Michigan Winters aren’t conducive for surveillance? Think again! Winter surveillance is already proving to be a success, thanks to good planning and profiling of surveillance targets.
Even in good weather, the majority of surveillance activity focuses on a claimant’s daily routine and normal, everyday activities, often times away from their homes. These are activities that are often identified through comprehensive profiling of a target. A typical profile includes identifying who lives in the target’s household, how that household operates, are there children, who works, what social media is available, what can we ascertain about the subject and when is he or she is most likely to be active outside of their residence? These routines don’t just stop because it is cold outside. Think about your day for a moment. You still have obligations to tend to, groceries to shop for, children to take to and from school, family to visit, and appointments to make. The only difference in the winter months is the added exertion needed to tend to these activities. Instead of walking to your car, starting it and driving off, you have to clear snow from your roof and scrape your windshield free of ice before going anywhere. You probably even have to shovel your driveway and clear snow off your patio and walkways. The point is, “the daily routine” still exists in the winter months, but more physically intensive steps sometimes have to be taken, which creates excellent opportunities for surveillance, especially when planned accordingly.