I was called out again to help this last Saturday with surveillance on some businesses. Being Saturday, there was a lot more activity in the area. For the first part of the night, until about 2am, I was covert, meaning I parked in some shadows so no one could see in through my tinted windows. I parked in a apartment comlex's parking lot, so no one would be suspicious of a parked car. It gets really stuffy inside a car when it has been as hot as it's been. We had a vehicle driving around, acting suspicious. I noted it passing within 15 minutes of setting up. My partners had the tag, as it had been around driving around for several hours. When they got the info back, the tag didn't match any records, so it was decided I would place myself where I could follow the vehicle and confirm the tag number.
I was really glad for that, because I got to role my windows down and catch the breeze that was blowing. That made it a lot more comfortable. It also allowed me to hear what was going on around me, which is nice because when your sealed up in a car, your primarly visually active, being able to hear expands your awareness. With my windows down, I parked across the street in an empty parking lot and waited for the target vehicle to drive by. Within the first 45 minutes of being overt, I had a skinny black guy try to sell me a eight-ball, and had a hooker ask me for a light. The hooker had a lump or growth on the side of her face. It didn't take long for the locals, a paranoid bunch, to notice me and I could tell I made them nervous. They had me fingered as a cop, so there was a lot of calls placed and people looking around corners and people walking by staring at me and then going back to their place. All the girls on the street disappeared too, lol.
Part of the surveillance craft is becoming accustomed to the environment. It was interesting to see all the activity going on and watching the people. By the end of the night, you could tell where the drugs were being sold and the apartments the streetwalkers were using. During the night we heard several gunshots north east of our position, and there was a stabbing a couple of streets over, but we weren't involved in any of that.
Since I was part of a three man team, and we had radios with ear-pieces, we kept up a steady stream of information.Suspicious cars, pedestrians, bicyclists moving through the area, and, of course, all the illegal stuff we saw going down at night. No, we didn't call the cops, they already know what's going on and we were trying to help our clients and catch the thieves operating in the area that were costing them tons of money.
We never caught anybody, but we did lock the area down and no thefts occurred while we were there. We may be back, or we may not. We spent a lot of time there already, and I wouldn't mind a change of scenery.
Monday, August 29, 2011
Friday, August 26, 2011
All-Nighters
When I am not driving my candy apple red ferrari down the road, you can sometimes find me tucked away in a hidey hole in the wee hours of the morning.
Copper thieves are busting into AC units to remove the copper tubing. At $5,000 a pop, they are hurting a lot of businesses. Recently, I was called out to help my friend try and catch some of these felons. It is not very exciting watching AC units for hours at a time, but you do what you gotta do to protect people's property. I will be out again, tonight and probably all weekend trying to bust these guys.
Sometimes the hardest part of the job is staying awake. But, I confess, I enjoy this kind of thing because I feel like a lion watching the waterhole for the gazelles to show up. This job requires a predatory patience as you sit all night waiting for the perps to come so you can take them down.
If you own a small business, I would suggest you put some sort of fence or protective barrier around your AC units. No one can afford to be burned like that in this economy.
Copper thieves are busting into AC units to remove the copper tubing. At $5,000 a pop, they are hurting a lot of businesses. Recently, I was called out to help my friend try and catch some of these felons. It is not very exciting watching AC units for hours at a time, but you do what you gotta do to protect people's property. I will be out again, tonight and probably all weekend trying to bust these guys.
Sometimes the hardest part of the job is staying awake. But, I confess, I enjoy this kind of thing because I feel like a lion watching the waterhole for the gazelles to show up. This job requires a predatory patience as you sit all night waiting for the perps to come so you can take them down.
If you own a small business, I would suggest you put some sort of fence or protective barrier around your AC units. No one can afford to be burned like that in this economy.
Friday, August 5, 2011
An Open Offer For Companies and Businesses
If you use Private Investigators in your profession, then I would like for you to observe the quality of Air Capital Investigations work by offering the first case with your company pro bono. I am so sure that you will happy with our work, and that you will hire ACI on future cases, that I am willing to offer the first case at no cost. If you have a case in which the client is low on funds, but still needs a PI, or you would just like to increase your profit margins and decrease your cost, then this would be an excellent opportunity for both your company and mine. Please feel free to call me at any time at 316-204-5967 or contact me at Sam@WichitaDetective.com.
Sincerely,
Samuel Tyree
Private Investigator
Air Capital Investigations
Sincerely,
Samuel Tyree
Private Investigator
Air Capital Investigations
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Hot, Dang Hot
I should have been more concientious about updating this blog, but I've been worn out from the heat.
A friend, another PI, and myself did a "Property Surveillance" gig, which is really just another way of saying we played security guards at and industrial facility for a twelve hour stretch. Unfortunately, we had to operate out of our vehicles, in shadeless parking lots and the temperature was 106F, about 40C (I think). The heat wave we've been baking in has been brutal for the last month or so, and sitting in your car for 12 hours does not a comfortable day make.
We were a little perplexed at why the company wanted Private Detectives instead of contracting with a security company. The only thing I can think of was the amount of initiative we PIs display. Because we are proactive, either in doing investigations or body guard work, and we tend to try and solve problems before they actually occur. Security Guards tend to follow the letter of the contract and want to know what the client wants done specifically, and then does it. We were told to secure the site, so we put our heads together and analyzed the weak points in the facility's security. There were a lot, more than two men could cover without some sort of perimeter camera system, which I do not have, nor did the job pay enough for me to purchase one, although I will buy one in the future.
