Before Surveillance: Separate Facts from Assumptions
If you are considering surveillance, you probably have a question that existing information has not answered. It may involve a commercial concern, disputed activity or a personal matter where uncertainty is making a decision difficult.
A useful first step is to organise the information you already hold. Separating facts from assumptions helps an investigator understand the enquiry and assess whether surveillance is an appropriate way to address it.
Write down the question you need answered
“Find out everything” is difficult to turn into a sensible instruction. A focused question gives the enquiry a purpose and a boundary.
For example, you might need to establish whether a particular activity occurs during a relevant period. That is different from asking an investigator to confirm your explanation for why it occurs.
Describe the decision you are trying to make and the information that would help you make it. Be prepared for the investigator to suggest a narrower scope, another approach or that the proposed work should not proceed.
Make three short lists
What you know
Record relevant information you can attribute to a source. Include dates where available. Distinguish something you observed yourself from information supplied by another person or contained in a document.
Keep the wording factual. “The delivery log records a vehicle arriving at 10:15 on Tuesday” identifies a source and an event. “The driver was doing unauthorised work” adds a conclusion that the log alone does not establish. This is an illustrative example, not a Bluemoon case history.
What remains uncertain
Write down gaps and contradictions without trying to resolve them in advance. You might not know whether a reported address is current, whether an account is accurate or whether an activity has more than one explanation.
An uncertainty is a question to assess, rather than evidence supporting a preferred conclusion.
What you want to establish
Identify the specific information you need and explain its relevance. This helps distinguish potentially useful observations from material that would add intrusion without answering your question.
A brief you can prepare in five minutes
- The decision: what you need to decide and why the answer matters.
- The facts: relevant events, sources and dates.
- The gaps: what remains uncertain or contradictory.
- The question: what you want the enquiry to establish.
- The practical details: your contact information, timing and any professional adviser involved.
Share context without directing the outcome
Explain the background honestly, including information that could support a different explanation. An investigator needs an accurate brief, rather than a case assembled to prove one interpretation.
If you provide a chronology, distinguish events from comments. Label second-hand information and estimates. Do not try to fill gaps by confronting the person, accessing private accounts or carrying out your own intrusive monitoring.
Discuss suitability and limits first
Surveillance is not automatically appropriate because a concern feels serious. The purpose, methods and privacy implications need assessment. The ICO's guidance on video surveillance explains the importance of a lawful basis, necessity and proportionality, including considering less intrusive alternatives.
A preliminary discussion should establish what work is proposed, its boundaries, how findings would be reported and what happens if useful observations cannot be obtained. Tell the investigator if a solicitor or another professional is advising on the matter.
Keep expectations realistic
An observation covers a particular period and set of circumstances. It may answer part of your question, leave matters unresolved or show something different from what you expected.
Seeing an activity does not necessarily establish its motive. Equally, not observing something during a limited period does not prove it never happens. Reporting should make those distinctions clear.
Begin with a confidential discussion
If you are considering professional surveillance, speak to Bluemoon about the question you need answered. Bring your facts, uncertainties and intended objective. We can discuss whether the enquiry is suitable, the proposed scope and pricing before any work is agreed.
