Tools of the Trade
Tools of the Trade
Better leave the surveillance to the professionals............TRAILBLAZER INVESTIGATIONS INC
Images of the private investigator lurking in dark alleys, rummaging through garbage and conducting his business from a smoke-filled office are starkly different from reality.
The 1940s gumshoe was the iconic detective, a whisky-swilling Sam Spade, armed with a sharp wit, a nose for danger and a gun when occasion demanded.
Modern-day sleuths are more likely to use a range of spy gadgets, the latest digital photography and advanced tracking devices, rather than rely on a conspicuous trench coat and an upturned collar.
Mark Grover is one of about 1500 licensed private investigators operating in Victoria. He has managed Victorian Detective Services for more than 15 years. As for clients, Mr Grover quickly laid to rest any notion of gorgeous femme fatales pleading for his help.
Mr Grover's clients are usually government bodies, insurance companies, large corporations and the occasional suspicious spouse. His business does everything: screening employees, tracking industrial espionage, internet investigations, monitoring spouses' activities and finding items and even people.
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He says advances in digital photography have had a huge impact on how his company goes about surveillance.
"The most important tool an investigator will carry is a good quality digital camcorder with night vision, which can be used to record footage directly or take photographs," he says.
One of Mr Grover's favourite digital video cameras is the tiny Mustek DV3000, which fits snugly in the palm of his hand. With a digital still image quality of 3.1 megapixels, the camera is also capable of producing decent photographs, which Mr Grover says are often used for identifying potential criminals or philandering lovers.
Mr Grover's company was also quick to adopt GPS tracking devices for detecting stolen objects and would-be thieves.
"Recently a nursing home had a nurse who was stealing from the patients. She would take their mobile phones and even the rugs from their legs," he says. "We hid a tracking device in a laptop, knowing it would be stolen. Through GPS technology we were able to track it."
Mr Grover says assignments often require thorough background research to modify gadgets appropriately. Each job requires a unique application of technology.
For jobs requiring mobile surveillance, Mr Grover has had tiny digital cameras customised to fit in the most unlikely places, such as neckties, pagers and even pens.
Footage and still images are then transmitted wirelessly to receivers on camcorders or back to the office.
"We often put video cameras in MP3 players now, so while we're following someone, they think we're listening to music, but we're not," he says.
Discreet use of cameras and gadgets is particularly important when shadowing subjects for an investigation. Surveillance jobs can sometimes require private investigators to work in pairs, with one investigator following the subject while their partner sits in a van decked out with a variety of modern technological devices.
Mr Grover says cars or vans must be kitted out to deal with a range of possible situations. Surveillance operations can be wildly unpredictable and often stretch out into many hours at a time.
A common set-up in a car used by investigators can include up to four cameras, a laptop, printer, scanner, fax machine, DVD recorder, TV, GPS tracking devices, pager and two-way radio for keeping in contact with the office or partner.
The internet has also opened up Mr Grover's business to overseas customers. He says his company conducts up to 10 investigations each week for people who want to know more about Australians they have met through internet chat rooms.
"We work for a lot of international clients and we can just email them a photo straight out of our car," he says.
Some investigators have little need for digital photography or GPS. Charles Rahim has more than 10 years of experience as a private investigator. In recent years he has focused on lie detection.
I sit nervously in Mr Rahim's boardroom as he attaches five small sensors to my chest and fingers that feed into a slim data acquisition unit. The system is compact, mobile, and connects directly to a Sony Vaio laptop. It is my first experience with polygraph technology.
On the screen I can see my blood pressure, heart rate, respiratory and electrodermal - skin conductivity - levels rise and fall gently as he asks simple, unobtrusive questions. Then he surprises me. "Have you ever stolen anything?" The soft peaks turn into mountains that cannot fit on the screen.
Respondents often don't even need to answer the questions to reveal if they are lying. Physical reactions are plotted onto a four-tiered moving graph, using polygraph software.
