In April 2019, we gave an interview in Wieper magazine: “On the road with private investigator Bayo; Part 1: Involved by a private person. Read the interview digitally here and discover a unique look at our job. Make sure to come back next month, as we will release the second part of our interview
What if you’re having a strong feeling that your partner is cheating on you? Or maybe you are rightly concerned that your child is drinking too much alcohol or is even taking drugs? These are accusations that, without any evidence, can lead to a serious breach of trust. But what if it were possible to gather evidence without that person knowing? It’s possible, because private detectives don’t just exist on TV. We spoke with a private investigator from detective agency Bayo, who prefers to not use his real name because of his job.
WIEPER: CATCHING SOMEONE COMMITTING ADULTERY, HOW IS THIS DIFFERENT FROM WHAT WE SEE ON TV?
BAYO: “We immediately see action on TV, as if you could catch a cheating partner committing adultery right away. In real life this takes some time as we have to perform quite some observations before anything really happens. What stands out is that the person who hires us always thinks he know his/her partner well, where in reality this is usually very disappointing. We once had a client who was convinced that her partners life was very routinely. For example, she informed us that he would go out to work at eight o’clock every morning. However, our investigation soon revealed that he only had a routine when he was with his mistress. We also had a customer who was convinced that her husband would only meet at home with his mistress, because he wasn’t the type to go to a restaurant or hotel and a sauna visit was completely out of the question. When we started our investigation, the first place where we caught the husband was on the parking of a sauna complex. You can be so convinced that you know your partner, but when it comes to proving adultery, you often cannot count on that. For us this doesn’t always makes it easy to gather the necessary evidence.”
WIEPER: HOW LONG DOES IT OFTEN TAKE TO CATCH SOMEONE RED-HANDED?
BAYO: “Unfortunately we can’t predict that in advance. Depending on the individual we can detect the spouse cheating after just two hours of investigation, while sometimes it can take more than three months. In 99 percent of the cases when someone hires us because he or she suspects adultery, it also actually happens. Where there’s smoke, there is often fire. And it’s up to us to find that flame. If we have the feeling that the person we are following can be trusted, we will always inform our customer accordingly. After all, hiring a private investigator is not cheap and it’s not our intention to cost the customer unnecessary money. But the final decision, whether or not to continue the investigation, always remains the choice of our customer.”
WIEPER: IN WHAT WAY WILL EVIDENCE BE PROVIDED?
BAYO: “After our invoice is paid, we provide a report with all our findings. That evidence ranges from detailed descriptions to photographic images. We can catch 95% of adulterers having physical contact in public, so we do not have to enter homes or restaurants to provide photo material. If the adultery is part of a divorce, the adulterer is often caught behind closed doors. In case of a divorce, adultery can still be seen as a way of demonstrating the lasting breakdown of the marriage. In this way, divorce proceedings can be initiated or a claim for maintenance payments can be challenged. Also, when adultery is being proved, the disadvantaged party can obtain a divorce fairly quickly. It’s our job to contact the bailiff when we’re sure the adulterous partner can be caught. The bailiff then enters the home or hotel room with the help of a locksmith, accompanied by the police. A couple of years ago this used to happen all the time, but since the amendment of the divorce law, this method is only being used around seventy times a year. It’s probably unnecessary to say that this method is quite drastic, both for the person who is caught and for the partner. Among other things, the bailiff checks the bed to feel if it’s still warm. When this sort of action takes place, it’s always a partner who wants to start the divorce in any case.”
“What is striking is that the person who hires us always thinks he knows the partner well, but in reality that is usually very disappointing.”
WIEPER: BESIDES ADULTERY, WHAT ELSE ARE INDIVIDUALS USING YOUR SERVICES FOR?
BAYO: “We’re mainly hired by individuals to proof cheating, track the free time of children, investigate theft, stalking or pre-marriage investigations. Our private customers mainly consist of people who suspect their partner of adultery and worried parents who think that their child is often skipping classes, lingering in the wrong environment or whether there is alcohol and / or drug use. We will follow the children to see if the parental concerns are justified. This way the parents can confront their children and something can be done about the situation. Without any evidence, young people will often continue to deny all the accusations.”
WIEPER: ARE THERE ASSIGNMENTS YOU REFUSE?
BAYO: “Of course. If we have the feeling that people are hiring us with bad intentions, we do not accept the assignment. This is just a matter of logical thinking, for example, we will only investigate young people when the question comes from the parents. It’s also obvious that we do not respond to the question to find out where an ex lives due to broken contact (laughs). Our customers can never remain anonymous, we require full transparency before dealing with anyone.”
WIEPER: HAVE YOU EVER BEEN CAUGHT BY THE PERSON YOU WERE FOLLOWING?
BAYO: “Never. Sometimes you think that you are spotted when someone looks straight into your lens, if that happens, I just take some more distance. As a result, the possible suspicions are never confirmed. Most people also don’t expect to be tracked. Moreover, I have been doing my job for so long that I can follow someone completely unnoticed for up to months.”
WIEPER: THANK YOU FOR THE CONVERSATION!