Security and Safety Solutions provides discreet private investigation and covert surveillance for businesses, law firms and private clients in London and across the UK.
Private Investigators in London and Across the UK
Our investigations are led by a former Army Officer in the Royal Military Police with more than 15 years’ experience of corporate investigations. That means cases are planned properly, evidence is gathered and recorded the way a court expects, and you get clear answers you can act on.
Whether you need due diligence before a deal, the truth behind an insurance claim, a missing person traced or legal papers served, we handle every case with complete confidentiality.
Security and Safety Solutions is a trading name of Chestnut Risk Ltd, which is registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ZC293036).
Private Investigation Services
For businesses and law firms
- Corporate due diligence: checks on companies, directors and partners before mergers, acquisitions and new ventures.
- Corporate investigations: internal fraud, theft, leaks of confidential information and employee misconduct.
- Employee vetting: background checks on senior hires and household staff.
- Insurance claim investigations: establishing whether a claim is genuine.
- Serving legal documents: process serving across the UK, with proof of service.
For private clients
- Tracing missing persons: finding relatives, witnesses, debtors and people who have lost touch.
- Child whereabouts: establishing where a child is living, and who with, when they are with a former partner, to support your solicitor and family court proceedings.
- Matrimonial investigations: sensitive, discreet enquiries when you need to know the truth.
- Domestic abuse and violent partners: gathering evidence of abuse, threats and breaches of court orders to support the police, non-molestation orders and family proceedings, and checking whether a current or former partner is following or tracking you.
- Harassment and stalking: identifying who is responsible and gathering evidence for the police or an injunction.
Covert Surveillance Across the UK
Surveillance is where a case is usually won or lost. Done well, it produces a clear, timed record of what someone did. Done badly, it alerts the subject and the opportunity is gone.
- Static surveillance: observing a location from a vehicle or a suitable observation point.
- Mobile surveillance: experienced teams on foot and in vehicles, so a subject can be followed through a city or across the country.
- Mixed-gender teams: so operatives blend in wherever the subject goes.
- Timed logs, photographs and video: recorded from public places, with nothing edited out.
Most mobile surveillance needs two or three operatives to be done properly. We will tell you honestly what your case needs, and when surveillance is not the right tool.
Counter-Surveillance and Bug Sweeps (TSCM)
If you think you are being watched, followed or listened to, we can find out. This is a natural extension of our close protection work, where spotting hostile surveillance is part of keeping a principal safe.
- Surveillance detection: a discreet team watches the people watching you, on foot, in vehicles or around your home and office.
- Technical sweeps (TSCM): our own specialist consultants sweep boardrooms, offices, homes and vehicles for listening devices, hidden cameras and trackers. For private homes, see our residential technical surveillance sweeps.
- Advice afterwards: what was found, what it means, and how to tighten your routines and security.
For families and executives who already use our close protection in London, counter-surveillance can be built into the security plan.
How an Investigation Works
- 1. Confidential conversation: you tell us what has happened and what you need to know. We make sure we are the right firm for it.
- 2. Initial search, £400: we establish the facts already available and the best way forward for the investigation.
- 3. Agreed cost programme: we set out the full plan, the operatives and hours needed, and the cost, for you to agree before any further work starts.
- 4. Investigation: our team carries out the enquiries or surveillance, with updates to you at agreed points.
- 5. Report: a clear written report with timed logs, photographs and video, and witness statements where the case needs them.
We treat evidence the way a court expects: contemporaneous notes, original unedited footage kept securely, and a clear record of who handled what. That gives your solicitor the best chance of using it.
Private Investigators in London, Across the UK and Overseas
We are based in London and work throughout England, Scotland and Wales, including the Home Counties, the Midlands, Manchester, Liverpool, Yorkshire, Bristol and the South West.
When a case leads abroad, we can follow it. Enquiries overseas are led by our UK team and, where needed, carried out with vetted local partners who work within the law of that country. You keep one point of contact and one report.
Confidential, Proportionate and Clearly Priced
Every case is handled in complete confidence. We hold personal data securely under UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, and we only take on work where the reason is legitimate. We will not locate anyone where we believe it could put them at risk.
How much does a private investigator cost?
Every investigation starts with an initial search, costing £400. This establishes the facts and the best way forward. We then set out a full cost programme for you to agree before any further work starts, so there are no surprises.
Frequently Asked Questions About Private Investigators
Not if the surveillance is done properly. Our operatives are trained to blend in, and we would rather stop and try another day than risk being noticed. If there is a risk of compromise, we will tell you and agree the next step.
Some questions are answered in a single day. Others need several days spread over a few weeks, timed around when the activity is most likely to happen. We plan the shortest effective operation and review it with you as results come in.
Warning signs include the same people or vehicles appearing around you, others knowing about private conversations, and unexplained devices or changes in your home, office or car. Our surveillance detection teams and technical sweeps can confirm whether anyone is watching or listening.
Yes. We serve court papers and other legal documents across the UK, and provide a signed statement of service as proof for your solicitor or the court.
Every investigation starts with an initial search, costing £400, which establishes the facts and the best way forward. We then set out a full cost programme, including the operatives and hours needed, for you to agree before any further work starts.
No. Licensing of private investigators was planned under the Private Security Industry Act 2001 but has never been brought into force. That makes it important to choose an experienced firm that works to clear standards. Security and Safety Solutions is a trading name of Chestnut Risk Ltd, which is registered with the ICO (ZC293036).
Evidence that is properly gathered and recorded is regularly used in civil, family and employment cases. We keep contemporaneous logs, original unedited footage and a clear record of handling, and can provide witness statements. Whether a court admits evidence is always a matter for the court.
Yes. We trace relatives, witnesses, debtors and people who have lost touch, using open-source research, enquiries and, where needed, field work. Before we pass on anyone’s whereabouts, we check the reason is legitimate and that it will not put them at risk.
No. A private investigator cannot access or track another person’s phone. Fitting a tracker to a vehicle without the owner’s or keeper’s consent also risks breaking the law. We only use trackers on vehicles the client owns or is entitled to authorise, such as company fleet vehicles, and only where it is justified.
Yes. We gather evidence of abuse, threats and breaches of court orders that can support a police report, a non-molestation order or family court proceedings, working alongside your solicitor. We can also check whether a current or former partner is following you, tracking your car or monitoring your home. If you are in immediate danger, call 999 first.
Yes. Hiring a private investigator is legal, provided the reason for the investigation and the methods used are legal. Investigators must comply with data protection law, harassment law and the criminal law like anyone else. We check the purpose of every case before we accept it.
Investigation as Part of Your Wider Security
Investigations often lead to a security decision. When they do, we can help directly: security consultancy and risk assessments for businesses and family offices, residential security for your home, and close protection where there is a real threat to a person.
Further reading: how a close protection operator can help with stalking.
Looking for more services?
Middle East Close Protection
Discreet protection for Gulf families and VIPs visiting London.
Find out more
Residential Security
Discreet residential security guards for private homes and estates.
Find out more
Private Investigation
Investigations, covert surveillance, tracing and bug sweeps across the UK.
Find out more
Talk to us in confidence
Tell us what has happened and we will tell you honestly whether we can help, how we would approach it and what it is likely to cost. No obligation, complete confidentiality.