"Before it was analog and it had four needles," he says. "You had to read it manually. But now the computer system is digital and it's very accurate."
The digital lie detector also takes the guesswork away from interviews. The software calculates numerical values from responses, making it easier to identify what questions make respondents nervous and when they are likely to be lying.
Ex-police officer Steve Murray has been a private investigator for more than 19 years and now employs six full-time investigators. Staking out compensation claimants and suspicious lovers make up a large proportion of his assignments.
A common surveillance set-up used by Mr Murray simply consists of a tiny camera lens with a transmitter that sends footage back to a miniature LCD screen connected to a small battery or camcorder.
"We can put a camera into a bag or a clock radio and nobody would know. That could be sending a signal to my handycam or car. I could have my briefcase open and be watching what's going on," he says.
But for most assignments requiring surveillance, Mr Murray uses a Sony DCRTRV460 Digital8 handycam. He was attracted to the digital camcorder's touch screen, on which he can edit passages of unwanted footage during dull periods in a stakeout. He also insists that a camcorder must perform well in low-light conditions.
"There's no point filming people at night if your camera doesn't go down to one or two lux," he says.
For insurance investigator Peter Hiscock, a digital camera with a decent macro setting is his most important gadget. A typical job might require him to find the "hotspot" at a fire scene or the point where burglars entered a home or warehouse. He regularly conducts investigations for well-known insurance companies.
He recently bought a Casio EXZ57, which allows him to capture fine details at crime scenes, such as marks left on locks. He will then enlarge and examine the images using CorelDraw software. He also uses his camera to photograph papers that cannot be copied or reproduced.
"Quite often I'm at a place where I need to examine original documents. People won't let them out of their hands, so I need a camera that can photograph them exactly as they are," he says.
But Mark Pastor, owner of two Melbourne Ozspy outlets, suggests growing numbers of consumers are taking surveillance into their own hands and buying high-tech spy gadgets.
High-end digital video recording systems, mobile phones with GPS and digital voice recorders with large storage capacities are just some of the products in high demand, Mr Pastor says.
One of the latest products available at the store is the Skyview closed-circuit television surveillance system, which can accommodate up to 16 cameras, all of which can be displayed simultaneously on a computer screen. The cameras can also be viewed remotely via a personal digital assistant or online.
"Someone might want a four-camera system and they want to view it from their PDA, at home on the internet or across the world with Internet Explorer," he says.
Tools of the trade
Digital binoculars
Saxon 8X22 DB200, $179
These three-megapixel digital camera binoculars provide a close-up view of the action as well as taking still photographs and video footage. Video can be replayed at 15 frames per second and the continuous shooting mode captures three still images every two seconds. The binoculars have an internal storage capacity of 16 MB and 8x magnification. The device comes with a USB cable and software and takes two AAA batteries.
GPS mobile
Benefon Esc, $1399
This device combines both GPS and mobile phone features. Other Benefon Esc users can be tracked and have their position and movements displayed with a detailed map. The Esc is protected by stainless steel casing but is lightweight at just 177 grams. The handset uses up to 12 satellites, and emergency messages can also be sent to a monitoring centre. Information on positions can be sent and received via SMS.
Keystroke logger
KeyGhost, $240
Requiring no external power source, the KeyGhost records up to 500,000 computer keystrokes and stores them on its internal flash memory. The KeyGhost can be installed in a few seconds and no software is needed to record everything that has been typed into a computer. The tiny device cannot be disabled using software and is claimed to be impossible to detect. The KeyGhost is compatible with any PC and operating system.
Infra-red monocular
OzSpy NZT-300EX, $660
This night vision monocular has push-button controls and 3x magnification. With its built-in infra-red illuminator, the NZT-300EX is designed to view objects in complete darkness. A re-adjusting system also allows for focusing on nearby or distant objects. Batteries are built to last for up to 55 hours.
