Surveillance Training

There are many steps in becoming a Private Investigator.

1. Be eligible!

2. Take the mandatory 50-hour Private Investigator Basic Training course

3. Pass the Private Investigator Test with at least a 77%

4. Get licenced

5. Go through the hiring process

6. Get Trained

7. Start working as a Private Investigator on your own files.

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How important is Surveillance Training?

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If you are seriously interested in becoming a Private Investigator, please do yourself a favor and look into or ask specifically about Training. Essentially, Training will make or break you! 

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If you are looking for Surveillance Training, call the companies who provide this service and ask them:

• What is the cost?

• How long is the Training?

• Who (person) provides the training?

• What kind of experience do they have?

• What is covered - Specifically?

• Do they offer a Training Manual?

• Do they provide some sort of "Training Progression Report"

       (To prove to a perspective employer you have training, and what it entailed)

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There are two (2) ways to get trained. The first and most common, is to find a company to hire you with no experience, and have that company provide the training. However, training varies considerably. Some companies bring you on a "ride-a-long" with another Investigator for a few days, then send you out on your own. THIS IS NOT TRAINING! Other companies only offer a set amount of training hours to "reduce their costs", then throw you out to learn as you go. If the new Investigator is not ready, this can result in the Investigator losing people, getting "burnt", or not getting the video evidence required. Either way, the new Investigator may get discouraged and quit or be fired. 

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Proper Training?

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To properly train a new Investigator, they should be shown how to conduct a surveillance and investigation from start to finish. That means, learning how a case is received, what to do with the information, how to confirm or determine information in order to strategize how to do surveillance, how to conduct the surveillance itself, how to follow and take video evidence of the subject, and finally how to construct a professional report to reflect what was done.

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Most people think, I can follow someone, so I can be a Private Investigator. Keep in mind, following a subject is only one component of what a Private Investigator does. Just because you can follow someone, doesn't mean you can do this job!

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Every individual is different, therefore require different amounts of time to learn various aspects of the job. To be trained properly, each individual should be trained on each component required, until they have the confidence to do it themselves. A good trainer should be able to quickly decipher whether or not the new Investigator has the mental capacity for the job. If they do, they can be trained. It's just a matter of time to build their confidence.

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Why should I pay for Training?

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Taking the "Surveillance Training" at T.R.I.O. Investigations will allow you to apply at an investigation firm having already received Training. This will show perspective employers that the Investigator is serious about their newly chosen career, has taken the initiative to obtain adequate training themselves, therfore making them more attractive for a company to hire as that they don't have to spend time and money on training.

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Do I need to be licenced to take Surveillance Training?

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Students who take surveillance training do not need to be licenced as a Private Investigator, however they must be with a licenced Investigator who will provide the training. Students will not be training on actual cases where confidential information is an issue. Rather they will be doing "moch" (fictitious) surveillances and investigations.

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Some companies who offer surveillance training will tell the student to practice following people on their own and report back to them. THIS IS ILLEGAL - If caught following someone, you can be charged with "Intimidation" or "Criminal Harassment" (Stalking) under the Canadian Criminal Code. To follow someone legally, one MUST be licenced as a Private Investigator, or be with someone who is.

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T.R.I.O. Investigations "Surveillance Training"

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The surveillance training that T.R.I.O. Investigations provides is taught by Chris Dowdall who has over 25 years experience in the industry as a Private Investigator and trainer. For a number of years Chris also taught the mandatory Private Investigator Basic Training course at Cambrian College in Sudbury as a part of the "Corporate Safety and Security" as well as the "Protection, Security, and Investigation" programs.

(The course is also offered online on our website).

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Our Surveillance Training will consist of everything an Investigator does from the start to finish of a case. The training will be on a personal, one-on-one basis in an office setting as well as in the field actually following people. At the end of the training, the student will be provided with a full "Training Progression Report" to accurately depict what training was provided.

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