To hire a PI or not?

Q

Quy4n8

Joined
Nov 27, 2002
Messages
659
Recently my home was burglarized when no one was home. Obviously a number of items of value to me were stolen. Is it helpful or worth it to hire a private investigator to help the local police in their efforts to apprehend the thieves and return whatever can be found of our belongings? One of the items stolen was an electronic device that can be tracked and we know within say 1000 feet where it is. To large an area to get a search warrant for as it is among a number of apartments. We have further incriminating evidence, but I’d rather not post that on a public forum. Bottom line, does a PI gain me anything over and above what the police can do? Thanks for your thoughts and responses.
 
Sorry to hear of your violation.

As far as the police are concerned, IF your items turn up, they MAY notify you if its obvious. Reported done, they're probably done.

As fas as a PI, about all he can do is look, take no action.

If it can be tracked, work with the poilce and track it so they can do something on the spot.

Thats about all you can do , LEGALLY.

Larry
Tinkerer
 
It really depends on what was stolen and how much value it has to you. I have had phones and wallets stolen years ago and was just notified by the police that one of my previous phones was found.
 
Not to be fatalistic, but in my experience you would probably be better off hiring someone to check all the pawn shops in your area. I have never got anything back after a burglary from the police, but I found a couple of my pistols in a pawn shop. The last time the officer told me they don't really try, even if they get solid finger prints, they just tack on the charges when they pick them up on a traffic stop. Unless it is a crime against a person it is just a crime against property and it's not a priority.
All that being said, I hope you can get your stuff back.
 
If they can track your item(s) to within 1000 feet yet are unwilling to do the legwork to obtain the appropriate search warrants or take otherwise appropriate action (even after you've exhausted your imploring), go to the local newspaper. Sounds like a good story to me. Outrageous.

A lawyer might be a better option than a PI. A good lawyer might actually force the PD to step up.
 
Do you have insurance? The insurance company may have loss investigators that can do some of the footwork. That usually only happens in really big cases, but it can happen.
 
My insurance company won't be much help, their payout won't be nearly enough for them to consider their own investigation. I personally have been checking the pawn shops in my area, not asking what has been brought in, but looking for my items in there dispays. Several items have significant heirloom value as they have been in the family for a long time. I'm staying in touch with the police daily and they tell me they are working their end diligently. Thanks for the thoughts so far.
 
To be tracked to within 1000 feet means to within an area about the size of 65 football fields. You are going to have to do better than that for a search warrant.

How is this "tracking" done?"

If it's by radio signal, then an investigative specialist could, with boots-on-the-ground, fine it exactly. But this is very specialized work with specialized equipment. Maybe you can find a PI to do it, but you'd probably be better off looking for a Ham Radio Fox Hunting club in your area; they love hidden transmitter hunts.
 
Quy4n8 said:
I personally have been checking the pawn shops in my area, not asking what has been brought in, but looking for my items in there dispays.
Click to expand...

Most pawn shops don't move even half of their merchandise through their local shop. You've got to talk to the clerks.
 
Quy4n8 said:
I personally have been checking the pawn shops in my area, not asking what has been brought in, but looking for my items in there dispays.
Click to expand...

Most pawn shops don't move even half of their merchandise through their local shop. You've got to talk to the clerks.
 
Gollnick, what do you mean when you say they don't move the merchandise through their shop? I'll be glad to talk to the clerks, just haven't asked for my specific items to not raise suspicion. Some of these shops may be less the above board.

The item we have been able to track is a wi-fi only tablet, don't want to be more specific than that at this point, but if you have any thoughts we can communicate by PM. Thanks.
 
If you know where the item (even within 1000 feet) is you should hire a pi. Just my opinion.
 
Quy4n8 said:
Gollnick, what do you mean when you say they don't move the merchandise through their shop?
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As with anything, buy low and sell high. And the local store may not be the place to sell high on all items. Or, they may have a glut of a certain item. So, they may wholesale some of their inventory to other stores. They may sell some on eBay. Consider, for example, a high-end custom knife; it may never sell in the store. So, they spin their Rolodex and find a knife dealer they work with and sell it to him wholesale. For some types of items, they may have buyers line up already so they can sell that item without it ever taking space in their retail store.




