Blueline Investigative Services provides field investigation and surveillance for law firms, insurance carriers and other investigative agencies throughout Virginia and eastern North Carolina. This page is written for counsel rather than for consumers, and covers the things you actually need to know before referring a client or retaining us directly.
Practice Areas We Support
- Family law — adultery documentation, cohabitation under Va. Code § 20-109, custody and visitation, cost-of-living and household composition
- Personal injury and premises liability — scene documentation, witness location and statements, activity-level surveillance
- Insurance defense — sub rosa surveillance, workers’ compensation claims, activity checks, claimant background
- Medical malpractice — records-based investigation and witness work
- Corporate and employment — background investigation, TSCM bug and hidden camera sweeps, computer forensics
- Other investigative agencies — we accept subcontract assignments from PI firms needing coverage in Hampton Roads and eastern North Carolina
Skip tracing and locate work — debtors, witnesses, parties and heirs — is handled as records-based work rather than surveillance; see our skip tracing and locate page for the permissible-purpose standard we apply.
We do not offer service of process.
The Evidentiary Standard We Work To
Everything we produce is gathered to survive a challenge.
Surveillance is conducted from public vantage points. We do not trespass, intercept communications, place trackers on vehicles we have no lawful basis to place them on, or access accounts. Beyond the legal exposure, evidence obtained that way is inadmissible and can compromise the case it was meant to support — which serves neither your client nor you.
In adultery matters we are conscious that Virginia requires clear and convincing evidence, and that corroboration must come from outside the accusing spouse’s testimony. That is the specific gap our documentation is built to fill. Since July 1, 2026, HB 303 has also narrowed adultery as a fault ground to conduct occurring before final separation — see our summary of what HB 303 changed — which makes the timing of documentation a live strategic question rather than an afterthought.
Reports
Our reporting is where most firms tell us we differ, so it is worth being specific.
- Exhibit-numbered. Photographic and video evidence is embedded as sequentially numbered exhibits, in chronological order, referenced from the narrative.
- Organised by day. Each surveillance day is its own block within a single cohesive report. Cases running ten or more days remain one document, not ten.
- Delivered as a PDF suitable for filing, exhibits embedded, on completion of the assignment.
- Interim delivery available on request. Most clients take the report at conclusion. If you would rather have an updated PDF after each surveillance day — because a hearing is approaching, or because you want to decide whether to continue based on what has actually been captured — say so at the outset and we will work that way.
That last option is worth knowing about even if you do not use it every time. It means you are never in the position of authorising a week of surveillance and finding out afterward whether it produced anything.
Testimony
Chris Harrell is available for deposition and for court testimony regarding findings, methodology and chain of custody. Evidence is only as useful as the investigator who can authenticate it, and we do not hand off a report and disappear.
Deployment
We can typically be in the field the same day or the next. Attorneys frequently call with a hearing date already on the calendar, and short notice is a normal condition of this work rather than an exception to it.
We also determine surveillance scheduling ourselves once retained. Deciding when to deploy, how long to hold a position, and when to return another day is the professional judgment being purchased. We want everything your client knows about the subject’s patterns — and then we will decide how to use it.
Licensing, Insurance and Credentials
- Virginia DCJS License #11-9802
- North Carolina PPS License #140229
- $1,000,000 professional liability (errors & omissions) — certificate of insurance available on request
- Over 25 years of law enforcement and private investigation experience
- Both male and female licensed investigators available
- Spanish-speaking investigator available
Billing for Firms
Law firms and companies with an established account are invoiced and paid through normal accounts payable. We do not require prepayment from firm clients, unlike individual retail engagements.
- $125 per hour, four-hour minimum per callout
- Written report and all video and photographic evidence included — never billed separately
- No travel or mileage charge within our standard service area
- Mileage may apply on assignments taking us outside that area; quoted in advance, never added after the fact
Our full consumer rate schedule is published at what a private investigator costs in Virginia, if you want to point a client at it.
Service Area
Headquartered in Chesapeake. We routinely cover Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Hampton, Newport News and Williamsburg, along with Greater Richmond, the Virginia Eastern Shore, the Outer Banks and eastern North Carolina. Licensed statewide in both Virginia and North Carolina.
What We Will Tell You Honestly
If we do not believe surveillance will produce what your case needs, we will say so before you retain us. A subject with an unpredictable schedule, a timeframe too short to establish a pattern, or an objective that documentation cannot actually prove — those are conversations worth having at the outset rather than after four days of billed time.
We would rather decline an assignment than deliver a report that does not help you.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you work directly for the firm or for the client?
Either. Some firms retain us directly and bill through to the client; others refer the client to us and we contract with them, keeping counsel copied on reports. Both are routine. Tell us which you prefer.
Will your investigator testify?
Yes. Deposition and court testimony regarding findings, methodology and chain of custody are available.
How fast can you get someone in the field?
Usually same day or next day. Call and tell us the deadline you are working against.
What format are reports delivered in?
A single cohesive PDF with sequentially numbered exhibits in chronological order, organised by surveillance day. Delivered on completion by default. If you want interim PDFs after each day of surveillance, ask at the outset and we will deliver that way.
Do you carry insurance?
$1,000,000 professional liability. Certificate of insurance available on request — ask and we will send it the same day.
Do you handle service of process?
No. We can usually point you to someone who does.
Do you accept work from other investigative agencies?
Yes. We regularly take subcontract assignments from PI firms that need boots on the ground in Hampton Roads and eastern North Carolina.
Contact
Call or text 757-689-7453. For a Spanish-speaking investigator, 757-493-1699.
Blueline Investigative Services — 237 Hanbury Rd, Suite 17, Chesapeake, VA 23322. Virginia DCJS #11-9802 | North Carolina PPS #140229.