Pinpoint Investigations & Security Corp. provides child custody investigations throughout New York City, including Staten Island, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and the Bronx, for clients and family-law attorneys who need independent documentation of parenting-time exchanges, supervision, travel, companions, routines, or other observable concerns. Pinpoint uses discreet, lawful surveillance and fact-finding to document what can be independently observed and verified. The resulting information can assist clients and their attorneys in evaluating a family-law matter, but Pinpoint does not decide custody or determine whether a parent is fit or unfit.
Who Uses This Service
- Family-law and matrimonial attorneys representing a parent, guardian, spouse, or former spouse.
- Parents or legal guardians with a legitimate concern about court-ordered parenting time, usually in coordination with their attorney.
- Individuals and counsel handling a support, residency, cohabitation, order-enforcement, or related domestic-relations issue.
- Court-appointed professionals, custody evaluators, guardians ad litem, or other authorized parties when the engagement and scope are appropriate.
- Law firms needing licensed New York/New Jersey field support, surveillance, documentation, or a court-ready investigative report.
Child Custody Investigations in New York City
Depending on the circumstances and the lawful scope of the assignment, Pinpoint may investigate and document issues such as:
- Compliance with court-ordered custody, parenting-time, visitation, pickup, and return schedules
- Observable concerns involving possible child abuse or neglect, impaired or distracted driving, lack of child restraints, substance use, inadequate supervision, or unsafe locations
- Unauthorized caregivers, companions, overnight stays, destinations, or travel when those facts are relevant to the matter
- Residence, cohabitation, or household-composition questions relevant to counsel’s case strategy
- Disputed exchanges, repeated schedule deviations, harassment, or other conduct that cannot be resolved through the parties’ conflicting accounts
These assignments may incorporate techniques used in Pinpoint’s broader private investigation services and surveillance services, depending on the specific facts that need to be documented.
When Clients Contact Pinpoint
Clients usually call because the parties give conflicting accounts and counsel needs independent, lawfully obtained facts. Common concerns include:
- Suspected violations of pickup, return, supervision, travel, overnight, or third-party provisions in a custody or visitation order.
- Unsafe driving, possible alcohol or drug use, inadequate supervision, exposure to hazardous settings, or another observable child-welfare concern.
- The child may be left with an unauthorized caregiver or regularly taken to people, residences, or activities not disclosed to the client.
- Repeated late or missed exchanges, hostile conduct, harassment, threats, or possible order-of-protection issues at transfer locations.
- A disputed claim about a spouse’s or former spouse’s residence, cohabitation, companion, routine, or travel that may be relevant to counsel’s legal analysis.
- A need to document a recurring pattern over several dates rather than rely on hearsay, social-media posts, or a single disputed incident.
How Pinpoint Handles a Child Custody or Visitation Investigation
Initial conversation: we discuss the specific concern, court dates and deadlines, existing orders, the child’s schedule, known safety issues, and exactly what facts the client and counsel need documented.
Information requested: relevant court orders or agreements; dates and locations; subject and vehicle photographs/descriptions; known addresses, routines, companions, and restrictions; attorney contact information; and any prior incident documentation.
Scope and authorization: we confirm a legitimate purpose, define lawful limits, choose observation dates and staffing, explain fees and approved expenses, and begin after written terms and the required retainer are complete.
Fieldwork: investigators observe discreetly from lawful locations, do not enter private property or interfere with the family, and communicate significant developments according to the agreed plan.
Deliverable: a confidential chronological report with dates, times, locations, observed conduct, photographs, secure video/evidence links, gaps or limitations, and recommended follow-up. Testimony or additional dates are available when requested.
Timing and What to Expect
An urgent assignment may begin the same day or next business day when investigators are available and the scope, order, subject information, authorization, and retainer are complete. No start time is guaranteed until accepted.
One scheduled visitation period may document a particular exchange or event, but several observation dates are often more useful when the objective is to evaluate a recurring pattern.
Each session is planned around the parenting schedule and legal objective. Work may cover an exchange, a portion of the visit, travel between locations, an overnight transition, or other specifically approved periods.
