“Unarmed” is not the same as “not a threat”!

When the media reports an officer shooting an “unarmed” citizen that instantly seems bad outside the context of the situation.

Does it make a difference to you if the “unarmed” person was wrestling the officer for his gun and gets shot? Does it make a difference if the person is bigger and stronger than the officer, but punching the cop to the point of losing consciousness? These are two examples when a suspect is “unarmed”, but clearly very dangerous.

Understanding that basic concept is part of being an informed citizen who can participate in the discussion of police shootings and move society forward rather than getting bogged down in pointless online campaigns and ineffective hash-tag shouting competitions.

I’m not saying which side is right in any particular case… I’m just saying be educated and properly informed about the facts of a particular case before you wade in knee deep with an uninformed opinion.

Are these Ferguson police officers wearing “militarized riot gear” or are they wearing the protective gear required by the department, and common sense, given the dangers of their job (the same as you might wear steel toed boots while working in a warehouse)?

On a practical day-to-day basis, when working as a private investigator or process server, being unarmed can make you seem like the more reasonable person in media accounts and may help reduce your liability if it goes to court!

Of course, being unarmed doesn’t mean you just sit there waiting to be a victim either! Keep your eyes open for anything that can be used as an improvised weapon of opportunity (either by you or against you)!

I would love to hear how you feel about this. Please post a comment below.

Stay Safe and Streetwise,
Larry Kaye, P.I.

P.S. – Don’t miss my special report titled… If You Want To Be a Private Investigator Give Up… Unless You Do These Three Things. You can get it on the home page of my blog.

Are there any skill sets you can learn as a private investigator that won’t be out of date a year from now? Yes!

The fundamentals will always be necessary and especially surveillance!

A tracking device will only tell you where the vehicle went. It will not tell you if any passengers were picked up or where the person went after getting out of the car. Heck, it won’t even tell you who was driving!

Only a person (detective!) doing physical surveillance can learn this information.

That’s one really good reason why learning how to do surveillance (and do it well!) is a money maker!

If anyone tells you, “It’s all in the databases” or “You can learn it all online”, they are full of it!

Learn surveillance and take your marketable investigative skill sets to the next level.

In this video I also explain why few things are truly “game changers”. I use the 1966 US Supreme Court decision of Miranda v. Arizona as an example.

Committed to your success as a Private Investigator,
Larry Kaye, P.I.

P.S. – Don’t miss my special report titled… If You Want To Be a Private Investigator Give Up… Unless You Do These Three Things. You can get it on the home page of my blog.

Caution: Rant Ahead.
Subject: Don’t be “that guy”.

You know the one. He lives in his mom’s basement, has snack crumbs all over his shirt and pauses his video game long enough to troll the internet and say something stupid about something he has no clue about… specifically when he learns a private investigator secret and then says, “That’s just common sense”.

You especially see this when he learned the trick for free online because, when he gets something for free, he has no appreciation for the VALUE of the technique! He has no idea how much money you can make or how much heartache it saves a real P.I.!

On the other hand, if you’re sincere in your desire to learn (and if your reading this, I suspect you are!), then you understand that just because a secret “makes sense” once you’ve learned it, that does NOT mean it’s common sense! And it certainly doesn’t mean you would have figured it out on you own.

Don’t mistake “that makes sense” for “common sense”.

It sure would be nice if the trolls would be a little grateful when an experienced teacher shares something with them.

Don’t be “that guy”. When you learn a trick from someone who’s been there and done that, realize you’re learning money making, case solving, solid information!

Have you had an experience where someone undervalued what you did for them just because you did it for free? Let me know about it in the comments below.

Committed to your success,
Larry Kaye,
Private Investigator

P.S. – Don’t miss my special report titled… If You Want To be a Private Investigator Give Up… Unless You Do These Three Things. You can get it on the home page of my blog.