Myth #1: I wear a trench coat and fedora.
While on a surveillance case, a private investigator should dress to blend in with the location. So if I’m tailing a Wall Street type during the work week, I may wear a suit. Or if I’m tailing someone on a weekend, I may wear jeans and a baseball cap. Although I do own a trench coat, it is has yet to be part of my “disguise”. Since I’ve never had a case to follow someone to a costume party, I can’t imagine a scenario where dressing like Dick Tracy would help me blend in with a crowd.

Myth #2: My days are full of car chases, shootouts and other suspenseful activities.
I wish my days were as exciting as Magnum’s, although I’m pretty happy to skip the shootouts. The reality is that most of my time is spent running background reports and doing computer surveillance and forensics, which doesn’t exactly put me in the line of fire. But when I am doing surveillance, a typical case involves sitting in a car for at least 3-4 hours waiting for the suspect to emerge from a building door. This can get immensely boring. And unlike cop shows on TV, I don’t have a partner keeping me company, which brings me to the next assumption…

Myth #3: I have a sidekick.
Unlike Sherlock Holmes, I don’t have a loyal sidekick who goes with me everywhere, ready to help me get out of trouble or crack a case. Wouldn’t that be nice! I usually work alone, but on rare occasions may work with another private investigator for a particularly tricky moving surveillance case.

Myth #4: It’s easy to follow someone.
If you’ve ever followed a friend’s car to a restaurant or their house, you know how easily you can lose someone in a car. Maybe they blaze through a yellow light, and you get stuck as it turns red. Or maybe a minivan sneaks in between your cars so you miss seeing a turn your friend makes. So if it’s hard enough to follow someone who wants you to follow them, imagine how difficult it can be to follow someone when you don’t want them to notice you.

Myth #5: I have a tricked out car.
The last thing a private investigator wants is to get made, so driving a flashy, recognizable car like Kit from Knightrider would be an incredibly bad idea. For my moving surveillance cases, I drive a basic, nondescript sedan. If I conduct moving surveillance on the same subject multiple times, then I will use different cars on each day.

1.  The private investigator is anonymous to the subject.

One of the main reasons most people hire a PI is because they know they are likely to be recognized and caught if they try to do the work themselves. If you are trying to follow your cheating spouse, it is almost certain that he will recognize your car or spot you, and your cover will be blown. Not only will this result in embarrassment for you or suspicion by him, but it will jeopardize the entire case. If your spouse now believes you are suspicious of his behavior, he will be more cautious in the future, making it more difficult to catch him.

2.  Private investigators can legally conduct surveillance.

Clients often mistakenly believe they can follow their spouse and use any evidence found in subsequent court testimony. However, in Connecticut for example, your spouse or significant other can have you arrested for stalking if you are following them. If you are charged with stalking, any evidence you find would’ve been obtained illegally and could be inadmissible in court. Only the police and private investigators are exempt from this law and legally allowed to follow individuals and record their activities.

3.  Private investigators are skilled at investigative work.

Being a private investigator requires many skills beyond knowing how to drive and take photos. If you’ve ever tried following a friend’s car to a restaurant, for example, you know how easy it is to lose them on the highway or at a traffic light – and this is when they want you to follow them! So imagine trying to follow someone who doesn’t want to be followed, you may not know the intended destination, and you’re trying to avoid being obvious and getting caught. A private investigator has to be not only constantly aware of a subject’s every move, but also able to anticipate likely actions. Because moving surveillance is so difficult, it is sometimes recommended for multiple agents to be on the case at the same time or, at the very least, for a private investigator to change attire or even vehicles during a surveillance case. 

Besides being surveillance experts, private investigators must master many technologies. They need to know how to use overt and covert cameras, install and download surveillance software, keystroke loggers and GPS trackers, perform counter surveillance, retrieve deleted computer files, find elusive background information online, and much more. Above everything, they know which investigative technique is best to use when and how to handle themselves if their cover is blown, to avoid jeopardizing the case. 

4.  Private investigators know the law.

Gathering evidence is of little use if it’s not admissible in court or, even worse, if the activity is illegal and lands you in jail. A private investigator knows what is and isn’t legal and the proper way to gather evidence in order for it to be admissible in court. For example, you can place a GPS tracker on your spouse’s vehicle as long as the vehicle is registered in your name or is intended for use by the family. This usually means you cannot place a GPS tracking device on your girlfriend or boyfriend’s car. The same law applies to installing surveillance software on a computer. In a situation where a client wants to perform an activity that is illegal, a professional private investigator will know of and suggest an alternate solution which is legal.

5.  Surveillance is time-consuming.

Surveillance is often time-consuming and, to the surprise of many, can be very boring. In an average surveillance case, a private investigator might spend an entire evening sitting in a vehicle watching a building door for a subject to emerge. It is unlikely that the first time you conduct surveillance on a subject, that person commits the very activity you were hired to catch. More often than not, a private investigator will need to conduct surveillance on multiple occasions in order to catch someone in the act. It’s just the nature of the work. Most clients have a full-time job or other responsibilities preventing them from spending large quantities of time following their spouse or significant other.