Private Investigator York Blvd Highland Park | Serving the Neighborhood Since 2010

Retail Theft Investigation Along York Boulevard

The boutiques and shops lining York between Figueroa and Avenue 64 deal with theft differently than big box stores. You cant just write off losses when your running a small vintage shop or a neighborhood market.

Store owners call us when they know somethings wrong but cant prove it. Inventory shrinking. Cash drawer coming up short. That feeling that someone on staff isn't being straight with them.

What We Actually Do for Retail Theft Cases

A retail theft investigation isn't about catching someone in the act like some TV show. Its about building a case:

• Reviewing inventory records to identify exactly whats disappearing and when
• Running background checks on employees—internal theft is usually the bigger problem
• Setting up covert observation during high-risk hours
• Analyzing your security footage (if it actually captured anything useful)
• Documenting everything so you can terminate someone or involve police without getting sued

The Bureau of Labor Statistics data consistently shows employee theft costs businesses more than shoplifting. Most Highland Park shop owners don't want to hear that, but its true.

York Boulevard's Specific Challenges

Weekend foot traffic from the bars and restaurants creates cover for organized retail theft. The crowds moving between venues make it harder to spot whats happening. We've seen theft rings specifically target York Boulevard shops during First Fridays and busy Saturday nights.

One vintage store near Avenue 57 lost almost $8,000 over three months before calling us. Turned out to be a regular customer using a stroller. Took us about a week of observation to document the pattern and catch her on video.

Bar Surveillance Services

Highland Park's bar scene brings us steady work. From the lanes at Highland Park Bowl to the cocktail spots down York, theres plenty of nightlife—and where theres nightlife, theres people doing things they shouldn't be doing.

Bar surveillance cases usually come from:

• Spouses who suspect their partner isn't actually working late
• Attorneys building custody cases who need to document drinking habits
• Bar owners watching for bartenders giving away product
• Insurance companies checking on disability claims
• Business partners who think someone's skimming

Running Surveillance in Highland Park Bars

You cant walk into a crowded bar with a camera and expect good results. Our investigators know the neighborhood—which spots have useful sightlines from the street, which ones have back patios, which places get too packed to maintain observation.

We blend in because we've been coming to these places for years. Nobody looks twice at us.

A typical bar surveillance documents:

• Arrival time and who the subject meets
• Approximate consumption when observable
• Physical condition throughout the evening
• Departure time and condition
• Vehicle information and direction of travel

If you need to prove someone's got a drinking problem for family court, or catch a workers comp claimant partying when they claim they cant work—this is how its done right.

Gallery Row Investigations

The art scene along York Boulevard has money moving in ways that aren't always transparent. Between the galleries, pop-up shows, and monthly art walks, there's plenty of opportunity for things to go sideways.

We've handled gallery investigations involving:

• Partners disputing sales records and revenue splits
• Artists tracking down work that was "sold" but never paid for
• Collectors verifying authenticity before big purchases
• Fraud and provenance questions
• Estate disputes over art valuations

Why Art Cases Need Local Knowledge

Highland Park's art community is tight. Everyone knows everyone. A clumsy investigation burns bridges and tips off your target before you've confirmed anything.

We approach these cases carefully. Sometimes that means deep background research before any fieldwork. Sometimes it means surveillance to see whos meeting with who after hours. One gallery owner near the York Theatre suspected his partner was selling pieces off the books—we documented three months of cash transactions that never hit their shared accounts.

The partnership ended, but our client had what he needed to recover his share.

Surveillance Services

Surveillance about half our caseload. Highland Park's geography makes it interesting—narrow residential streets climbing into the hills, limited parking everywhere, heavy foot traffic along York. Running effective surveillance here takes experience.

Common Surveillance Locations

We regularly conduct surveillance at:

• Residences in the hills above York (toward Hermon and Montecito Heights)
• Apartment buildings along Figueroa Street
• Commercial properties on York Boulevard
• Metro Gold Line stations at Highland Park and Southwest Museum
• Parks including Hermon Park and the Arroyo Seco corridor
• Schools when custody cases require documentation

Types of Cases

Domestic surveillance covers cheating spouse cases, custody investigations, and cohabitation checks for alimony modification. Probably 40% of what we do in Highland Park.

Insurance surveillance means watching workers comp claimants, disability recipients, and personal injury plaintiffs. If someone says they cant lift their arm but theyre playing basketball at Highland Park Recreation Center, we get it on video.

Corporate surveillance targets employees suspected of theft, working side jobs on company time, or violating non-compete agreements.

Legal support includes gathering evidence for attorneys, documenting witness activities, and verifying information for civil litigation.

