| PORT ST. LUCIE --- Smell usual perfume on your spouse?
Have a few unanswered questions about someone you want to hire? Need a
wristwatch camera or bionic-ear microphone system? Some people believe
almost anyone can learn how to sleuth with the right training. A Port St. Lucie couple, working with about
a dozen private investigators from Florida and the Southeast United
States have compiled an at-home course on private-eyeing. Watch several
hours of videotape, follow along in a manual and you will know why a dog
provides a perfectly legal excuse to be walking around odd places at
strange times, and why a wide-mouth plastic bottle is an indispensable
tool for a stake-out.
"People don't know," Hoover said, "there's so much information you have access to. There
is so much freedom as far as what is legal and what is not."
Hoover and partner Anni Adkins, artists and free-lance producers, worked a year to assemble the four hours of
videotapes and the 475-page manual, which they hope to slim down with editing.
"At first, we thought of writing a course for private investigators," Adkins said. ''There are More
than 4000 professional private investigators in the country, but there are almost 200
million American adults. We decided: let's make it for everyone."
The course goes over background investigation techniques for pre- employment or business deals. "People
move around so much," Adkins said.'' Before anything catches up with them, they can
move to another state."
All this knowledge comes with a price -- $139, to be exact. Hoover and Adkins say the information is worth
the price. They say the course also can be used to locate missing people, from dead-beat
parents to the birth parents of someone who has been adopted.
A section on relationship investigations warns people what to look for before getting romantically
involved or, if married, tips on what to do if cheating is suspected.
One hint: if certain basic questions - like where he or she lives and who the family and friends are - go
unanswered, even at the beginning of a relationship, you might want to conduct a
background investigation of your own.
With the computer sources available today, a lot of information can be gathered with just a full name, place
and date of birth: workplace information, Social Security number and information about
past jobs, addresses and schools, said Hoover and Adkins.
If you suspect your spouse of cheating, there are More hints, ranging from checking the vehicle odometer, the
suspect's pockets and papers, to conducting a surveillance operation of your own.
A state-by-state resource directory is provided for local, state and federal records sources.
"You can find people," Hoover said. "You can learn to protect yourself. You can do it
yourself."
The real "secret" to the success of these endeavors is the contributions made by
our experts. To read about these interesting and energetic professionals, "
Our Experts."
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