Hot Topics in Investigation: State Representatives Become Private Investigators

• December 08, 2013
• by Kimberly Faber

Private investigators are constantly in the news and a very active group on social media. This week's hot topics include holiday shopping safety, surveillance cameras, state representatives become investigators, and more. Here are this week's hot topics in investigation:

Tips from a Private Investigator: staying safe while holiday shopping

Excerpt: "The more people that come out here, the more I see people putting themselves at risk," said Private Investigator Steven Watson. . . Watson says, one thing that just about everyone does; talking on your cell phone while walking to your car, can make you unaware of your surroundings, a perfect time for someone to attack."

What are some of the surveillance cameras being used out there to conduct surveillance?

Excerpt: "The depth of view and angle of view are dependent factors. If you are looking for depth you lose width and conversely if you go for a wider view you lose depth. The system I got was more than adequate for depth and I could bring it back for additional width, but unable to bring it back to a width the client wanted. And part of the problem was a changing attitude of the client. The quality of the images was exceptional for our needs."

Local women open private investigation firm

Excerpt: "Rep. Connie O'Brien is one of the members of the firm Private Investigators III, which is based in Leavenworth. O'Brien, a Republican who represents the 42nd District in the Kansas House of Representatives, has become a licensed private investigator through the state. Her partner Jana Goodman, who's a former state legislator, also is a licensed investigator. The third member of the firm, Barb Paulus, is in the process of obtaining her private investigator license."

How Long Have You Been a PI?

PI Magazine is running an online poll to determine the average number of years current Private Investigators have been in business.

The Truth About Deception

Excerpt: "We believe that becoming an industry thought leader is a long, arduous process. It’s not about “generating content.” It’s about relationships — gaining the trust of our small community of investigators by providing useful, interesting articles about the investigations field."

Up and coming conversations you won't want to miss

Here are just a few of the conversations happening right now:

• How is GPS and GPS data used in private investigation? What are the benefits? How have you utilized it in the past?
• Process Server Associations
• Detecting surveillance equipment
• How private investigators can help reduce business risk