Most people who reach out about a situation in Tempe already know the question. Where does your spouse go after work? Is the other parent really staying at the address on the custody order? Is the person claiming a back injury lifting boxes on the weekend? What you’re missing is a lawful way to find out.
Just over half of Tempe’s housing units are rented, and many of those sit in large complexes around Apache Boulevard, Mill Avenue, and the edge of the ASU campus. That usually means one entrance, shared parking, and no legal spot for anyone to stand and watch a door. We plan surveillance around that reality. You get observation from public vantage points and a time-stamped record of when someone leaves, where they go, and when they return. Nobody steps onto property they have no right to be on.
The second thing you get is a current address and a real routine. Tempe has high turnover and a young, mobile population, so the address in your file is often stale. Done well, covert surveillance in Tempe shows where someone actually spends their nights, which matters for custody compliance, claims, and locating people. And if nothing turns up, you get a documented “no,” which is still something you can act on.
Quantum Investigations is run by Jeff Penrod, a former Phoenix police officer and military veteran. We’re veteran-owned, have been in business for 20+ years, and Jeff is the person you talk to when you call.
That police background shows up in the unglamorous parts of the job: how video gets logged, how notes get written, and how evidence is kept so it holds together when a lawyer or a judge starts asking questions. Our investigators can also testify about how the work was done if your matter goes to a hearing.
We cover all of Maricopa County from our Phoenix and Mesa offices, and Mesa borders Tempe directly. That means a team that knows how this part of the Valley moves, from the Mill Avenue district to Tempe Marketplace and the Town Lake corridor. You can look up our license with Arizona DPS before you commit to anything.
A surveillance investigation in Tempe starts with a call to Jeff and our team, any time of day or night. The consultation is free and confidential. You explain what’s going on, and you get an honest answer about whether surveillance is the right move. Sometimes the question can be answered another way, and you’d rather hear that before you spend anything.
If surveillance fits, the next step is a written scope: what you’re trying to learn, how many hours are realistic, how many investigators it takes, and how often you’ll get updates. In Tempe this matters more than usual. Someone who lives in a big complex near campus and works across town can be on I-10, US 60, Loop 101, or Loop 202 within minutes. Or they skip the car and ride light rail or the streetcar. That changes whether one investigator is enough.
Then comes planning, then field work. Summer highs in Tempe run 102 to 106 degrees and December daylight lasts only about 10 hours, so we plan coverage around early mornings and evenings. Festival weekends downtown and ASU home events also change the crowds. You get updates as agreed, then a written report with time-stamped video and photos. Many people start with a short first phase aimed at one narrow question, then decide whether to go further.
Ready to get started?
Here’s what’s in your hands when a case wraps up. You get a written report of what was observed and when, time-stamped video and photos, and the investigator’s notes, kept the way a former police officer keeps them. A video surveillance investigator in Tempe who documents this way makes your attorney’s job easier. If your matter goes to hearing, our investigators can testify about their methods. Nobody can promise an outcome in court, and anyone who does is selling you something.
Tempe cases tend to fall into a few groups. Families dealing with infidelity or custody compliance, often where someone has moved apartments or shares housing. Employers and claims teams checking workers’ comp or injury claims, which makes sense in a city with a big employer base. And people who need someone found, whether that’s address verification, skip tracing, or a missing relative. Locating work matters in a market where so many people rent and move.
Tempe-area matters often route through the Southeast court complex in Mesa, and our Mesa office is in the city next door. Whatever the case, a few lines stay fixed: no trespassing, no hacking, no shady phone-record pulls, and no trackers on vehicles you don’t own. Some cases need one focused block of hours. Others need several days. We’ll tell you which one you’re looking at.
Most agencies charge $75 to $150 per hour for standard surveillance and $150 to $250 per hour for complex or specialized cases. Retainers commonly run $500 to $2,000, and mileage, equipment, and database fees are usually billed separately. Your actual cost depends on the case, and Jeff will walk you through it during the free consultation.
