PRIVATE DETECTIVES - Rookie
P.I.'s DIARY
A trainee keeps a diary of her first weeks in becoming a P.I. Having been informed that the three most basic characteristics for a private investigator are honesty, reliability and common sense, I was determined not to be late on my first day. I wasn't

Two colleagues sat down to discuss their priorities and ongoing cases. Another female detective briefed me on a potential project with me and asked if I thought I could pull it off - followed by a reassuring, "you don't have to do this, I can get someone else." I could hardly say no. The sting - carried out for legitimate reasons - involved posing as a business scout. I set to work looking up relevant terminology used in that industry
Later in the day, I was introduced to the "Freesearch" facility and how to locate individuals using a registry database. When someone has sent in an e-mail asking if a girl called Alison from Manchester could be traced, it became clear that some of the trace requests could be hoaxes and the success rate wasn't going to be high. It was quite satisfying finding potential matches, however, I then wondered about possible motives for these individuals being located and can see why the company are careful about who they work for.
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Next day provided an introduction to process serving. We drove to a solicitors office and on the way I asked my colleague what the most common documents served were. She joked that this particular solicitors tended to deal mainly with "wife beaters". When we collected the paperwork, I opened the envelope to locate an address and found a Non-Molestation Order - essentially an injunction to prevent someone using violence. It seemed she knew this solicitor's business too well! We located the correct road looking for a street that bore the name of a TV soap opera. None of the locals seemed to know that this place existed and we received at least three responses from people asking if we'd tried Channel 4, which was not very amusing. When we eventually found the correct residence, Mr Nasty (as I had nicknamed him) wasn't in. This was quite a relief although at the same time disappointing. The papers were eventually served by another colleague the next day.
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Today I learned not to finish off the office supply of coffee - it wasn't a pretty sight when one of my coffee addict colleagues arrived and swore loudly on discovering the empty jar! The entire morning consisted of driving through three counties serving (or not serving) 2 people. "Mr Nasty" thankfully wasn't in again, even though we'd positioned the car ready for a speedy getaway before I'd knocked on the door.
The second person we tried to find was a little stranger. We arrived at the address provided by the solicitors (having collected the papers from their office in Guildford at the start of the day) to find the subject's father half way up a ladder. When we stated the purpose of our visit, he asked my colleague (5 foot 2 inches tall) if she was a bailiff! She laughed kindly and asked, "Do I look like a bailiff to you?
Having explained our role in a little more detail - we were serving a witness summons - the father phoned the son in France on his mobile to question when he was back in the country. My colleague chatted to the son for a while before handing the phone back to the father, who ended the call with an order for cross channel wine and cigarettes!
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I received a phone call from my colleague who thought he’d spotted the target and was following him to get a clearer look. I stayed outside the main entrance just in case it wasn’t him. Shortly afterwards, my colleague called again to say it was definitely him and for me to join him. I started following his directions – he asked if I had reached the road junction yet? I was starting to realise if I didn’t hurry up I was going to end up completely lost in London without a map. “Do you want me to run” I asked. “Well yes” was John’s reply. It was now I realised it was probably not a good idea to carry a handbag on surveillance operations. Running down the street carrying a coat and a handbag whilst trying to talk on a mobile phone was not the easiest thing to do. Apart from looking like a prat and wishing I had a different bra on, I felt stupid too.
Then the mobile cut off. Luckily I’d put John’s number in my own mobile and was able to get back in touch. It was a relief to see him outside a store, where we saw the target inside. It was exciting to know we were following the right man, especially when he was joined by an attractive mystery female. Without disclosing too much information, we followed them both around for around half an hour and caught them right in the middle of the street having a passionate kiss – I mean there were tongues involved. Then they walked off hand in hand to his apartment. The whole operation seemed like a set up because it was just far too perfect from start to finish – but at least I had experienced all the positive feelings that follow a successful operation.
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DAY 5

I carried out my first solo surveillance today, which involved a lunchtime and evening follow. I read the case notes and couldn’t understand the logic of the client – I mean this person I was asked to follow was extremely boring and had done nothing throughout several previous ops.
It was exciting following her to the shops at lunchtime – until I realised I couldn’t “lose” her because we had travelled beyond the boundaries of the street map and would look like a complete idiot calling the office to say I was lost somewhere in Surrey! I thought I was being very cunning by changing my shades from my journey there to my journey back. I mean, it’s not like I was driving the same car, very slowly and conspicuously 20 metres behind her. I wish she’d put her foot down.
When I returned for the late afternoon surveillance, I sat in the car for an hour and a half before the target even left work. I managed to lose her having after following through seven miles of rush hour traffic, so went on to her residence and parked outside to wait for her return. 25 minutes later she arrived home with her son and some shopping bags. I sat outside the house for an hour watching her son kicking a football around with some friends while I practised bladder control. As expected, nothing happened, but at least I’d had a taste of what surveillance work is normally like.
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DAY 6

Today I served my first statutory notice. This was a simple enough task and I turned up on the client’s doorstep smiling sweetly to soften the blow. I handed the papers over and the subject asked, “Am I being served for something?” I acted aloof and briskly walked away. I had been warned this individual usually breaks down into floods of tears and I as I walked back to the car with my heart racing, I wondered if she was going to run me down with her vehicle. I phoned the office to confirm “mission complete” and was able to seize the rare opportunity of an early finish.
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