Essential Equipment for Surveillance Private Investigations

Private Investigation schools in Oklahoma only teach their students the bare bones basics and laws. They fail to teach how to skip trace people to locate missing kids, how to conduct surveillance, and other crucial job duties related to this legal field. As such, our private eyes have noticed that many brand-new cheating spouse private detectives have no clue as to what equipment to have on hand when conducting surveillance private investigations. Thus, our legal team has put together a list of vital private investigation equipment that is essential for anyone seeking to catch cheaters, conduct child custody private investigations, or do any investigative work which requires surveillance.

Equipment Needed for Successful Surveillance:

The list below is a basic set of items that every successful, prepared private investigator in Mustang must carry while conducting surveillance private investigations. Please remember this is not a complete list, and depending on circumstances you might need too add to the items in the following list:

Working, Inconspicuous Car or SUV:

One particularly important thing that all private eyes need to conduct surveillance private investigations is a car or SUV that runs well, does not make too much noise, and can drive at high speeds, if necessary. Notice we did not say truck. Trucks are too conspicuous, and even cars with bright colors or which otherwise stand out and will help the client burn/identify the PI.

Phone Charger Cords & Battery Backups:

Phone chargers are also an essential must-have when conducting surveillance. Child custody private detectives can use their cell phones for a variety of helpful purposes, when conducting surveillance investigations. These include, but are not limited to, the following:

To Take Photos & Videos of the POI:

Cell phones are inconspicuous, because most people have them nowadays. They are perfect for discreetly taking photos and videos of a person of interest (POIs). Of course, most are still not as good and of as high a quality as those expensive, advanced cameras and video recording devices.

To Communicate with Other Private Investigation Agency Staff, The Client, & Law Enforcement Personnel:

Communication is vital for criminal private investigators who are conducting surveillance private investigations. One never knows what could potentially go wrong or what actions the POI or other people on the scene might take. Thus, having a fully charged phone is crucial to maintaining communication with others. 

Indeed, cell phones can easily lose their battery charge, and it happens much faster than most people realize. Carrying an extra phone charge or two can assist with always having a reliable source of communication. A cell phone with a dead battery can completely jeopardize a case’s outcome.

As a Flashlight:

Any human trafficking private investigator who is doing surveillance to try to locate sex trafficking victims can tell you that plenty of this surveillance also occurs at nighttime. Thus, having a flashlight handy can help private detectives see documents, read license plates, and so much more that an absence of adequate lighting will make impossible. Without a phone charger to keep one’s cell phone properly charged and the flashlight app ready, the prospect of a successful investigation outcome can dim significantly.

To Track Mileage & Time Spent On The Case.

To help private eyes know what to bill their clients and how much mileage to deduct for tax purposes when filing taxes, PIs need to track their mileage. Many phones have mileage tracker apps which help them achieve this, and this is a vital function of proper billing and tax filing.

A murder private investigator can also use the clock app on a properly charged cell phone to help them keep track of the time they spend working on a case. From surveillance to interviewing witnesses, perpetrators, and victims, and more, keeping track of billable hours is crucial to receiving just compensation from one’s clients.

As a GPS Device for Traveling to New Locations

Cell phones also have apps like Google Maps and other GPS travel devices which help them get from one location to another with ease. These sure beat the outdated MapQuest, let alone those old-fashioned maps like people could and still can buy at fuel stations. If private investigators allow their phone batteries to die and fail to bring a charger to keep them on and going, then they might quickly find themselves stuck and having to rely upon those old, outdated maps from the Dark Ages.

Listening to Videos and Music While Conducting Surveillance

Cell phones can be amazing for listening to music and videos, while watching a house or other location. Indeed, surveillance private investigations can indeed quickly become monotonous, and having something fun to listen to can help the hours pass by quicker. If private detectives in OKC fail to keep a phone charger handy and their phone battery dims, the music and videos will go with the dead battery. The investigation will thus feel like it takes a lot longer to complete and will indeed be boring.

For Ordering Food & Drinks On DoorDash or Uber Eats, If They Run Out.

Some private investigation agency supervisors, like those at OJPS Legal, are super sweet and will sometimes send our private investigators in Oklahoma City some extra food and drinks to help them during especially long investigation stints. Other private eyes will simply order the food themselves. Having some food and water and thus a full belly can help improve focus and mental acuity. 

Without a phone charger to keep a full phone battery, a cheating spouse private detective’s phone can die and thus requests to supervisors for food or even placing orders to DoorDash and Uber Eats on one’s own phone become impossible. Once again, this is yet another perfect reason to always keep cell phones fully charged and to always have backup battery packs and phone chargers on hand. 

