Stay Safe Out There, How Much To Hire A PI, Question Of The Day, The Laws Of Surveillance Devices, Real Life Serving Of Divorce Papers

In this episode we cover topics such as:-

1- Personal Safety If Being Stalked;

2- Question Of The Day;

3- How Much Does A Private Investigator Cost?;

4- Surveillance Devices Rules & Regulations;

5- Real Serving Of Divorce Papers;

Got a question for our podcast or do you need to contact Simon and the Down Under Investigations team? Simply email info@downunderinvestigations.com or call 1300849007 or check out www.downunderinvestigations.com

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Welcome to season three and another episode of Down Under Investigations, the Truth You Are About to Hear From Simon, our host, who has well over 20 years experience in the private investigation industry. Simon leads the team at down under investigations who are committed to professionalism, integrity, and their ability to get results for their clients. Our podcast will open up the truth about the world of private investigation, discussing real life case studies, the latest news, cutting edge surveillance, and skip tracing techniques, plus legal issues and support . So stay with us as we join Simon. Now,

Speaker 2: 0:36

Welcome to the latest podcast. We're gonna discuss what to do if you believe you're being followed, either by someone doing surveillance or someone that doesn't have your best intentions at heart. We're also gonna have our question of the day and talk about the costs of hiring a prior investigator. We're gonna discuss the surveillance devices , laws that are applicable in Australia, and we've got a real life process serving file for you to listen to. So make sure you hang around because we've got some great stuff coming up. I wanted to talk for a moment about , uh, a topic that comes up regularly in , uh, questions. And , uh, we've been asked a little bit about surveillance and how do you know if you're being followed and what should you do in that situation? And there's many different scenarios where someone may be followed, and that may be simply for a private investigator trying to find evidence about a person. Or it may be something a little more sinister where it's a maybe an ex-partner or , um, someone that you don't know, someone you're not aware of that's , uh, following you and you don't know why. You may feel distressed. You may feel unsettled, whether it's a late night walk, whether you're in a unfamiliar neighborhood or shops or wherever you may be. You may look around and think, is that person actually following me? And you may see the person more than once in different areas where you are, and sometimes it can be unsettling. And for your own peace of mind and for your own safety, we thought we'd provide some practical advice on how to , um, work out whether you are being followed and what to do in those situations. So the first thing we suggest, we've got eight points here. The first thing would be to stay calm and assess the situation. For example, if you're walking alone at night and you notice someone behind you, they're matching your pace or they're getting closer to you, or they're keeping a certain distance so that they can see you, but you're, maybe you can slow down, slow your pace, stay calm and stay rational. Not every person walking behind you is a threat . It may be coincidental. So first thing , stay calm and assess the situation . Second thing, change direction . Cross the street and walk back . Perhaps , um, maybe they're just walking in the same direction. It is a coincidence. You'll know because they will follow you. If you're driving in a car, go the full u-turn it roundabout and see what happens to that vehicle. That's a great way to lose someone when they're conducting surveillance against you. Um, turn into a street, do a u-turn in a driveway, and then come back towards the vehicle and see, see what they do. See if they're looking at you. See if they're distracted. Look where their eyes are. Look what they do with the vehicle at that time. Number three, go to a public place. If you are feeling fearful, afraid , uh, unsettled by a person who may be following you, head towards somewhere public where you know that there's gonna be other people. 'cause at the end of the day, most things happen in a negative sense when there's no one else around. It's rare that things happen when there's other people around, and this may basically intimidate the person to walk the other way. If they were following you for a reason. Say you're head to the nearest , uh, shops, or into a restaurant or somewhere where you know that you're gonna feel a little more safe. Another point, 0.4 is contact someone you trust. If you're in that situation, you're being followed either in a vehicle or on foot, or maybe you're walking through the airport or some shops and you think, is this person following me? Contact someone you trust. If you're feeling uneasy, contact someone who you can talk to. Text them or call them and let them know your situation. Let them know that you're feeling unsafe. Let them know exactly where you are. Let them know what's going on, and maybe a description of the person and maybe get some reassurance or get some backup . If you know you need to get out of a situation, they may be able to come and collect you. Um, if you're feeling unsafe, number five, call emergency services. Call Triple O if you feel threatened. If you feel like your life might be in danger because you're being followed by someone, call triple oh straight away . Get onto the police. Who will assist, who will assist. If you are feeling threatened and you can provide a location and description and those sorts of details , um, you might as well get onto it sooner rather than later. And make sure that your health, your safety is at paramount. Number six, seek help from strangers. Let's say you can't find a public place, but you know someone's following you. Maybe you're walking down a street and it's, it's, you know, getting on dark or dusk or it's dawn. Um, get , find a house with lots of vehicles and knock on the door. Just go to the door and just say, hi, I am just walking along. Just explain the situation. You'll find that most people