Why parents are hiring detectives to SPY on their kids

While worrying about your child’s safety regardless of their age is part and parcel of being a parent, some people are taking the extreme move of hiring private investigators to follow their kids.

NSI Global Counter Intelligence chief executive Navid Sobbi says there has been a spike in demand from parents who are worried their children might be getting involved with a bad crowd, reports the Daily Telegraph.

“The higher use of smartphones, people using messaging apps to meet up, we have noticed the increase with all these activities,” he said.

Owner of Lipstick investigations, David King says parents from wealthy Sydney suburbs were paying top dollar to have their children followed and spied on, sometimes for weeks at a time.

“Potential drug-related issues are their main concern, that has increased over the years,” he explains.

“Often it is marijuana, there are some pills and whatever, and the odd bit of ice usage and that’s a shame at that age.”

King says that he will often use younger detectives to follow schoolchildren as they don’t look as suspicious. The detectives hide cameras in public areas and even go as far as rifling through litter to keep tabs on the children.

But there are more cost-effective, less invasive ways of monitoring your child’s movements, such as using apps that track their whereabouts.

Wayne Carney, of Special Operations Group Australia, says parents can also buy backpacks fitted with clandestine GPS trackers.

“It is about peace of mind and making sure the safety and wellbeing is taken care of,” he says.