The item we have been able to track is a wi-fi only tablet, don't want to be more specific than that at this point, but if you have any thoughts we can communicate by PM. Thanks.
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Tough. WiFi signals are all over the place and they are very short pulses. They are technically Very difficult to direction-find on.
 
Sorry to hear about what happened to you. I think your stuff is gone though friend. I don't mean to sound like a downer, but my parents have been burglarized twice and me once and we never got anything back. The time with me I actually saw the guy across the street jump my fence take off and come back when the cops showed up! The officer said there was nothing he could do even though the guy pulled up DRUNK! Sorry... didn't mean to keep rambling anyways, I don't think a hiring a PI is going to help much either spend that money on an alarm system to make sure this doesn't happen again.
 
I don't know the pawn shop regulations in your area, but pawn shops generally have to hold items for some period before they can sell them. (Probably at least 30 days)
Checking what's for sale probably won't do any good for awhile.
 
Gollnick said:
To be tracked to within 1000 feet means to within an area about the size of 65 football fields. You are going to have to do better than that for a search warrant.
Click to expand...

Sorry, I read this as 1000 sq. feet. My mistake. 1000ft diameter (or a 1000ft per side square) is a much different story :)

Quy4n8 said:
The item we have been able to track is a wi-fi only tablet, don't want to be more specific than that at this point, but if you have any thoughts we can communicate by PM. Thanks.
Click to expand...

If it's an iPad and Find My iPhone/iPad is enabled, then you should be able to set off a loud alarm on the device itself from your iCloud portal. This could help you more precisely pinpoint which apartment it's in, although you might need to spend a while going ear-to-door in the complex.
 
Quy4n8 said:
Gollnick, what do you mean when you say they don't move the merchandise through their shop?
Click to expand...

In addition to what Chuck said, many, many pawn shops these days have eBay stores and/or list items on Craigslist. Pawn shops are usually required to hold items they buy for a certain amount of time (regulated by the State or municipality) before they can sell them, so there's a period of time where stolen goods can be found before resale. Find out what that period of time is where you are, and surrounding areas if it's not a state-wide regulation, and call around during that time. And of course check Craigslist and eBay.
 
Also on pawn shops - It probably varies by state law, but isn't there usually a provision in place where they have to hold new acquisitions for a period of time before they sell it, to make sure it's not stolen? If this is the case in your area, your stuff might not have hit the display cases yet.

If your tablet is anything like mine, the tracking feature is actually based on GPS, which can be a good deal more precise than tracing the WiFi signal. I'd at least have to go look around. . .
 
In Illinois, pawnshops must hold item 3 days to make sure they aren't stolen. My pawnshop where I work part time uploads its entire buy book every night to the local PD. No way stolen merchandise is getting sold.

If it's a wifi device you want, go to your local college and grab a couple of network admin majors. Have them make either high gain mini yagi antennas or high gain pringles can antennas and install a wifi signal strength program on their computers. They should be able to triangulate it in minutes. We used to do that in NetSec class. It's not hard and might narrow down the search enough to get a warrant. All it takes is one break sometimes to find every thing.
 
If it is a personal electronic with a GPS and you spent the money to use one of the online tracking services, you just got robbed again. Unfortunately most burglary's are solved when the crook makes one mistake, and LE is able to trace multiple burglaries to one person or group. The pawn shops have become the place that stupid criminals bring their items because pawn shops are required to check ID's and keep track of serial numbers. If a pawn shop is found to have a stolen item, they loose the item and the money they spent on it. Pawn shops really want nothing to do with stolen items. You are better off watching for you items on Craigs List. If you think you find one of your items, contact LE and have them make the purchase. You will need to have some proof that the item was yours. I think a PI would be another complete waste of money. Spend money on crime prevention. I know that doesn't make you feel any better about this burglary, but it may prevent one in the future. Contact your local LE and see if they are willing to do a security survey. They will be able to tell you where and how your home is likely to be broken in to.
 
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