will want to help and most people will have your back. Um, get your phone out and start recording. So you, you've set your phone to record, so all your audio video's recorded and pop it back in your pocket so the conversation's recorded. But knock on a door or go to a person. If you're feeling unsafe and there's not many people around. Find the nearest person who you feel is someone that you can talk to, who you might be able to get some help. Sea help from strangers. Number seven, avoid going home directly. Now, that may sound a little bit strange or silly, but if this person's following you to try and work out where you live, the last thing you wanna do is rush home. You don't wanna lead them to your residence. Maybe you want to either walk or if you're in a vehicle, drive towards the nearest police station. Go to a , uh, petrol station, for example, a shop and get help there. Don't go home directly. And number eight, document the situation. If you can get photos, video, audio, whatever you can. 99.99% of us have a phone on us 99.9% of the time. Use that phone to get video footage, audio, take photos, whatever you need to do to ensure that you've got evidence of who this person is because you know what? If you find that they're following you another day, you can go back and have a look back at the footage and say, yeah, it is the same person, or No , it's just a coincidence. That's a totally different person and really they weren't following me. So it'll give you peace of mind. Remember, it's better to take precautions and discover it was a misunderstanding than to ignore the situation and have it get outta hand. You should never feel threatened when followed in a situation. But knowing how to respond can make the difference. Stay calm, prioritize your safety. Reach out to authorities or trusted people. Go somewhere public. Take a proactive approach. There's also devices that you can get, a personal alarm system or other devices that you can research for yourself. I won't talk about them here, which may set off an alarm if you are feeling under attack or like someone's getting too close. You can set off an alarm or carry an air tag or something like that with you to enable your self or your belongings to be tracked and the person to be aware that you are not gonna tolerate what they're intending to do. It's all about your safety at the end of the day. It's time for our question of the day. And today's question comes from Brett in scoby . Brett asked the question, how much does it cost to hire a private investigator? That's a great question Brett, and thank you very much for that. Uh, prior investigators can range in price depending on the requirements you have and what tasks need to be done. Um, some pro investigators will charge a set flat rate for a certain task. Others will charge an hourly rate, there'll be extras as far as kilometers travel goes. Some will charge more for reports and photographs and video footage. It all depends what you're after. So for some ballpark figures, you're looking at surveillance. Most private investigators will charge anywhere between 65 to upwards of $250 per hour , uh, per agent, per private investigator. For surveillance, generally that'll be on a four to five hour minimum. So you couldn't book a private investigator just for an hour, you'd have to book them for a few hours. Um, for skip tracing, you're looking around the same sorts of rates per hour. Again, working to a budget, working to a certain amount of , uh, time and effort and experience , um, that the skip trace operative will put into the file. Some files will take longer than others. Um, it all depends on the amount of information that a person needing a skip trace can provide. Uh , whether that's names, full names, correct names, for example, dates of birth will always help phone numbers, whether they're old or new , uh, old or new addresses current. Um, work details can also assist or old work details, and it just gives the agent more opportunity and more avenue to make inquiries. And in terms of any other sorts of services that you may require, like a background investigation, generally a prime investigator. Well, for our , for example, ourselves, we always set a budget and we let our client know upfront , this is how much you're gonna be charged. Um, and this is the amount of hours and time that we are going to be able to put into that file. And you're paying for the prime investigator's experience. You're paying for their professionalism, you're paying for their knowledge and their ability to get you a result. So it may sound like it's expensive, but you're paying for all that experience. You're paying for all that professionalism, you're paying for all that knowledge and knowhow. Prior investigators can access a fair bit of information that the general public wouldn't know about and wouldn't know is available. But most experienced prior investigators have their way of getting results and getting information that's needed, whether that's through surveillance or through searches online or , um, a a range of databases that we can access as well. Let's say you're asking for a surveillance job. The first thing we would say is how long and whereabouts. And you would tell us, Hey, you are from scoby. So let's say scoby. I need a private investigator for surveillance for say five hours. I'll say, okay, well that will probably probably cost you anywhere around $500, maybe a hundred dollars an hour, something around that mark for five hours. Um, they , we don't actually charge four kilometers as a rule and we don't charge for reports, we don't charge for photographs or video. They're all part of the service that we provide. And for skip tracing, you're looking at around the same amount around a five hour commencement rate. And generally most skip t tracers can be completed within that five hours of searching and databases and , um, inquiries that we make that can include field visits and that sort of thing as well. So Brett, there's some basic pricing. Um, we'd love you to get back in touch with us if you do have a specific task you'd love us to undertake for you. And just so you know, your prize is on its way for you , um, for your question of the day. Thank you very much. Do you

