Heather Warner

I attribute my success to repetition and being out there in the field. I feel like I learn something maybe not every time I go out, but a lot of times I'm learning as I go - learning new stuff, new places where people go, where they park, what routes they take. For example, I've learned that if there are two left turning lanes, I want to be in the left-hand turning lane in case they make a U-turn, because I've been in the right lane before and wasn't able to make the U-turn because they were in the left lane. Those kinds of things. Without John's thorough training and ideas, that laid the foundation for me, but yeah, I think I'm pretty good at what I do at this point. It's always changing, circumstances and things are always changing, so I'm learning new things every day when I'm out there, and that makes me feel good.

The best career advice I've ever received is to keep your eyes on the subject when you're following. If you go back too far and they go around a couple of curves and they have turned off and you didn't see it, they're gone. That's the first thing that comes to mind. Another piece of advice that has really stuck with me is to stick with it. If you have a goal and it's something that you want to do, stick with it. Some things take time, some things happen faster than others, but if you stick to it and it's something that you want to do, then go for it.

I would tell young women entering this industry to study hard and pass that class, but then just keep in mind that you're going to be learning on the job, and it takes time. It definitely takes time. There are still days where I can get down on myself, thinking oh, I should have done that, I should have done this. But I would just tell someone to go for it. You have to be in it to win it. If you want to do the job and you're excited about it and this is something that you want to do, then just keep in mind that it's going to take some time. Try to find a mentor that has the experience that you can ask them the questions that you need to ask in order to be good. Also, be confident. One of the problems I had initially, and sometimes it creeps in to this day, is you can get paranoid - oh, they know I'm following them, or they're looking in my direction. That can be a difficult thing to get over initially. But I tell myself, hey, I'm just another car on the road, I'm just another person driving down the street doing my thing. There have been times where I've thought those things and I've not followed them, not made that turn, and they're gone. So if you just push through that paranoia and have self-confidence in yourself, it'll be fine.

The biggest challenge in my field right now is that everybody has Ring cameras. If I go and park somewhere, even if I'm a couple houses down, I have to climb in the back where I have tinted windows because I don't want to sit and bring attention to myself in the front. I see that camera's there, but I just have to completely disregard it, try not to think about it, and hope that people aren't actually looking at that and have better things to do every day. But sometimes there are some people who will call the cops right away because it's an unusual car. When that happens, I'll just be honest - I'm here, I'm a private investigator, working a case in the area, I'll be here for this long. If I get that spidey tingling, then I'll call the cops and say hey, I'm going to be here until this time. But there are other times, if I'm surveilling a cop, I can't call that city and say I'm working there.

The values most important to me in my work and personal life are integrity first and foremost, professionalism, and knowledge. Being prepared is crucial - researching and doing the work to prepare for the case so I have as much information as I possibly can to set myself up for success on that job. The geographical area is also important because if we're going to be setting up near their house, we need to know the exits from the subdivision, which way they might go if they leave, and are you facing the right direction. I also believe in caring about other people, just in general. Even though I'm working these people that may or may not be following the letter of the law, so to speak, you just gotta care about everybody.