Is experience important when looking for a private investigator?

When looking for a private investigator it is good to see that the company has been operating for a number of years and have a lot of experience.  Experience means they have developed valuable skills over time. It builds a foundation of practical knowledge and confidence that can be utilised out in the field where split decision scenarios can mean the make or break of a high pressure situation. 

The above is all good but you have to consider that sometimes people from all walks of life can become complaceant, rest on their laurels and stagnate into a certain way of doing things that have worked for them over the years.  We have been operating as private investigators in Coventry & Warwickshire and beyond for a lot of years now. Our first case was in 1998 which was a surveillance, following an ‘R’ Registered (1997) Ford Puma in my ‘L’ Reistered (1993) Ford Mondeo. My surveillance equipment consisted of  one Sony compact camera with a low storage compact flash camera!

Upgrades required.

As time went by it soon became apparent that my Arsenal was limited to say the least and I needed more equipment that was up to the job and slowly moved up to better tools of the trade, such as a Sony Hi 8 mini dv cassette camcorder. Radios for use when working as a team. I then progressed to using stabilising vehicle mounts for my cameras, as well as full remote control switches which means I don’t even have to physically touch a camera when on a mobile follow to get the all important imagery.

I learned a lot over the years not only from other established investigators but younger ones too. If I saw some kit, be it cameras, power supplies, storage methods or anything else that aided my work, made it better or made the job easier then I had to have it. Even to this day I am always buying new equipment and experimenting with equipment. Some things I tried once and never used again. Either because it wasnt up to the job or something better superseded it. I have worked with other investigators that don’t share that same work ethic and I find it hard to understand why they wouldn’t want the same. It can be that they are new to the industry and slowly building their kit as and when they can afford it but in a lot of cases it’s because they don’t want to spend the money.

So how does this all help you as a client? If my job is made easier, I am able to work easier. If my equipment is the best there which I can operate seamlessly  it means the end product such as a report and video footage is going to be better.

We fully embrace technology. Technology has made our work far easier. We at M.R.Investigations were one of the first to use camera technology that helps us get far more evidence with less physical input 10 years ago that others are just waking up to now.