Full Tank of Fuel/Full Electricity Charge:

Most newbie private detectives in Moore do not understand how important a full take of gas/fuel or a full electrical battery charge for electric vehicles having is to doing a professional surveillance job. Nothing stops surveillance in its tracks faster than running out of fuel or electrical battery power does. This is a novice mistake, but it is easy to prevent.

Properly Mounted PIKEPASS:

When conducting surveillance private investigations, newbie private investigators often do not know that the people they are following might suddenly go onto a toll road. To avoid fines, fees, and tickets, every private detective must get a PIKEPASS from the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority  (OTA). They do not charge monthly fees, and private investigators and process servers may charge their clients for the toll fees they incur, while using the turnpikes during their infidelity private investigations.

Hardcopy of Your Private Investigation License:

The owners of our private investigation agency always instruct every Oklahoma private investigator who works for them to never tell POIs, nosey neighbors, or even law enforcement officers what they are doing during surveillance. Otherwise, doing so risks the entire case because even neighbors and police officers can narc on the private eye and might tell the POI about the surveillance. This would jeopardize the entire surveillance private investigation.

When police officers stop and ask process servers or private detectives what they are doing while on a public road conducting surveillance, supervisors have instructed them to reply only with, “I am sitting here enjoying my day, Officer. What are you up to?” Almost no deputies and police officers ever provide any assistance of any kind to our process servers and child custody private investigator. Thus, none of us feel any need to comply, help, or provide extra assistance to them unless the law requires us to do so.

While it is helpful to carry their Oklahoma private investigator license, especially if armed, our sex trafficking private investigators also remember that Oklahoma is not a “stop and ID” state. Thus, without probable cause, such as a traffic violation or reasonable suspicion of criminal activity, no one must show identification to a police officer, and they cannot make people do so against their will.

Extra Pepper Gel:

Pepper gels are extremely useful as protective, defensive weapons. Governments do not usually require special training or classes to use them, and they are quick, easy to use, and cheap to purchase. A criminal private detective who is facing an imminent attack from another individual can easily whip out a can of pepper gel in each hand and spray several times at a perpetrator who is up to ten feet away. These are not the only benefits of pepper gel though.

The damage that pepper gel inflicts is non-lethal, unlike firearms that shoot bullets and potentially even from the electricity that tasers and stun guns contain. This makes pepper gel more versatile, meaning that adultery private detectives can use it more easily in a wider variety of dangerous situations – even if they are not necessarily life-threatening. 

Loaded Firearm, if Properly C.L.E.E.T. Licensed:

The Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training (C.L.E.E.T) offers a special Phase IV class, the successful completion of which authorizes licensed private detectives in Oklahoma to carry firearms. While only permitted to fire when in a life-or-death situation, having a loaded gun on hand is essential for process servers and armed private investigators with the proper C.L.E.E.T licensure. Indeed, if an attacker comes at you with a firearm and all you brought to the fight is pepper gel or a taser, someone is getting killed and it is not the perpetrator.

Extra Food & Water:

While drinking too much water is not always a good idea, especially for female private investigators or anyone without a penis who have more difficulty urinating while doing surveillance in a car, having an extra supply of food and water nonetheless is vital. Dehydration is also a real thing, as is hunger. Private detectives near me must have adequate supplies, especially during extended child custody private investigations.

Something to Urinate & Defecate In: 

Having something to defecate and urinate in while conducting surveillance private investigations is vital. People with penises, such as cisgender men, preop transgender women, and post-op trans men, have an advantage because their penises allow them to pee in bottles and cups with relative ease. Women who are transgender, are post-op, and pre-op transgender men both have vaginas, and as such urinating becomes more difficult for them because they have no penis with which to aim.

Defecating is difficult for all genders, regardless of genitalia. Wise private investigators in Edmond, Oklahoma use the restroom before they begin surveillance and try to limit food and drink intake before and during surveillance private investigations. This is the most initiative-taking approach that a cheating spouse private detective can take to help herself or himself avoid needing to use the restroom while on the job.

When they must poop while on the job, they can either poop in a portable pot, can exit the vehicle and do it on the side of the road if they are in a secluded area, or a private eye may go to a nearby gas station. 

Each option comes with downsides though, and none of the ways is good or easy to accomplish.

Defecating in a pot is awkward and difficult, but it offers the most cover and allows the PI to keep an eye on the POI in the process. This is what most child custody private investigators do when they need to pee and poop. It does tend to stink up a vehicle though, unless the private investigator tosses the urine and/or feces out the window thereafter.

Pooping on the side of the road increases the risk of getting burned by the POI and/or arrested by a secluded police officer. It also leaves human feces right next to a surveillance vehicle, as if that is not an obvious giveaway.

