if someone stumbles across a scrambled transmission it will make the listener very inquisitive and determined to hear what is going on. I say so what? If you were in the clear he would be tuned in anyway, if you are using scrambling then the chances are unless he is very determined and downloads the relevant software he won’t be able to listen to what is being said.

There are more advanced encryption solutions out there should you really want to get serious (Personally I wont use any insecure radios on any of my jobs) such as rolling code inversion scrambling and digital scrambling.

Digital radios
It’s a fact that we are entering a digital age, our music is now digital and soon all our commercial radios that we listen to, Radio 1 etc on are now becoming digital with DAB radios coming to the fore. Also Television which is sent via radio waves is due for a digital switchover very shortly. All the blue light forces now use secure digital radios using a system called tetra http://www.tetramou.com/tetramou.aspx?id=44 and on a network called “Airwave” which is only open to government bodies. Slowly the same can be said for pmr radios. To the forefront of this project is Motorola with their Mototrbo digital radio system. http://www.zenitel.com/Global/Denmark/Dokumenter/Motorola/MOTOTRBO_System_Brochure.pdf The advantages being digital clear audio with no hissing or crackling as the range increases. One to one calling facility, with my radios I can call any of the team at any time and all other radios remain silent, should a group call come in from the rest of the team it will cut us out of the one to one call and put us back into the group call. Although I do not use this facility as it will be an unnecessary drain on battery power and can be done via the mobile phone. Text messaging is also available on the models with a display such as the DP3600. Kenwood have their “Nexedge” system Icom has IDAS and before we know it digital will be the norm.

Mototrbo does not use ctcss or dcs it uses another format called colour codes so if the colour code does not match your colour code then the radios will remain silent. Actually there’s a lot more programming that goes into a digital radio before it will talk to another radio such as a group ID number and an individual radio ID that has to be on the group setup.
Digital also means that any eavesdropper will be listening to digital white noise and just for good measure should they manage to decode it (Apparently it has now been achieved by using Linux and a discriminator tap on a receiver, however this is only possible on the systems that employ a repeater not simplex as we would use them) the software for programming these radios has a privacy (Encryption) feature that will stop them in their tracks! The range of these radios is supposed to be greater than their analogue counterparts, I have not however conducted any tests to prove or disprove this theory.

One thing to be aware of though, when you get out of range on these radios the signal will just drop completely as digital is all or nothing. Think how your mobile phone calls sometimes just drop when you are on a call, whereas analogue goes scratchy and intermittent at least you know you are moving out of range, but the advertising hype says that digital will stay audible where analogue struggles and will drop out beyond the range of analogue. Like I say I have not conducted any real tests.
Again these radios can be picked up on eBay
http://shop.ebay.co.uk/?_from=R40&_trksid=p3907.m570.l1313&_nkw=mototrbo&_sacat=See-All-Categories

Magnetic mounted (Mag mounts) antennas.
When a radio is in the confines of a vehicle with the supplied helical antenna. Commonly known as a “Rubber duck” the radio is restricted as it is shrouded by the metal of the vehicle. This cuts down on the range and to combat this you will need a mag mount antenna that sits on the outside of the vehicle. The vehicle metal acting as a ground plane to assist in the range of the radio transmissions giving you much better range. Obviously you will want to place it somewhere not too obvious such as hidden behind your existing broadcast antenna. I do know some people use the mag mount inside the vehicle for maximum discretion, however that for me defeats the object as I have run tests inside and out and there is a marked decrease in radio range when using inside the vehicle.

Remember that the antenna will have to be cut for size depending on the frequency used. In the case of UHF a small 6” quarter wave antenna can be used which does not stick out like a sore thumb. If lower frequencies are used then a longer antenna will be needed. Try to avoid using eBay mag mounts as they are mainly receive only scanner antennas that are not built with good quality components. I get mine from a pmr radio dealer. Just tell them the frequency you will be using and they will cut it to the appropriate length and will use good quality cable, as using cheap cable results in loss on the signal.

Speaker mics
You should also invest in some fist mics so that you don’t have to keep holding the radio to your mouth, these give far more flexibility and much easier to use than just using the radio. Try not to scrimp too much here as although you can buy cheap non OEM types they can be quite “tinny” in sound quality. Using speaker mics you can put the radio in a suitable spot in the car and not having to keep reaching for it and fumbling about if you have it in say the passenger seat. My car has an arm rest which lifts up and exposes a compartment for storing items. I find my radio sits lovely here and is away from prying eyes if anyone was to walk past and look into your vehicle.

Batteries
All radios unless they are mobile vehicle units in which case they will be powered from the vehicle. Will require batteries. Remember the more you use your radios for idle chit chat etc. the shorter the battery life. If possible take a spare fully charged set with you in case you are on plot for longer than was envisaged. Also remember if you charge up your batteries after a days surveillance and don’t use them again until a couple of months your batteries may well have self discharged so always charge the day before.

