On the hunt for Kiwi cheats
Infidelity and hidden cameras are all part of the job for Anna Jeffs, writes Rachel Clayton.
COVERT operations, surveillance, and hidden cameras sound like the plot to the next Mission Impossible film, but they’re all in a day’s work for Anna Jeffs
The 46-year-old legal executive became a private investigator in 2013 after finding out her boyfriend was engaged to another woman, and was dating six other women at the same time.
‘‘I used a private investigator and did my own investigations and it made me stop and think there was such a need of this service in New Zealand,’’ she said.
Last year, after seeing a gap in the market for P.I. services, Jeffs launched Fox Private Investigators.
Her clients range from everyday people who want to find out if their partners are cheating, to criminal defence lawyers who need help finding witnesses. Jeffs attends crime scenes to help police with investigations and regularly appears in court to give evidence.
She’s been employed by business owners, the police, government agencies in New Zealand and overseas, attorneys in the United States and lawyers in London. But infidelity is what most people use her services for.
‘‘It’s very, very common across New Zealand,’’ she said.
The investigation involves giving live updates to her clients about what their partners are up to.
‘‘We’ll say they’re at this place or that place, at a restaurant holding hands. It’s really important we observe body language to confirm if there’s an intimate relationship. Is the wedding ring off or on?’’
Both men and women come to Jeffs to find our if their partners are cheating, but her clients are usually women.
‘‘I always advise my clients to go on their instincts and 99 per cent [of their suspicions] are well founded. It’s rare people are overreacting,’’ she said.
‘‘We discuss why they have concerns. Partners might be hiding mobile phones, have new passwords, new hobbies, stay later at work, start to take more care of their appearance. These are classic red flags.’’
But the most rewarding part is connecting adopted people with their birth parents.
‘‘It feels amazing, absolutely incredible. This is such a privileged position to be in, because we help people in often very traumatic situations.’’
Jeffs will never forget the feeling of fulfilment from her job after she reconnected a missing British woman with her parents.
The woman was in New Zealand working as a prostitute and addicted to narcotics.
She’d lost contact with her family and felt too ashamed to reach out to them for help.
‘‘I was able to get her back to the UK and she’s doing really well now, she’s going to college and is back with her family.’’
But it’s not all smooth sailing. Jeffs admits she works under high pressure, stress, late nights, and has to be aware of the legal ramifications of what she’s doing.
‘‘Our most important aspect is to find the truth of the situation, so clients can make an informed choice, and accurate information can be given to lawyers to assist in a case.
‘‘You have to be very, very careful. We need to blend into the environment.’’
Jeffs has no full-time employees but contracts her work out to ex-army and ex-police personnel only. ‘‘Knowledge is power. ‘‘Once you have the knowledge of what’s occurring and you know the truth, then you can make decisions that are best for yourself.’’
‘ This is such a privileged position to be in, because we help people in often very traumatic situations.’ ANNA JEFFS