Leaving the scene of surveillance is the easiest option for using the restroom, but when an adultery private detective leaves the POI may also disappear in that short timeframe, thus jeopardizing the entire case. While most convenient in terms of the ease it gives while relieving oneself, it often causes the most damage to both civil and criminal surveillance cases, if the POI leaves. Knowing where the individual went and what they are doing is almost impossible to know.

Change of Clothing, Sunglasses, & Hat:

Having a change of clothing is vital when doing surveillance investigations, because if a POI becomes suspicious of the PI it helps to have disguises and changes of clothing. Items like sunglasses, hats, and clothes that look different than the black clothing that all private investigators should have on when beginning surveillance can be especially useful. Besides, hats and sunscreen are also perfect for helping to reduce sun-related maladies like eye damage, early skin aging, skin cancer, etc.

Fully Tinted Car Windows:

No licensed private investigator should ever attempt surveillance without having car windows that are as darkly tinted as the laws allow. Otherwise, it becomes extremely easy for POIs, nosey neighbors, members of law enforcement, and others to detect someone in a vehicle who is conducting surveillance. This can potentially blow an entire case, making it difficult for the private detective and ending with an angry client who wanted the PI to do the job professionally.

Two-Way Radio:

While less necessary in modern times due to cell phones, two-way radios are still helpful for communication between multiple team members or in areas where cell service and reception may be spotty or non-existent. Two-way radios are a great backup and indeed can sometimes serve as a primary means of communication. As all owners of private detective agencies in Oklahoma know, communication is key to successfully completing surveillance private investigations

Police Scanners, If Legally Permitted:

Many newbie private eyes in OKC often do not give much thought to having a police scanner on hand during an adultery private investigation case. When allowed by law, these can help because PIs doing surveillance need to know if a neighbor or POI has called the police on them. That way they can more fully prepare with the most professional, appropriate response, or in some cases they may instead opt to move to a different location altogether. 

Black Clothing:

Many newly licensed private investigators do not understand why wearing black clothing is crucial during surveillance private investigations. Especially useful when combined with dark window tinting, this type of clothing helps private detectives near me conceal themselves better while conducting surveillance. Black clothing works in tandem with tinted windows, and thus when POIs or nosey neighbors look toward an investigator’s vehicle or even come up close to it and peer inside, they are less vulnerable to someone spotting them and thus jeopardizing the case.

Non-Cell Phone Recording Devices, Such as Standard Cameras & Video Cameras:

While less important since the invention of cell phone devices, some infidelity private investigators and their clients still prefer the use of more traditional high-tech cameras and video recording devices. These can provide a higher quality resolution, and they can also include better zoom/focus technology that can add a better resolution and thus evidence outcome for a private investigator’s cheating spouse private investigation clients.

Cell Phones:

As noted earlier under section II. Phone Charger Cords & Battery Backups: cell phones have a plethora of uses that can benefit a child custody private detective. From camera and flashlight apps to GPS travel apps and more, they are a must-have in modern surveillance private investigations and other essential job functions that Oklahoma private investigators frequently engage in.

Binoculars:

Binoculars are also a handy tool that only the best private investigators remember to bring with them. This is because these individuals have done this legal work for years, and they know that neither their own vision nor their cell phone’s zoom capabilities are adequate for every type of civil and criminal case. Thus, binoculars allow them to look further into the horizon at what is happening right before their eyes, so they can take the most appropriate steps thereafter. 

Drones, If Conducing Drone Surveillance:

Drone private investigators are quickly becoming a more frequent site in today’s legal field, especially when they conduct drone private investigations. Indeed, the use of drones in PI work is rapidly expanding and evolving, with an increasing reliance upon technological advances and gadgets to obtain successful results. From child custody private investigations to human trafficking, cheating spouses, and more, professionally trained drone operators can use drones to help them discreetly obtain footage in difficult locations that they otherwise might have no way of securing.

 Mineral-Based Sunscreen:

Skin cancer is a real malady, and sadly too many people do not give it much thought until they are much older, if at all. By this time, they have already exposed their skin to the damaging UV rays of the sun, which can cause early aging, skin cancer, sunburns, eye damage, and more. Having a high SPF mineral based sunscreen is crucial to helping prevent cancer and early aging and applying it regularly and thoroughly will be key to the prevention of these maladies.

Mileage Trackers on Your Cell Phone:

As noted earlier, having a mileage tracker is helpful when a private eye near me wants to keep track of mileage for compensation from a client and as a tax write-off. These can help make it so much easier to do and will put the mileage totals and locations driven to in an easily downloadable format.