Ear pieces
I don’t like most ear pieces especially the supposedly “Covert” curly wired ear pieces that shout out “FBI” to all and sundry. If you can get them (probably have to have them made up) go for the walkman type earphones that everyone is used to seeing and people if they even take a blind bit of notice of you will assume you are listening to your ipod or if they hear you talking will assume you are on your phone. Wireless earpieces are another good option.

© M.Rattenbury www.investigateit.co.uk 2010

We are on several Social Networking platforms including forums like this one. As a result we have a long list of "followers" or people that we connect with or interact with. We value those connections and as such felt that we needed a follow policy so that everyone knows what to expect from us.

I’ve established the following Social Networking/Following Policy so that anyone who wishes to “connect,” “friend” or “follow” me can clearly understand how and why and on which service I may, or may not, chose to interact with them. As a result, my policy helps me manage the expectations of my network. When everyone knows what to expect, they won’t be upset if, for example, I connect with them on LinkedIn, but haven’t “friended” them on Facebook.

Twitter | Professional Networking, Develop Business Opportunities, Learn and Grown professionally and Personally, Have Fun

I normally follow those that interact with me using the @. I don't always follow back especially if I am already connected with you elsewhere. I follow tweeps through lists as well.

e-LEGAL Gathering | Maintain Professional CPD's (Continuing Professional Development), Join in Interesting Law and PI related discussions, Professional Networking, Obtain Professional Resources and Services.

Facebook | Share with Family & Friends, Sharing photos, old friends and some select collegaues, Social Groups

LinkIn | Maintain Contact and Network with Former/Current Colleagues, Professional Networking on Discussion Groups

The PI's Diary | I actually have several blogs | The PI's Diary, Spy Diary, Undercover Ops | I use these various Blogs to discuss PI subjects and maintain discussions within them through the comments.

SkyPe | allied-detectives-seops | Professional Video Conferencing with customers, colleagues and family.

IM | Real Time face to face discussions with Friends and family ONLY.

That’s it. I look forward to reading your Comments.

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 safety when used as part of strategy in tackling crime and disorder.

However, what about targeted or directed covert surveillance?

Targeted or directed covert surveillance is a method of gathering evidence or information in respect of a specific identified person to be used for a specific reason. This type of surveillance is used by a number of government organisations and law enforcement agencies.

You may be thinking, “Why should this type of surveillance concern me?”

Well unless you are a spy for a foreign covert intelligence agency, a terrorist or a criminal then the average person should have absolutely nothing to worry about…..hmmm really? Maybe it’s not so clear cut.

Read more

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 investigation or intelligence gathering requirement. An informant’s desire to be of assistance during an investigation can depend heavily on what motivates them. Some common motivators can be, moral or ethical reasons, monetary gain, revenge or simply to seek the approval of the investigator.

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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 clients on a regular basis so it is excellent to have an answer from a true legal perspective. The advice given by Ian Martin is clear and succinct and is worth having a look at and taking on board.

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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, their ability to gather information will be significantly impaired. In short, professional investigators must have personal characteristics that attract and motivate others.

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The increasing use of DNA Analysis in crime detection is not news. Many people see the collection and analysis of DNA as the panacea to all crime detection difficulties; often at the expense of more traditional methods of solving crimes.

I can't deny that the development of DNA profiling has added a powerful dimension to the techniques and methodology used by detectives and crime scene investigators; however, critics assert that sometimes too much reliance can be placed upon DNA evidence. I have to agree with the critics; we have to bear in mind that "evidence out of context is not really evidence".

Read the full article

Private Investigators as Process Servers

Legally speaking anyone of at least the age of 16 years can be a Process Server in the UK, however, not everyone knows how to do it and more to the point not everyone knows how to do it in a legally acceptable manner. Moreover, not everyone knows how to draft an acceptable affidavit or statement of service.

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Private Investigator Mentoring

I often get emails and ‘phone calls from people wanting to become Private Investigators but not having any idea of where or how to start. As a consequence, I accidentally stumbled into ‘mentoring’ and have assisted a number of people who have since gone on to be very successful within the Private Investigator Industry.

Company, Agency or Freelance?

One of the issues that raises itself when people start out in the PI industry is whether to start an agency as a sole trader or partnership under a trading name, form a Limited Company or to remain self-employed and therefore be known as a freelance private investigator. Each has its pros and cons as I am sure you will appreciate. Firstly, you must decide whether you want to build and grow a business and subsequently enjoy increasing profits from that business or whether you simply wish to earn a living. Deciding this can be the biggest indicator of which way to go i.e. the way of the business/agency/company or whether to be happy working freelance.