We ended up compromising, which never makes us happy, and locked the place down with what resources we had available. I'd bought some cheap FRS radios years ago on sale, and they came in very handy during the day.
For the readers of this blog, I will talk about what are the things we look for when we establish perimeter security, and how they may apply to your own homes.
As a rule of thumb, security is best developed in layers, where each layer supports each other. Camera's a great, if you are watching them, but they are better employed if they are coupled with motion alarms and door and window alarms.
First, we prefer to have a 360 Degree line of site and line of sight with each other. If you think of four people, sitting on top of a tall hill with unobstructed views that go for miles, and each one is looking in a different directions so they can see everything that happens below, you will have the idea of perfect security. Most people who put up a security camera cover their doors, and usually just the front door. Much stronger is an arrangement that gives you a view of your entire house. If you have a simple box shaped home, you could put up two cameras, on poles or in trees, that are on opposite corners from each other. Each camera would observe two sides of the house, giving you a complete coverage of the outside of you house. If you have an outbuilding you want to protect, and it is a simple room like a garage, you could put up a camera in the corner of your garage so that it can see most, if not all of the interior. You would especially want any entrances to be visible on camera.
If you have a more complicated set up, then you will need more cameras.
Next, we like to have motion detectors online. Since we have to adapt our security measures on the fly, as it were, we prefer the wireless kind. These operate on batteries which must be monitored and replaced as needed, but they work well for us.
Generally speaking, we don't use physical alarms on doors and windows, we are too mobile and it is too time consuming compared to using motion detectors to monitor entrances. If you own your own home, then such devices might be worth investing in, if they are withing your budget.
Some people ask if they should get an alarm service, and which one. The quick answer is yes and I don't know. I don't recommend or not recommend services by others. Professional alarm systems are nice and very convienent, and are constantly monitored even if you are not hom, but they cost money. With a little research on the net, you could probably create your own alarms system for a smaller, one-time-only cost, that would works almost as well as the professional ones.
Finally, make friends with your neighbors, they are great sources of security for your home. When I have more time, I will develop these ideas further for you.
A friend, another PI, and myself did a "Property Surveillance" gig, which is really just another way of saying we played security guards at and industrial facility for a twelve hour stretch. Unfortunately, we had to operate out of our vehicles, in shadeless parking lots and the temperature was 106F, about 40C (I think). The heat wave we've been baking in has been brutal for the last month or so, and sitting in your car for 12 hours does not a comfortable day make.
We were a little perplexed at why the company wanted Private Detectives instead of contracting with a security company. The only thing I can think of was the amount of initiative we PIs display. Because we are proactive, either in doing investigations or body guard work, and we tend to try and solve problems before they actually occur. Security Guards tend to follow the letter of the contract and want to know what the client wants done specifically, and then does it. We were told to secure the site, so we put our heads together and analyzed the weak points in the facility's security. There were a lot, more than two men could cover without some sort of perimeter camera system, which I do not have, nor did the job pay enough for me to purchase one, although I will buy one in the future.
We ended up compromising, which never makes us happy, and locked the place down with what resources we had available. I'd bought some cheap FRS radios years ago on sale, and they came in very handy during the day.
For the readers of this blog, I will talk about what are the things we look for when we establish perimeter security, and how they may apply to your own homes.
As a rule of thumb, security is best developed in layers, where each layer supports each other. Camera's a great, if you are watching them, but they are better employed if they are coupled with motion alarms and door and window alarms.
First, we prefer to have a 360 Degree line of site and line of sight with each other. If you think of four people, sitting on top of a tall hill with unobstructed views that go for miles, and each one is looking in a different directions so they can see everything that happens below, you will have the idea of perfect security. Most people who put up a security camera cover their doors, and usually just the front door. Much stronger is an arrangement that gives you a view of your entire house. If you have a simple box shaped home, you could put up two cameras, on poles or in trees, that are on opposite corners from each other. Each camera would observe two sides of the house, giving you a complete coverage of the outside of you house. If you have an outbuilding you want to protect, and it is a simple room like a garage, you could put up a camera in the corner of your garage so that it can see most, if not all of the interior. You would especially want any entrances to be visible on camera.
If you have a more complicated set up, then you will need more cameras.
Next, we like to have motion detectors online. Since we have to adapt our security measures on the fly, as it were, we prefer the wireless kind. These operate on batteries which must be monitored and replaced as needed, but they work well for us.
Generally speaking, we don't use physical alarms on doors and windows, we are too mobile and it is too time consuming compared to using motion detectors to monitor entrances. If you own your own home, then such devices might be worth investing in, if they are withing your budget.
Some people ask if they should get an alarm service, and which one. The quick answer is yes and I don't know. I don't recommend or not recommend services by others. Professional alarm systems are nice and very convienent, and are constantly monitored even if you are not hom, but they cost money. With a little research on the net, you could probably create your own alarms system for a smaller, one-time-only cost, that would works almost as well as the professional ones.
Finally, make friends with your neighbors, they are great sources of security for your home. When I have more time, I will develop these ideas further for you.
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