Better leave the surveillance to the professionals............TRAILBLAZER INVESTIGATIONS INC
Images of the private investigator lurking in dark alleys, rummaging through garbage and conducting his business from a smoke-filled office are starkly different from reality.
The 1940s gumshoe was the iconic detective, a whisky-swilling Sam Spade, armed with a sharp wit, a nose for danger and a gun when occasion demanded.
Modern-day sleuths are more likely to use a range of spy gadgets, the latest digital photography and advanced tracking devices, rather than rely on a conspicuous trench coat and an upturned collar.
Mark Grover is one of about 1500 licensed private investigators operating in Victoria. He has managed Victorian Detective Services for more than 15 years. As for clients, Mr Grover quickly laid to rest any notion of gorgeous femme fatales pleading for his help.
Mr Grover's clients are usually government bodies, insurance companies, large corporations and the occasional suspicious spouse. His business does everything: screening employees, tracking industrial espionage, internet investigations, monitoring spouses' activities and finding items and even people.
AdvertisementAdvertisement
He says advances in digital photography have had a huge impact on how his company goes about surveillance.
"The most important tool an investigator will carry is a good quality digital camcorder with night vision, which can be used to record footage directly or take photographs," he says.
One of Mr Grover's favourite digital video cameras is the tiny Mustek DV3000, which fits snugly in the palm of his hand. With a digital still image quality of 3.1 megapixels, the camera is also capable of producing decent photographs, which Mr Grover says are often used for identifying potential criminals or philandering lovers.
Mr Grover's company was also quick to adopt GPS tracking devices for detecting stolen objects and would-be thieves.
"Recently a nursing home had a nurse who was stealing from the patients. She would take their mobile phones and even the rugs from their legs," he says. "We hid a tracking device in a laptop, knowing it would be stolen. Through GPS technology we were able to track it."
Mr Grover says assignments often require thorough background research to modify gadgets appropriately. Each job requires a unique application of technology.
For jobs requiring mobile surveillance, Mr Grover has had tiny digital cameras customised to fit in the most unlikely places, such as neckties, pagers and even pens.
Footage and still images are then transmitted wirelessly to receivers on camcorders or back to the office.
"We often put video cameras in MP3 players now, so while we're following someone, they think we're listening to music, but we're not," he says.
Discreet use of cameras and gadgets is particularly important when shadowing subjects for an investigation. Surveillance jobs can sometimes require private investigators to work in pairs, with one investigator following the subject while their partner sits in a van decked out with a variety of modern technological devices.
Mr Grover says cars or vans must be kitted out to deal with a range of possible situations. Surveillance operations can be wildly unpredictable and often stretch out into many hours at a time.
A common set-up in a car used by investigators can include up to four cameras, a laptop, printer, scanner, fax machine, DVD recorder, TV, GPS tracking devices, pager and two-way radio for keeping in contact with the office or partner.
The internet has also opened up Mr Grover's business to overseas customers. He says his company conducts up to 10 investigations each week for people who want to know more about Australians they have met through internet chat rooms.
"We work for a lot of international clients and we can just email them a photo straight out of our car," he says.
Some investigators have little need for digital photography or GPS. Charles Rahim has more than 10 years of experience as a private investigator. In recent years he has focused on lie detection.
I sit nervously in Mr Rahim's boardroom as he attaches five small sensors to my chest and fingers that feed into a slim data acquisition unit. The system is compact, mobile, and connects directly to a Sony Vaio laptop. It is my first experience with polygraph technology.
On the screen I can see my blood pressure, heart rate, respiratory and electrodermal - skin conductivity - levels rise and fall gently as he asks simple, unobtrusive questions. Then he surprises me. "Have you ever stolen anything?" The soft peaks turn into mountains that cannot fit on the screen.
Respondents often don't even need to answer the questions to reveal if they are lying. Physical reactions are plotted onto a four-tiered moving graph, using polygraph software.
