Can’t you just put a GPS Tracker on my girlfriend’s car and find out where she is going?
FPI occasionally receives requests to “tag” vehicles with a GPS tracker. Is it legal? Is it ethical?
Legality is one area best left to the lawyers but the short answer is, yes and no. You have to look at the Colorado Revised Statutes (C.R.S.) as it pertains to stalking. C.R.S. 18-3-602. Stalking – penalty – definitions – Vonnie’s Law, (2015). Understanding the elements of the law should guide your action. The owner of a vehicle (maybe not the person who drives it regularly) allows it, it is legal, right? Maybe not every time, what if you are tracking somebody who has a protective order in place? How can you know? Perhaps a more clear-cut example would be a business owner wanting to know where his trucks are. Sounds less risky or open to interpretation. So while FPI may place a GPS tag on a vehicle we will conduct a lot of research to ensure that we are not allowing or committing stalking.
What about ethics? Ethics are in the eye of the beholder. Are there times when you might consider tagging a vehicle that are quasi-legal but in an ethical gray area? How about putting a tracker on your mother’s car (you don’t own it but she is in poor health and won’t stop driving). What do you do? Remember that anything that you do is subject to questioning in court. While tracking your mother might not get you convicted in the court of public opinion. Do you think a judge and jury will believe that I conducted surveillance undetected for hundreds of miles only to find your boyfriend messing around? I wouldn’t.
Flatirons Private Investigations does not provide legal advice, you should consult with your attorney for legal advice.