Read the full article

Witnessing a Crime

Have you ever seen an incident or a crime and then had to provide a witness statement to the police? Trying to accurately remember the finer details of an occurrence even a short time after the event can be difficult. This is called eyewitness testimony and is an important part of any judicial system.

Eyewitness testimony is legal jargon that refers to a verbal and/or written account given by people of an event they have witnessed i.e. seen with their own eyes. For example a witness may be required to give a description to the police with regards to a robbery that has been committed or a road accident that they have seen. Subsequently the witness may have to recount, to a court of law, the circumstances of what they previously witnessed. This includes identification of the person or persons responsible and details of the crime scene etc.

Juries tend to pay close attention to eyewitness testimony and generally find it a reliable source of information.

But is eyewitness testimony reliable?

Research has found that eyewitness testimony can be affected by many factors which can make the information or evidence recalled by a witness less reliable:

• Anxiety / Stress
• Reconstructive Memory
• Weapon Focus
• Leading Questions
  
  (Loftus and Palmer, 1974)

It is very true that often witnesses make mistakes; no malice is intended. Human memory can be a complex thing and it those factors previously mentioned that can contribute to inaccuracies and mistakes made by any human eyewitness.

I discovered this website which illustrates the fallibilities of the human memory whilst recording and recalling witnessed events.

Have a look at the video clips and see how the potential witnesses got on.

http://onlineclassroom.tv/psychology...ness_testimony

BigIthePI is the screen name for Ian Harm the founder of IAC Investigations a Professional Investigations Agency Situated in the North East of England

for Breaking into Someone's House

People often wonder why I picked on their house. To answer that, I need to give you some insight into my mind. To my mind, it’s nothing personal. I need to earn my money to buy drugs & beer and this is clearly the easiest way of doing that. Your things are probably insured, you can probably replace them before too long and I can try again when you do. :)

What to look for when choosing a house to break into

When I go out robbing, I normally stay within a few miles of home. I know my area intimately. I usually look for houses that are easy to get into and that are empty. The best time to do that is during the day. I really don’t want to meet anyone while I’m stealing and most people are out during the day, usually at work.

I am looking for several things that will immediately stand out to my eyes.
• Open windows (No need to break in)
• Garden gates left open (easy to get to the back of the house)
• High fences (no one can see me doing my thing)
• Ladders and other tools left available for me to use (allows me to access upstairs windows and tools to force my way in)
• Lots of mail, milk or newspapers left inside the door (means there’s no one home)
• Lights off during the evening
• I will always check to see if spare house keys are left near the front door or back doors. People leave them there in case they get locked out.
• I also look through the letterbox coz people often leave their keys on a string inside or very near the door. Their car keys are left there too.
• I like looking into people’s windows coz I want to know if they have anything worth stealing.

What to watch out for...

Some houses I avoid like the plague;
• Any house that has a burglar alarm system
• Any house that has CCTV
• Any house that has security lights
• Large Dogs
• Streets that have a Neighbourhood Watch Scheme
• Houses that clearly have people in it.
• Houses that have strong locks

What happens once I’ve picked out my target?

FRONT DOOR: I normally approach the front door and ring the bell. I want to be absolutely sure that there’s no one home. While I’m there I will search for the spare house keys. I will check the strength of the lock. Most doors have a Yale latch lock. These are easy to get through. If there is a mortise lock then that presents a bigger problem.

BACK DOOR: The front door though is not where I normally break in through. I prefer the back door as there’s less chance of being seen or heard. The high fences or hedges keep the neighbours from seeing what’s going on. I check the back area for spare keys and look for any open windows. I will test the doors and windows to see how strong they are. I am looking at the locks in particular. I know that most people put good locks on the front door but ignore the back door.

PATIO DOORS: I love patio doors. Patio doors are secured by latches not locks. They are vulnerable to being forced open from the outside because of these inherently defective latch mechanisms. Older Patio doors can be lifted up and off their track, thereby defeating the latch mechanism.

WINDOWS: People leave windows open a lot more than doors. Most windows don’t have locks. They tend to have latches and are easy to defeat.

GARAGE: Again garages normally have either no locks or very easy locks to defeat. Garages normally have expensive tools that I can sell easily or tools that I can use to force my way into the main house.

What to steal

So once I’m in, what do I look for? Well anything I can sell for cash. Any electronics, cash and jewellery will do. Car keys will give me access to an expensive car too.
• Cash
• Credit Cards
• DVD players
• TV sets
• Hi-Fi systems
• Microwave ovens
• Mobile phones
• iPods
• Xbox, Wii, PS3, DS. PSP
• Laptops
• Personal computers

Well you get the picture, anything I can carry away easily and sell easily. For a few minutes work, I can earn a couple of hundred quid, no problems. :D