"Before it was analog and it had four needles," he says. "You had to read it manually. But now the computer system is digital and it's very accurate."
The digital lie detector also takes the guesswork away from interviews. The software calculates numerical values from responses, making it easier to identify what questions make respondents nervous and when they are likely to be lying.
Ex-police officer Steve Murray has been a private investigator for more than 19 years and now employs six full-time investigators. Staking out compensation claimants and suspicious lovers make up a large proportion of his assignments.
A common surveillance set-up used by Mr Murray simply consists of a tiny camera lens with a transmitter that sends footage back to a miniature LCD screen connected to a small battery or camcorder.
"We can put a camera into a bag or a clock radio and nobody would know. That could be sending a signal to my handycam or car. I could have my briefcase open and be watching what's going on," he says.
But for most assignments requiring surveillance, Mr Murray uses a Sony DCRTRV460 Digital8 handycam. He was attracted to the digital camcorder's touch screen, on which he can edit passages of unwanted footage during dull periods in a stakeout. He also insists that a camcorder must perform well in low-light conditions.
"There's no point filming people at night if your camera doesn't go down to one or two lux," he says.
For insurance investigator Peter Hiscock, a digital camera with a decent macro setting is his most important gadget. A typical job might require him to find the "hotspot" at a fire scene or the point where burglars entered a home or warehouse. He regularly conducts investigations for well-known insurance companies.
He recently bought a Casio EXZ57, which allows him to capture fine details at crime scenes, such as marks left on locks. He will then enlarge and examine the images using CorelDraw software. He also uses his camera to photograph papers that cannot be copied or reproduced.
"Quite often I'm at a place where I need to examine original documents. People won't let them out of their hands, so I need a camera that can photograph them exactly as they are," he says.
But Mark Pastor, owner of two Melbourne Ozspy outlets, suggests growing numbers of consumers are taking surveillance into their own hands and buying high-tech spy gadgets.
High-end digital video recording systems, mobile phones with GPS and digital voice recorders with large storage capacities are just some of the products in high demand, Mr Pastor says.
One of the latest products available at the store is the Skyview closed-circuit television surveillance system, which can accommodate up to 16 cameras, all of which can be displayed simultaneously on a computer screen. The cameras can also be viewed remotely via a personal digital assistant or online.
"Someone might want a four-camera system and they want to view it from their PDA, at home on the internet or across the world with Internet Explorer," he says.
Tools of the trade
Digital binoculars
Saxon 8X22 DB200, $179
These three-megapixel digital camera binoculars provide a close-up view of the action as well as taking still photographs and video footage. Video can be replayed at 15 frames per second and the continuous shooting mode captures three still images every two seconds. The binoculars have an internal storage capacity of 16 MB and 8x magnification. The device comes with a USB cable and software and takes two AAA batteries.
GPS mobile
Benefon Esc, $1399
This device combines both GPS and mobile phone features. Other Benefon Esc users can be tracked and have their position and movements displayed with a detailed map. The Esc is protected by stainless steel casing but is lightweight at just 177 grams. The handset uses up to 12 satellites, and emergency messages can also be sent to a monitoring centre. Information on positions can be sent and received via SMS.
Keystroke logger
KeyGhost, $240
Requiring no external power source, the KeyGhost records up to 500,000 computer keystrokes and stores them on its internal flash memory. The KeyGhost can be installed in a few seconds and no software is needed to record everything that has been typed into a computer. The tiny device cannot be disabled using software and is claimed to be impossible to detect. The KeyGhost is compatible with any PC and operating system.
Infra-red monocular
OzSpy NZT-300EX, $660
This night vision monocular has push-button controls and 3x magnification. With its built-in infra-red illuminator, the NZT-300EX is designed to view objects in complete darkness. A re-adjusting system also allows for focusing on nearby or distant objects. Batteries are built to last for up to 55 hours.
posted by Trailblazer Investigations Inc Trailblazer Investigations Florida | Wednesday, October 12, 2005
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