Quote:
Originally Posted by brit
Can I ask what is the situation with this one as this seems like the only grey area in your list. There is a thread on here somewhere where a PI gets video footage of the guys wife outside her house...does this cross the line? Hypothetically what would happen if the cops busted you secretly filming someone? Not a flame/opinion on this, just curious what the deal is.
Another question if I may - is there any realistic danger of becoming "known" in certain bars/gogos, ie having your cover blown because they've seen your face a few times or someone finding out and spreading the word?
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Hi brit,
In answer to the first part of your hypothetical question concerning the possibility of getting nicked by the boys in brown whilst on a job!
Good question and I am glad you brought it up as it is a sort of a bone of contention in this business. Let’s just say TITS.
As long as my people are not trespassing on anyone’s private property, nor invading their personal privacy (spying through their windows or planting a listening / tracking device on their car unbeknownst to them) then we are not crossing the line.
However there is a gray area on what is and is not considered invasion of privacy. We must tread very carefully indeed.
For example would you consider it an invasion of your privacy if someone were to photograph you sitting reading a newspaper in a café?
Or having a beer in a bar?
Maybe not an invasion of privacy just a lack of courtesy as some tourists take photographs of anything and everything and I guess we are all in some Japanese tourist’s photo album somewhere in the world.
Or would you consider it an invasion of your privacy if you were photographed sitting in your own back garden. I would say defiantly yes!
However, this is the grey area we try to keep out of.
After all you may be sitting on the front window of your house because it affords better light to read the newspaper and as far as you are concerned this is your prerogative. But everyone can see is as they walk past if they so choose to look. But are they allowed to take a photo? I say no as this may be construed as an invasion of someone’s privacy.
We try and avoid these types of situations and our guys are instructed not to invade anyone’s personal space.
However if you are on the public road outside your house (as in the case mentioned above) getting in/out of a car or on the back of a motorbike then you/they are fair game…
Secondly… YES there is a realistic chance of becoming “known” as you put it.
That is why security is our first concern and we walk away from any job no matter how lucrative it may be if there is the slightest chance our safety has been compromised. In such a case the client would receive a full refund depending upon how far we were into the actual job and how much useful data we have obtained at the point.
Sometime it’s the client who blows the whistle and endangers our people because they can’t wait until the job is finished before confronting the subject of the investigation.
That is one reason I try NOT to give a running commentary on a jobs progress as it is asking for trouble.
That is why I mentioned some where in a previous post that it's best to be a loner in this job.
Anyway my Thai staff are the ones out there at the pointed end...
TPE II.
CR.