Hood Investigates: The secret life of a private eye
Perhaps it’s woman waiting patiently behind you in the Starbucks queue, or the man sitting opposite your table in a restaurant. You wouldn’t know a private eye if you saw one but chances are, you already have…
Honey-trapping is a term that we might all be familiar with, even if we’ve never experienced it ourselves. The concept is simple: if you believe your partner is capable, or may already be cheating, you can hire the services of someone who’ll try and tempt them into doing so. But this has never sat well with us. By putting your partner in this position – a position they may not have found themselves in otherwise – what’s your desired goal? If they cheat, then you’ve manipulated the situation for them to do so. What if they had never cheated prior? What if they turn down the orchestrated advances but proceed to conduct their fornication elsewhere? Piqued by our many, many questions on the matter, Hood sought counsel with a private detective to learn more about this practice. However, what we learnt is that private investigation goes way beyond general suspicions.
Hollywood has long portrayed private detectives as lone, shadowy figures, often outfitted in trench coats and impractically large hats. They may even wield a pipe—but only if they’ve truly earned their sleuthing stripes. Film noir made society’s romanticised obsession with the profession inevitable, but what is it really like being a P.I.?
“Many people will likely be surprised to learn that there is a “cloak and dagger” element to private investigation”, reveals an investigator, who would prefer to remain anonymous, from Scotland-based Elite Professional Investigations. “There are instances when some form of disguise is required; however, it's nothing like what people would like to imagine. The art form is being dressed for the environment you are in, enabling you to blend in—to disappear.”
Our contact has been in the business of chasing down leads for years and has seen the industry change dramatically thanks to technological advances in equipment and, of course, the internet. “The digital sphere, and social media, has certainly had an impact on our industry, both in positive and negative ways. It is good for initial research purposes, as we all know a lot of people put their whole life on social media. The amount of data we have access to online these days is outstanding. Gone are the days of heading down to the public records office and sifting through mountains of archived documents."
That said, social media snooping can only get you so far. "Platforms such as Facebook and Instagram are great research tools but, without the knowledge of where to look within those platforms, you are likely to be scrolling through pages of useless data for hours. Also, we have access to many more databases that hold a lot more data which we can access in a more timely and effective manner.” Take note, Coleen Rooney…
Our current social culture means that allegations can be made about others with very little evidence or consequence but, to our surprise, our contact reveals that often, gut instincts prove to be correct.
“The majority of cases, particularly those involving infidelity, prove that the client's suspicions are correct. 90% of female clients who suspect their partner of cheating are correct. They do say a woman’s intuition is never wrong, and I wholly agree. When it comes to these sorts of cases, workplace parties and nights out are a major concern when it comes to matrimonial affairs and cheating partners."
As for the aforementioned honey trapping, our insider warns against it. "It’s certainly not something that we do nor do we agree with the method. You will find some companies that will offer this but it’s not viewed as a plausible method by any reputable investigation company. You're placing that individual into a situation that would likely not have happened otherwise and luring them into a trap. As a professional, I have to question the morality behind it."
So what does occupy much of a private investigator’s time? Many women employ sleuths at the early stages of a new relationship to protect themselves from potential heartbreak, a scam, or something much worse. “We are receiving more and more requests like this,'' says our contact. “A background check on an individual is the safest and most cost-effective way to protect yourself from any of the many potential risks of a new person entering your life.”
Other common needs for private investigation include child custody battles, fraud, workplace theft, and well as those wishing to track down long-lost relatives and even school friends. As for less-common requests, our contact remains tight-lipped: “The ‘unexpected’ and ‘unusual’ has become the norm to us. I am very rarely surprised these days.”
Much like any other profession, some days on the job will prove more difficult than others but very seldom is personal safety a cause for concern. However, for a private investigator, it’s something they need to take very seriously indeed.
“Some cases can be particularly sensitive and some subjects can be very aware of their surroundings. The need to work in isolation is sometimes required to gain relevant evidence. We do, however, have robust plans in place to ensure all risk to our operators are kept to a minimum.”
And what if someone realises they are being tailed? "Good question; unfortunately that is one that will have to stay secret. What I will say is that we are not invisible; we will be ‘seen' on occasions, but we should not be ‘noticed'. If we are, we are trained to deal with the situation. We are, however, never really alone on the job; technology is our greatest ally. The equipment we use daily includes a good camcorder or digital camera for long-distance evidence gathering and, when we are up-close and personal, we use several covert cameras. These can be anything from a button camera in your shirt to a pinhole camera in your backpack—even the pen in your pocket can disguise a camera. Every operator is different and has his or her favourite tools."
If you have contemplated enlisting the services of a private investigator, for whatever reason, there are some things our contact would like you to know first. “Before you begin even entertaining the idea, know who you are dealing with; do your research. There are some companies out there who say they are local investigators but are part of a much larger agency that will subcontract your case to someone with little knowledge on the matter or environment. You need to know who will be working on your case up-front, so be sure to ask that question. As far as I’m concerned, if you pay peanuts, you get monkeys. At Elite Professional Investigations, we aim to keep our prices competitive and fair to the client, but any good P.I. knows their worth and the worth of their operatives.”
We would like to extend a thank you to Elite Professional Investigations for collaborating with us on this candid interview.