Timing varies with last-minute schedule changes, subject identification, multiple vehicles or exits, travel, traffic, weather, public visibility, investigator safety, and the number of locations or dates.
Important observations can be reported promptly; the final report follows review and organization of notes, photographs, video, and all assigned dates.
Why Pinpoint
Experienced supervision: work is supervised by Igor Galitsky, a retired NYPD Sergeant/Supervisor Detective with 23 years of law-enforcement and investigative experience.
Licensed regional capability: Licensed Private Detective, in New Jersey and New York, with practical experience conducting sensitive family-law surveillance in New York and New Jersey.
Child-sensitive field practices: investigators maintain a low profile, avoid contact with the child, do not provoke or interfere with exchanges, and limit the work to the client’s legitimate, agreed objective.
Experienced surveillance personnel: static and mobile coverage, team deployment when appropriate, contemporaneous logs, and careful identification reduce avoidable gaps and mistaken assumptions.
Evidence discipline: time, location, direct observation, client-provided information, investigative assessment, and limitations are clearly distinguished and supported by organized photographs or video when available.
Useful reporting: counsel receives a neutral chronological record suitable for case evaluation, follow-up planning, settlement discussions, discovery support, or testimony when required.
Important Limits of a Custody or Visitation Investigation
- A private investigator does not decide custody, declare a parent unfit, interpret a court order, or guarantee that surveillance will support either party. We document facts; counsel and the court determine legal significance.
- We cannot enter a home or private property without permission, hack accounts, intercept private communications, unlawfully track a vehicle or device, impersonate authorities, or use the child as an investigative source.
- Surveillance usually documents conduct visible from public places or another lawful vantage point. Events inside a residence, conversations, and conduct outside the observation period may remain unknown.
- One uneventful date does not prove that a concern never occurs, and one unusual event may not establish a recurring pattern. The useful number of dates depends on the legal question and budget.
- Investigators are not emergency responders. If a child or adult appears to face immediate danger, call 911 or the appropriate authority; do not wait for surveillance or a final report.
Example of a Child Custody Investigation
De-identified matter: A family-law attorney asked us to document parenting-time exchanges and observable activities because the parties gave conflicting accounts about supervision, travel, and schedule compliance.
What we did: After reviewing the relevant order, schedule, photographs, vehicles, and known locations, investigators conducted discreet static and mobile surveillance on several approved dates. We recorded exchanges, travel, public activities, adult companions, and pickup/return times with contemporaneous notes, time-stamped photographs, and video. We did not contact the child or interfere with the visits.
General result: Counsel received a neutral chronological report identifying what was confirmed, differences among the observed dates, supporting evidence, and visibility limitations. The report supplied independent facts for legal evaluation without offering a custody or fitness conclusion.
New York City Service Area
Pinpoint provides child custody investigations throughout New York City, including Staten Island, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and the Bronx. For New York inquiries, call (718) 667-6422.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you follow someone during visitation?
Yes, when there is a legitimate purpose and the work can be performed lawfully. We generally observe movements and conduct visible from public places or other authorized vantage points and tailor the plan to the court schedule and counsel’s objective.
Will you speak with or photograph the child?
We do not interview, approach, direct, or involve the child during surveillance. Photographs or video are captured only as lawful documentation of the assigned observations, handled confidentially, and limited to what is relevant.
Can you prove that a parent is unfit or violated an order?
No investigator can promise that result. We can document dates, times, locations, companions, travel, exchanges, and visible conduct. The attorney and court decide whether those facts prove a violation or affect custody.
How many surveillance dates are needed?
It depends on the question, schedule, expected frequency of the conduct, and budget. One date may address a specific event; several representative dates are often better for assessing a claimed pattern.
What will I receive?
The agreed deliverable normally includes a confidential chronological report, investigator actions and observations, dates and locations, photographs, secure video/evidence links, limitations, and suggested follow-up. Testimony is available separately when requested.
What does the service cost?
We work on a retainer basis. Cost depends on the hours and dates, number of investigators, travel, mileage, tolls, overnight coverage, report preparation, and any testimony. The scope, retainer, and approved expenses are explained before work begins.
