No More Birdies for Tiger...

I have just come away from reading the Sunday newspaper, an enjoyable pastime in general, certainly one that has become a tradition in my household. Like a fair few of you I read with interest the latest developments in the Tiger Woods saga and admired the photo of his $24 million personal cruise ship apparently being readied for the great man and his family to escape for some R&R in the hope he and Elin can save their marriage.

You will have gauged from my description of Tiger as a great man that I am a fan, and I neither deny that nor shrink from admitting that my admiration for him remains undimmed. I must add that it appears he chose his wife well, in that she is also prepared to stand with him in the face of withering fire from all who seek to bring him down. There is obviously more to this whole saga than meets the eye and relying on the reportage of the media is not something I can do without a large salt shaker handy.

I don't for a minute suggest that Tiger is blameless in this, but let's give his wife and family some space to deal with the whole situation. It seems all too convenient that all of these women were having an affair with Tiger right up until the car crash a week or so back and then all of a sudden they all need the world to know it. I suspect that his wife is cognizant of these apparent and convenient "revelations" and is giving the man she knows better than anyone else can lay claim to (and I include his mother in that) a degree of trust that the reporting media is neither dependant on nor affected by. So perhaps there is less of a story than the Sunday newspapers would have us buy without a little sensationalism added to the mix.

Likewise, it seems hardly surprising that he saw the need to retreat from the golf course and devote time to his family. Don't look me in the eye and tell me your thoughts haven't strayed from the marital bed on occasion, Mr President!

To paraphrase the bible, only he without sin may caste the first stone. Not that you'll catch me paraphrasing the bible with any regularity but it seems to fit this situation well.

The newspaper article also mentioned that the incidence of suspicious spouses hiring Private Investigators has risen since the whole debacle surfaced. I maintain links with several Investigation websites, both within Australia and the US and have detected nothing of the sort. There is no mention of any increase in business based on the fact Tiger has "transgressed". A conveniently difficult assertion to quantify, but an easy one to make, don't you think? After all are you going to chase that one down?

Suspicious partners have always hired Private Investigators to follow and report on the activities of their other half. I did a job not so long ago where a 75 year old woman contracted my firm to follow her 82 year old husband whom she suspected of having an affair. Once we had managed to film the subject during his daily walk around town, it was quickly apparent from his frequent need to stop for breath that his cardio vascular fitness would prevent him from doing anything more than looking, and even then there is room for doubt.

Tiger apparently made the No.1 error of this technology driven age, in that he did not keep his mobile phone transmissions to himself. He also showed a degree of confusion in requesting one of his girlfriend's to remove her name from her phone. We know of course that it would have been his phone with her name on it! I question how he could have overlooked such an obvious point.

If suspicious, check your partner's call list on their mobiles, or scrutinise the phone bill searching for repeat dialling of unknown persons. Has his fitness regime changed as he tries to lose weight to impress someone other than you. Is he working long hours all of a sudden or his job description changed requiring him to be away from home for unusual or long periods.

Tiger had the "ideal" situation in this regard in that he travelled the world from one engagement to another - excuse the unintentional pun, from one green to the next. Most of us don't and won't have that opportunity nor excuse.

As a Private Investigator, I need to see a change to his or her normal operating patterns.

Most people you see, either consciously or otherwise, maintain a certain pattern of behaviour, and you all know it when you stop to think about it. I mentioned at the start of this blog that, for instance in my case, I like to read the paper on a Sunday. Every Sunday unless something else crops up.

You might catch the same bus at the same time every day, or sit in the same seat on the train if it is available. I'll bet you read the same newspaper every day, purchased from the same newsagent. I reckon most of us use the same gas staions to fill up, the same hairdresser to cut our locks, shop at the same Supermarket, we each have our preferance for certain drinks and food, probably purchased at our favourite tavern or restaurant, and the list goes on. These sorts of patterns are things that I look for when I am following a subject. The more I know about them the more chance of success for the client, and the less stressful for me.

Yes, you can take it as read that a succesful "follow" is a stressful time for us. It is not as simple as hiding our red ferrari in amongst the traffic two cars back, it really does require thought and energy to pull the job off without being "blown" by the subject.

One major crime gang I was hired to follow once, employed their own counter surveillance team and made life miserable for us. Mind you, we weren"t blown and we got the goods, or at least enough to warrant out fee.

Second guessing the subject is a failure about to happen. We need to be on his/her tail to acheive a result and it only takes one orange/red light for the whole thing to go awry, and that's where the patterns I mentioned come into play. Is he off to his weekly game of Squash or Golf? Is she going to her Pilates class or the hairdresser? These clues help us to re-locate the subject with a degree more certainty and speed.

There are a huge number of issues we, as investigators, need to be aware of and process for the job to be a success. It is very difficult and hard work, but ultimately very rewarding to acheive the desired result for the client, even if the result is something they really didn't want to know!

If you would like more information about this subject then feel free to e-mail me or respond in the comments section. I look forward to hearing from you.

Stay safe
Biggles