investigations

Surelock and the Association of British Investigators, are both very proud to announce the appointment as President-Elect for 2019-2020 the highly respected member and Governing Council Discipline Officer, Ron HARRISON.

Ron has been a member of the ABI since November 2009, initially attending branch meetings, then got more involved sitting on selection panels for new members, in May 2018 became a member of the General Council and was appointed the Discipline Chairman.

https://www.theabi.org.uk/news/abi-president-elect-2019-2020

Why should the plant & construction industry would use private investigators? There are a lot more skills we have other than following a partner in a suspicious relationship! There are so many areas that spring to mind where Surelock  has a wealth of experience in plant & construction industry, in fact it would be fair to say, “we cut our teeth” within this Industry.

No industry is immune from theft and fraud which can strike from the top to the bottom. If there is a suspicion that something is not quite right then it is often a thought worth acting on.

With our consultants throughout the country we cover many fields including criminal investigations; security surveys/risk assessments, audits / stock takes, surveillance and asset recovery. We have been known to recover our client’s property before they have known it was stolen!

We have assisted in the internal audit function of companies by conducting unannounced audit visits to sites and work places (often at weekends or during unsocial hours) to confirm that staff and systems are operating correctly. These audit visits routinely disclose discrepancies ranging from operational or disciplinary shortcomings to criminal activity – sometimes organised and endemic.

Also, we have undertaken contractual management and project management audits within the construction industry which seek to identify and prevent future losses. Each project is unique and undertaken to an individual formula established in relation to the client’s instructions. Our previous investigations have used comprehensive analysis of how substantial losses are likely to have occurred by undertaking a thematic investigation into current processes and procedures in order to establish weaknesses, evaluation of data, conducting investigative interviews with staff with a view to both contractual and criminal irregularities and recommending a strategic plan for dealing with the problems identified in order to prevent future losses.

Oh and we also can follow that partner if required!

Roy HERRIDGE QPM the founder of Surelock has been elected to the Governing Council of The Institute of Professional Investigators – https://ipi.org.uk

A question I was recently asked “Are private investigators only hired by the rich and famous?”
and my answer “Absolutely no, not at all!”
In this day of ever stretching resources, private investigators certainly fill a very important gap in many different areas. We are experts in our field, qualified, accredited and professional but with something a little bit special; we are approachable. I’ve chatted to people who just want to tell someone that something awful has happened to them and get some direction of how to deal with it. Sometimes it’s just that old saying of “a problem shared”.

There are companies that know they are losing money through fraudulent activities but just don’t know where to start unravelling and making sense of what is taking place, how to prevent it happening in the future or putting a package of evidence together to obtain the desired outcome. That’s when we are more valuable than you could have envisaged, and absolutely worth thinking about. Known for tenacity, we have assisted in many a court case where just that extra search provided the evidence that swung the case in the client’s favour, saving the possibility of huge costs awarded against them. There is something quite rewarding in knowing you are right and succeeding in proving it; sometimes you just need the help of someone who knows which direction to channel the investigation to prove that fact for you.
Budgets get cut and the thought of hiring a private investigator may feel hard to justify, but what if “ghost workers” are your scary thought? You’ll be amazed how often it takes place and how easy it is to task us to prove their existence for your company. Ultimately an investigation could save you more than money in the long run; a company’s reputation is often priceless.

Unfortunately, it is a sad fact that sometimes the police just don’t have resources to find the evidence needed to classify a crime as worthy of investigation. That is where we can make a major difference. We can investigate and package the necessary evidence that makes that crime committed against you or your company one which shows there is evidence supporting the crime classification. Moreover, the eventual outcome may be the difference of a prosecution.

Health and safety audits can be put into place to check workers are adhering to company policy, which can make you significant savings in a court case. We have experience of regular checks with various companies where we report back failures and successes. Look at the bigger picture of what can be achieved; sometimes a pat on the back will keep that workforce you have trained, happy and content, sometimes it can save a life. Again, that’s priceless.

Peace of mind is sometimes invaluable. Surveillance can be performed to give you peace of mind, to prove something or to negate something. Our eyes and ears become your eyes and ears. Pictures say a thousand words. That could be a strapline!

So, how long is that piece of string? I’m not saying rich and famous are not welcome, but don’t ever let it think you are not worthy of our services because you are not rich and famous!