Let me preface this by saying that like many Private Investigators I am a man. I am a big ugly man at that.
Furthermore I don't get pay much attention to the gender war that rages over the internet.
This article isn't about men being better or women being better.
This topic came about after honestly looking at myself and knowing my limitations as an investigator with the body that I have. To be honest, I have made tactical adjustments based on my appearance.
It wasn’t always this way. When I started Surveillance I was 18 years old. I had a few challenges in front of me. Besides the obvious which was inexperience I also didn’t command a lot of respect. That’s just from a workplace standpoint, and perhaps something for another blog!
In the field however, I quickly found myself with several advantages. It was never a problem for me to walk into a night club or a bar without it seeming strange. I could go to the beach holding a camera, which on the Gold Coast of Australia, is an every day occurance, and can be a problem for most men. I could sit my car by a high school all day. These are things that are not on the menu for me anymore.
Nowadays I park further away, I try not to hang out by high schools, I avoid children’s playgrounds like the plague and I don’t let anyone catch me pointing a camera at the beach.
I can however, walk confidently through a construction site and fit in nicely at a rough bar. I’ve been used on several jobs purely for the way I look and carry myself.
As Investigators we must be realistic and very aware of ourselves and our surroundings.
If you’re a man, don’t find yourself standing 10 feet away from a female subject in a Lingerie store, as an obvious example.
That being said a clear picture begins to form as to what this article is about. No matter who you are or what you look like there’s some places you can go and some places you cant go if discretion is your goal.
Here are my top 5 reasons a female investigator might be the better option.
1. Discretion
Generally speaking a woman is going to be much more aware of who is following them around and why. In my case if you see me twice it's a strange coincidence and it's not likely to go unnoticed. I can tell you just from my point of view a woman has never followed me. If she has, I haven't noticed and if I found it she was, I wouldn't care. To be honest it might be unusual but the last thing going through my mind is she must be a Private Investigator. If this industry is dominated by men, and this industry requires discretion, then being a woman is a giant advantage.
2. Female Subjects
Revisiting the point of ladies are very aware of who is around, there’s a big difference between a man being around versus another female. A woman is likely to be relieved to find out it wasn’t a man behind them in the dark alley. Furthermore, there are places a female Subject or Claimant might go that a Male investigator can't...Well they can, but if a guy wants to visit a woman’s only yoga class and remain discreet it's probably not going to work out.
3. Non threatening
A lot of my surveillance is done from a vehicle. When I get checked out by someone, it’s usually a nosey neighbour down the street, as I don’t park myself in the Subject's lounge room. Now, ideally I want that person to approach me and ask me what I am doing so I can put their mind at ease.
To let them know; I'm not a threat, it's got nothing to do with them and that I'm not there to commit any sort of a crime. It doesn't always work out that way. I have had people chase me out of the street, I have had people call the police. Now most of the time I call the police prior to make them aware of my presence but that doesn't always work, and next thing you know they're parked behind me, lights are flashing and they are there for 15 minutes before they even ask what I'm doing while running background checks etc. Point being, if I looked a little bit less like a threat I'd be treated a little bit less like a threat.
4. Empathy
This extends over all facets of Investigations believe it or not. The waters can get murky here because an investigators job is really only to gather facts, and we are to leave opinion out of any report we write 99 percent of the time. However, whether you are dealing with a client directly, a principal company or talking with the Subject or the Claimant themselves, you have to give a damn. You're dealing with Clients who have been ripped off, Principal Companies who have put their reputation on the line by hiring you, and claimants who may have been through something potentially catastrophic. Now I don't speak for all men when I say this but empathy is hard to conjure up sometimes. Guys, we don't care. Rub some dirt on it is the best advice we can give half the time. The pitfall of this is losing Rapport with that individual or group, and once you lose that it can be very detrimental to a job.
5. Male Subjects or Claimants
Finally we can talk about Male Subject's or Claimants depending on the Job, and the first four points tie into this one nicely. We are not likely to believe a woman is following us because generally speaking that doesn't happen unless we are extremely good looking. It's rare that we would feel threatened, and believe it or not if something bad happens we appreciate being treated with some level of empathy.
In Summary
I have been asked on many occasions by my Clients and Principal companies that I work for, if I know any Female Investigators. After many years in the industry I can say I do, and they have been extremely effective, and in a lot of cases more effective than my male colleagues in certain circumstances.
If you would like to contact me about finding a Female Private Investigator in my network, don’t hesitate to Contact Me
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Alex Evans