Several things move the number in Tempe. Someone who commutes across I-10, US 60, Loop 101, or Loop 202 may need a second investigator, which roughly doubles the hourly cost. Someone who rides light rail or the streetcar means foot coverage instead of a vehicle follow. A large apartment complex also takes planning time before any field work starts.
The best way to control cost is a written scope with an hours estimate and a short first phase. You answer one narrow question first, then decide whether to keep going.
No. We can’t walk onto a private or gated property without permission, and Arizona’s trespass law (A.R.S. § 13-1502) applies to investigators the same way it applies to anyone else. The same logic covers private or access-controlled spaces on and around campus. What we can do is observe from places the public can lawfully be, like streets and open sidewalks.
That’s why planning matters so much in Tempe. Complexes near ASU and downtown often have a single entrance, shared parking, and tenants who come and go on short leases. We study where a subject has to pass through public view, build the plan around those moments, and tell you up front how many hours that realistically takes.
If you’ve been thinking about watching a door yourself, don’t. It’s the fastest way to get noticed, and it can cross legal lines.
Nobody can promise you that, and you should be wary of anyone who does. What we can say is that the odds improve when the work is planned by people trained to stay unnoticed. Our investigators come from police and military backgrounds, and much of that training is about documenting what’s lawful to see without drawing attention.
Tempe adds a few challenges. Apartment blocks, campus foot traffic, and a social, closely connected community mean a subject may run into someone they know. A plan that spreads out coverage instead of lingering in one spot helps. Your part is simple: don’t change how you act around the person, don’t confront them early, and keep the circle of people who know small.
Your consultation and case details stay confidential. If you want to know how updates reach you without leaving a trail at home or work, ask Jeff on the call.
Hiring a licensed investigator to document what’s visible in public is legal in Arizona. Filming where nobody has a reasonable expectation of privacy is allowed, and Arizona is a one-party-consent state for conversations you’re part of. We have no police powers, so the lines are firm: no trespass (A.R.S. § 13-1502), no hidden recording in private settings (A.R.S. § 13-3019), no intercepting conversations you aren’t part of (A.R.S. § 13-3005), and no stalking (A.R.S. § 13-2923).
GPS trackers are the one people ask about most. They’re legal on property you own. Putting one on someone else’s car can create civil and criminal trouble, and it can hand the other side a stalking argument. We won’t do it. This is general information, not legal advice.
Plenty of people expect one night to settle it. Often it doesn’t. Routines vary, and a pattern usually takes several days to show itself. That’s why we write the scope around your question, not a set number of hours. At the consultation, Jeff will give you an honest estimate and tell you whether a short first phase can answer it.
Tempe’s weather and calendar play into this. Summer highs of 102 to 106 degrees push outdoor activity to early morning and late evening, and December daylight is only about 10 hours, which limits how much usable video there is. ASU’s semester schedule and big downtown events also change who’s around.
And yes, sometimes nothing happens. A well-documented result showing no activity is real information, and it can keep you from making a costly decision on a hunch. We can’t guarantee what we’ll see, only that we’ll document honestly what we do.
Every private investigator in Arizona has to be licensed through the Arizona Department of Public Safety (DPS) under A.R.S. § 32-2401 and the sections that follow. Working without a license is illegal. Employee investigators are licensed only while sponsored by a licensed agency, so ask about both the agency and the person who’ll be in the field.
Ask for the license number in writing, then check it with the DPS licensing lookup instead of taking anyone’s word for it. Do this with every firm you’re comparing, including ours. It takes a few minutes and settles the question.
While you’re at it, ask for a written agreement that spells out scope, billing, and update schedule. Be cautious about anyone offering guaranteed results or hacking into phone records. If your matter ends up in front of a judge, whether at the Southeast court complex in Mesa or elsewhere in Maricopa County, you want a licensed investigator who can explain exactly how the work was done.
Local Resources
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