Crouching Low, Hidden Camera - Life As A P.i.

As controversy flows over the role of private investigators in the phone hacking scandal and breaches of privacy, and the debate continues over whether the industry should be tightly regulated, Jake Wallis Simons examines the murky world of private detectives.

He explores the nature of the work of those who operate in this shadowy field, from investigating marital infidelities and company theft to countering money laundering and recovering stolen art. He talks to a range of investigators, from retired police detectives with a background of 30 years in the force to a twenty-year-old new recruit two weeks into the job.

And he finds out the best way to conceal a hidden camera in a cardboard takeaway coffee cup or a pizza box.

Producer: Martin Rosenbaum.

Jake Wallis Simons explores the murky and controversial world of private investigators.