Private Investigators Recording Audio on Surveillance Should be a Red Flag
As a Westchester County private investigator specializing in video surveillance, I get approached for all types of different and unique investigation requests daily. The video surveillance investigations can range from infidelity, divorce, cheating wives / spouses to insurance fraud and more. As video surveillance specialists, Davis Investigations invests in the latest technology to achieve maximum surveillance effectiveness.
GPS Tracking, A Tool In a Private Investigators Toolbox
One technology that has evolved and become extremely popular: GPS tracking devices. More and more clients request GPS tracking devices be used to assist in their video surveillances. GPS tracking devices can deliver to the private investigator on video surveillance, with pinpoint accuracy, at any given time, the precise location of the tracked vehicle. Not to mention the speed in which the vehicle is traveling. All captured in a report and viewable on a google map. A powerful tool for any Westchester County, New York private investigator to use on video surveillance!
Private Investigators Recording Audio on Video Surveillance, Buyer Beware!
However, there is one technology Davis Investigations, Inc. will never invest in: surveillance audio recording devices. Recently I received a request to record audio while on surveillance for a cheating spouse investigation. Now, occasionally an attorney will ask if we record audio on our surveillance videos? I explain that if I was to record audio of my surveillance video, all you would hear is chewing, sports talk radio & lots of cursing! The private investigator (me) is inside the surveillance van and is recording my audio (cursing! Surveillance is not easy) filming my subject (outside) doing whatever it is that they are doing – cheating, committing fraud, exaggerating their claim, etc… But I digress, that is not what the client was asking. The answer to the attorney questions is: We never record audio.
This client was asking for us to record audio of their cheating spouse in White Plains, NY bars or Westchester County, NY strip clubs where he might be connecting with other women. This I explained is downright illegal. You can not follow a subject with the objective of recording their conversations without speaking to them directly, without being a part of their conversation. She explained that my competitor is offering Video Surveillance, GPS Tracking & Audio Recording… OH MY.
I explained that in New York, like most States, if someone is recording a conversation at least one of the recording parties must be a part of the conversation. Otherwise, referred to as: 1 Party consent. Other States like Connecticut have 2 party consent, meaning that both parties must consent to the recording. It is a Felony in the State of New York and the State of Connecticut to violate one party or two party consent laws. These laws do not just apply to being in public, but the telephone too. For more information, our trusty friends at Diligentia Group wrote an excellent article on recording phone calls & conversations.
What Are They Doing To Your Surveillance Video?
If a private investigator in Westchester County, NY is willing to sell you audio recordings, what are they doing with your surveillance video? There are strict laws on how a New York State licensed private investigator must handle a surveillance video. Private investigators willing to commit a felony on the audio recordings are probably altering your surveillance videos too.
Do you need video surveillance in Westchester, NY and demand ethical, legal standards be upheld by your private investigator? Call Davis Investigations, Inc. at 914-472-5731 or email us. We are New York’s leading video surveillance specialists.
