GPS Tracking Q&A

Why Use GPS?

GPS (Global Positioning System) tracking has become more reliable and efficient as the technology has improved. We often recommend using GPS to track a cheating spouse. In cases where there is suspicion but no indication of who the spouse is seeing, or when or where, GPS tracking allows us, working with the client, to narrow down times and places for manned surveillance. In cases where more information is available, it allows us to limit the number of hours of manned surveillance required, since we can simply wait until the cheater is headed to meet their lover to send an investigator out with camera in hand.

How Does it Work?

There is a huge system of satellites orbiting earth that are synchronized with each other and transmit signals giving the time and their location. The satellites are controlled by systems on earth. The satellites constantly transmit this data. A GPS receiver unit receives data from several satellites at a time, and calculates its own position based on the positions of the satellites it is receiving data from. Originally, GPS receiver units were rather large, due to the physical space that a computer capable of those calculations took up. As the required computer space shrank, so did the GPS receiver units. Today, they are small enough to fit in a cell phone, though quality and reliability vary greatly. Most GPS units now also transmit signals back out via satellite so that the location of the unit can be monitored.

Is it legal?

In South Carolina and most other states, use of GPS by a licensed investigator to track a cheating spouse is completely legal. The GPS tracker does not provide any more information than would be obtained by an investigator simply following the subject, so there is no reason to treat GPS tracking differently than manned surveillance. Consult with your attorney or investigative professional for the rules in your state.

Is GPS evidence admissible in court?

Yes, but you should not rely on it, by itself, to prove much. A qualified investigator uses GPS tracking to direct him to the times and places where manned surveillance is most likely to yield evidence helpful to the client's case. It is the observations and documentation presented in court by the investigator that will persuade a judge to find in the client's favor, not the GPS.

Contact us for more information.

Byrd, Stillinger & Associates Private Investigators

www.investigatesc.com