Equipment and Methods

We use professional-grade gear:

• Covert cameras (body-worn and vehicle-mounted)
• Long-range photography for distance work
• GPS tracking when legally authorized by the vehicle owner
• LPR (License Plate Recognition) systems
• Night vision for low-light situations

Everything we do follows California law. Penal Code Section 632 makes recording private conversations without consent illegal. We know the rules and we stay inside them.

Background Check Services

Background checks are probably our most requested service after surveillance. Landlords, small business owners, families—everyone needs reliable information about people before making decisions.

What a Real Background Check Includes

• Criminal history searches (county, state, federal)
• Civil court records and litigation history
• Employment verification
• Education verification
• Professional license checks through California BSIS and other licensing boards
• Address history and asset searches
• Social media investigation and OSINT
• Reference interviews when needed

Who Needs Background Checks in Highland Park

Landlords—Rents along York aren't cheap anymore. Before handing over keys, you want to know if someone has evictions, criminal history, or lied on their application. The online tenant screening services miss stuff. We don't.

Small business owners—Most shops on York don't have HR departments. Before you hire someone to work your register or watch your inventory, verify they are who they say they are.

Parents—Nanny checks, caregiver screening, tutors. We dig deeper than the basic services.

People dating seriously—Before you move in together or get engaged, some people want to know if their partner has a criminal record, a secret marriage, or a history they haven't mentioned. We handle these discreetly.

Business partners—Before signing agreements or investing money, smart people verify their partner's background and financial history.

Infidelity Investigations

Nobody calls about a cheating spouse hoping to be right. Infidelity investigations are hard on everyone. But sometimes you need to know.

What Brings People to Us

Most clients describe similar patterns:

• Phone suddenly has a passcode it didn't have before
• Working late more often with vague explanations
• New interest in appearance, fitness, grooming
• Unexplained charges on credit cards
• Emotional distance or picking fights over nothing
• Social media that doesn't add up

None of this proves anything by itself. But when multiple signs stack up, people start asking questions they need answered.

How We Handle These Cases

Discretion matters. Your spouse wont know we're watching. Our surveillance is professional and legal—no breaking into phones, no trespassing, no confrontations.

A typical infidelity case involves:

1. Consultation to understand the situation and identify windows of opportunity
2. Background research on potential third parties
3. Surveillance during suspected times
4. Documentation of meetings, locations, and duration
5. Written report with photos and video

We've run infidelity surveillance all over Highland Park—from York Boulevard restaurants to hotels downtown to apartments in Eagle Rock and Pasadena. The evidence holds up in divorce court.

Skip Tracing and Locate Services

Skip tracing means finding people who don't want to be found. They owe money, they're dodging legal papers, they're a witness who vanished, or they're family who lost touch.

People We Find

• Debtors avoiding collection
• Defendants who need to be served
• Witnesses for civil and criminal cases
• Missing family members and birth parents
• Estate beneficiaries who've lost contact
• Former business partners

How Skip Tracing Works

Finding people requires database access most people don't have:

• Professional investigative databases (not the consumer stuff online)
• Court records across multiple jurisdictions
• Property and tax assessor records
• Utility records where legally accessible
• OSINT and social media analysis
• Field interviews with associates and former neighbors

People leave trails even when they try to disappear. A relative's address, a car registration, a social media account they forgot about. We know where

to look.

Highland Park skip traces often lead elsewhere—Pasadena, Glendale, East LA, out to the Inland Empire. Our network covers all of Southern California.

Process Serving

Process serving sounds simple—hand someone legal papers. But when people don't want to be served, it gets complicated.

We handle service of:

• Summons and complaints
• Subpoenas
• Divorce papers
• Eviction notices
• Restraining orders
• Small claims documents

Knowing Highland Park helps. We know the apartment complexes with security gates, the houses with multiple entrances, the businesses where someone might be working. When standard attempts fail, we use skip tracing techniques to locate subjects and complete service.

All service includes proof of service documentation accepted by California courts.

Why Local Matters for Private Investigation

You could hire a PI firm from anywhere in LA. They'd drive out to Highland Park, run their surveillance, and drive back to wherever they came from. It would probably work fine.

But local knowledge makes a difference.

We Know the Geography

York Boulevard runs through the middle of the neighborhood, but residential streets climb into hills on both sides. Surveillance in the flats near Figueroa is different from surveillance in the winding roads above Avenue 60. We know where to park, where the sightlines are, which streets are dead ends.

We Know the Patterns

Foot traffic along York changes by day and time. The Metro stations bring people in predictable waves. The bar crowd moves in certain patterns on weekend nights. These details matter when you're trying to follow someone without being noticed.

We Know the People

Fifteen years of working Highland Park means we've built relationships. When we need information, we know who to ask. When we need to be discreet, we know what that actually requires in this specific community.

We're Accountable

We're not disappearing back to some office across town after your case ends. We live and work here. Our reputation in Highland Park matters to us. That's why we do the job right.