Speaker 1: 12:47

Have a question for Simon and the team at Down Under Investigations, we are running a questions of the day competition. If your question gets answered by Simon on the podcast, we will send you a prize value at a hundred dollars. To send in your question, simply use the contact page on our website at www.downunderinvestigations.comoremailinfoatdownunderinvestigations.com.

Speaker 2: 13:14

With the increase of advanced technology as far as audio and video and recording of data, there's certain laws that we must be aware of and that we need to know about to enable us to obviously act within the law and know when our rights as , uh, humans are being breached. In Australia, there's many cases that go on where people's personal privacy and expectations have been breached under the law. So with all the new technology as far as cameras, audio recording devices, g p s tracking, that sort of thing going on, we really need to be aware of what the laws are as far as the Surveillance Devices Act, which is the acts that governs these things right across Australia. Basically, these devices do offer a lot of convenience and security. There's many applications for having a hidden camera or using audio or a G P S tracker, but we want to talk about why they can be used, why they can't be used, and different situations along those lines. So there's different types of recording devices we're gonna talk about. And I'm gonna talk about the legal uses and the illegal uses. Let's just simplify it and break it down. So there's security cameras. Security cameras are obviously a camera that you can see. They're in a location, maybe up high on a building or on a house. It's legal in Australia to use a security camera to monitor your own personal property. And often you'll find in public places for safety, police or council have installed cameras simply to monitor situations, maybe on roadways to allow roads to uh, have better access. There will be cameras and so cameras are allowed to be used in those areas. However, security cameras cannot be used to invade someone's personal privacy. Putting them in a bathroom or a bedroom is illegal. And I don't know what you get up to in your personal time, but let's just be aware that recording of anyone in a private area should not be done without their consent. Number two we're gonna talk about is hidden cameras. Hidden cameras can be used for legitimate purposes such as home security or with the consent of those being recorded. So hidden cameras can be used to monitor who's coming and going from your house, from the outside, from the inside as well, as long as it's not in a bathroom or toilet area. 'cause that's considered a personal and private space and it's in breach of privacy laws. When you're recording audio, we're gonna talk number three about audio recording devices. You can record audio when you obtain consent from all parties involved. It's generally legal, however, recording of unauthorized private conversations can be a breach of privacy laws. There's certain situations where if you're a party to the conversation, you're allowed to record the conversation for your own safety security information. However, for you to record someone else's private conversation that you are not a part of is absolutely illegal. So you can't just set up a device in a restaurant and walk away when you're not a person who's involved in that conversation. Number four, smartphones and wearable devices. Using the camera and microphone on your mobile or smartphone is legal for personal use. However, using these devices to record others in private conversations or situations may be illegal depending on the situation. You'll need to really look into where and when you are using those devices on whose property, for example, it makes a difference whether you're on your own property or whether you're on someone else's property. Uh, if you're in a public place or a private place, those sorts of things need to be considered when using a smartphone or wearable device. Uh, number five, drones with cameras. You need to be licensed for use of drone when it's over a certain size simply for safety. For safety. 'cause those drones, if they come down in the wrong spot and they're not driven correctly or floor <laugh> , if you don't fly it correctly, you can seriously do some damage to yourself, to someone else, to the drone itself. So there is license licensing available and required to fly certain sized drones. And again, with recording , uh, cameras can be used for recreational or professional use, but there's regulations regarding privacy and also the airspace that you're allowed to use. You're not just allowed to fly your drone anywhere, you can't fly it over an airport. You wait and see what happens to you if you try and do that sort of thing. Or over government buildings, things like that. Uh, in crowded areas it's illegal as well. There's very strict rules regarding use of drones. And just be careful when you are intending to use a drone that the people that you are recording know that they're being recorded. You are also allowed to fly drones at a beach and get , uh, personal , uh, say someone's having a tan or a swim or something like that and they don't know that you are recording them, that's absolutely illegal. You'll get yourself in trouble for that also. So there , there's certain things that you need to consider when using these devices, including consent. A key factor in recording devices is consent. Always ask permission from individuals you intend to record, especially in private settings. Public verse private, that's the second legal consideration. Recording in public spaces where there's no expectation of privacy is generally acceptable. So can a private investigator follow you and record you? Yes, they can. They can record you in a public area. However, if you go into a private bedroom or bathroom, there's no way that the private investigator is allowed to record you and they will lose their license. They'll get thrown in jail. They'll cop the full extent of the law if they attempt to do that sort of thing. Another legal consideration is a workplace recording. Employers must adhere to specifically re regulations when recording employees in the workplace. Employees should be notified about any surveillance measures in place. Audio recording, there's laws regarding that that vary between the states . So you've gotta check which state you're in and make sure that you are following the audio recording laws applicable. And in terms of security and surveillance, when using recording devices for security and surveillance, you need to ensure that they use solely for legitimate purposes and not for voyeurism or other illegal activities. So recording devices can make our life a lot easier. They can provide a lot of safety, and they become an integral part of our lives. They offer much value, but it's vital that we always know and we're aware of the laws that govern these devices. For example, can I put a G p s tracker on someone else's vehicle or as a landlord, can I put a camera in my property when it's renting out? The answer to both those questions is no. No, you're not allowed. No, you can't, you can't do that. That's a private place. And or the vehicle that doesn't belong to you. You can't just track a vehicle, you can't put an air tag in someone's bag to follow them and know where they've gone. It's absolutely illegal to do those things. So make sure you're aware when using those devices and if it just doesn't seem right, make sure you're checking with the laws of the state that you are in. And while we're on the topic of surveillance devices, here's some audio of a real process serving file that , uh, we did obtain consent for the recording. And um, have a listen. This is great.

Speaker 3: 21:39

Well , here we go. We're , um, about to serve some documents , uh, family law papers, actually divorce papers. Um, we've had to skip trace , uh, the respondent for our client. She didn't want to be found. Um, we're aware she's not wanting to be served and there's been some issues there. Um, but our client just wants to move on with his life. Um, so yeah, I'm just approaching a door now and um, yeah, we'll see how, how we go. Hello? Delivery. Oh , is it ? Hello? Hi. Hi , how you going? Good, are you , uh, Mrs. Yes. Oh , good, good . Um , yeah, look, I've got a delivery for you. Oh , I've been waiting for my, my delivery . Is that what No , no, unfortunately, my name's, I'm from the , uh, family court and I've got some papers that I need to drop off to you. Um, basically they've been filed by , um, how , no, how did , how did you find me? Uh , look, the , the , your address is on the documents. So this is the address that they've sent me to. Um, I've just got to ask that you , uh, take these papers and you've just gotta sign , um, just to say that you've received the documents. Yeah, but he's a. I don't want him in , I don't wanna do anything for him. Yeah, well look at the end of the day , um, this is for you. This is, you know, if you don't want to be, continue the marriage with No , I haven't, I haven't been with him for like nine years. Yeah, well that's probably why it's more a bit of a surprise that I've turned up, you know, with these papers tonight. Um, but at the end of the day , um, it's in your best interest to sign , uh, here. And you're not agreeing to anything he says in the papers. These are for you ? No , he's , he's a . Yeah . Well the , the papers are basically to inform you of what he's saying to the court. So you wanna be aware of what he's gonna say , um, as far as the separation and the divorce goes. So that's why it's important that you get a copy of this document. I need to read them . Yeah , well you need to read them . I need to read them . Yeah . Well , all , all I need is a signature from you just to say that you've received the documents. You don't have to agree with anything that's in them. And I can, I can show you here on this bit of paper here. Um, this is called an , an acknowledgement of service. This is basically what you have to sign simply to say, yes, I've received the documents. This goes in your favor too. Yeah. Well I wanna sign it so I can get the documents. I need to read what he says about me. Yeah , well , and , and then I take this sheet back to the courts. This goes before the judge who will then, if, if no one contests what's in the paperwork, if there's no issue , um, on that hearing date, there's a hearing date up here you can see on the documents. Oh yeah . Um, yeah , then you don't have to attend if you don't want, but I, I suggest you read the documents. Yeah . Maybe get some legal advice and , um, you know, it's , that's, that's it. So are you happy to sign and receive ? Yeah, let me sign. I wanna , I wanna read what he's saying about me . Alright . There for you. So just sign there and , um, no worries. Okay. Can I leave you then ? Uh , thank you . Alright , thank you . You have a good night. Thanks . Alright , bye . Well , that was , uh, kind of , kind of interesting. Um,

Speaker 4: 25:15

Yeah,

Speaker 3: 25:17

Sort of how, how I guess I expected it to go. Um, yeah, it's always a surprise when someone , uh, has a process server turning up on their door and we don't know on the other hand how they're gonna react or respond. So, ah , your heart raises a little bit, but you try and remain calm. Talk through the situation as a , as a rational adult. You know, I think she had a little bit to drink. She might've been a little bit jovial. Um, but, you know, and she was obviously a bit standoffish at the start, but just took my time, had a good conversation, you know, build a little bit of , uh, rapport, I guess, and make sure that, you know, she understands what she's doing, what she's signing. And , um, she understands the process because at the end of the day, we are just the delivery guy. We're not taking sides in this. Um, when there's family law and divorce and custody issues and financial issues, it's not about taking sides. It's, it's about getting people together in front of a , in front of the courts, in front of a judge and , uh, getting the situation sorted. So , um, oh, well that's a good result. Um, I'll , uh, get on the email and let our client know. Um, he may, I don't know if , uh, she's got his number, but , uh, he might get a , an abusive phone call from her , perhaps that sometimes happens. Um, but yeah, I'll give him a heads up that , uh, she's being served and , uh, get her affidavit sorted. Cool.

Speaker 2: 26:52

And immediately after I stopped my recording, she came out and spoke to us and she was just so grateful that , uh, we were so nice to her about the matter and, and I said to her, you know, do you mind if we use this recording , um, for , um, the podcast just to show our listeners what happens when someone gets served with documents? And she was happy to listen through and she was very happy to , uh, to release that recording, which is great. Um, yeah , so it was a good outcome. We would

Speaker 1: 27:25

Really appreciate if you would take the time to subscribe, rate, and review this podcast. Please also check out our social media on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. If you'd like to get in touch with Simon and the down under investigation team for any reason, please check out our website at www.downunderinvestigations.comorcallonethreeeightfournineohohsevenoremailinfoatdownunderinvestigations.com. Thanks for listening.