Sounds unlikely, doesn’t it? But private detectives all over Britain are spying on teenagers. They aren’t working for the government or the police; they’ve been hired by ordinary parents. Incredibly, each week around 500 parents are thought to hire investigators to spy on their own children. But what does it feel like to discover that your mum or dad has paid someone to investigate your life? A few weeks ago, 14-year-ol Liam found out that his Mum had done just that.
The boy who was spied on
“When mum told me that she’d hired someone to spy on me, I was totally stunned. She said she’d only done it because she was worried I was hanging out with the wrong type of lads. She says it shows she cares about me, but it’ll take a while before I get over the shock and I’m ready to trust her again.”
The mum who spied on him
Liam’s mum explained her side of the story. “I wanted to be sure that Liam wasn’t hanging out with the wrong crowd, so I hired someone to investigate. I only did it because I want the best for him. The detective bugged our telephone for four days, followed Liam to the local youth club and took a few photos. I did feel a bit guilty, but I don’t regret doing it at all. It was such a relief to know he wasn’t part of the local gang. Now I can sleep at night without worrying about him.”
0. H
At around £250 a day, hiring a private investigator can be pricey but that doesn’t put many parents off. Spying on teenagers is a growing trend and there are hundreds of investigation agencies around the country. So what is it that parents are so intrigued to find out? It seems that the main reasons for parents hiring an investigator are to find out who their child is hanging out with, whether he or she is up to no good and what their boyfriend or girlfriend is really like.
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One investigator, Mark Cox, told us, “I’m often hired by parents who want me to watch their children and I generally find that parents are much more worried about their daughters than their sons.” But why don’t these parents just talk to their kids about their worries? “Parents aren’t always aware of what teenagers are up to; they don’t talk to them and don’t know what’s going on in their lives,” says Mark. “That’s where I come in.”
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Rather worryingly, a legal advisor told us, “There is no general right to privacy in England. As long as he or she doesn’t trespass on your property, it is perfectly legal for an investigator to take pictures of you or record what you say. And if your mum or dad owns the phone they can let an investigator tap it. Investigators are not allowed to interfere with personal property such as your letters but they may read them if they’re left in view.”
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Understandably, human rights groups see this as a worrying trend. A spokesperson from human rights group Liberty spoke to us. “Although we wouldn’t argue that it should be against the law for parents to spy like this, we do believe these private detective agencies ought to be properly regulated to ensure they act responsibly. This is a sensitive issue and certain limits should be imposed on what can and cannot be done.”
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Sugar’s agony aunt Wendy Granditer gave us her views. “Parents spying on children is a terrible invasion of privacy. It’s like reading someone else’s diary. Even if they do find out their children have been misbehaving, they’re going to have to reveal where they got their information from. Children are unlikely to want to discuss a problem with their parents once they discover they’ve been spied on. It will only make the relationship between them worse. I can see why parents worry, but they shouldn’t go behind their children’s backs.”
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Will we ever be free from the risk of being investigated or will we always be looking over our shoulders? In a society where security cameras film our every move and all our private details are recorded on computers, will our privacy vanish completely? According to Mark Cox, we can all help stop the number of teen investigators growing. “It’s all down to families communicating with each other,” he says. “If everyone started speaking to each other honestly, secrets and suspicion could become a thing of the past.” Let’s just hope he’s right.
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So, do you think hiring private investigators to track teenagers is a good idea or is it a blow to your personal freedom? Phone in and register your vote.
• If you think teen investigators are a good idea phone 0660 191 952
• If you think they’re a bad idea call 0660 191 953
We’ll reveal the results in a future issue of Sugar. You can also send your opinions for publication on our “Readers’ Articles” page to the usual Sugar address.

A. Creating more problems
B. Are they breaking the law?
C. Out of touch
D. Legal support for children
E. What lies ahead?
F. For or against?
G. A need for control
H. What’s the worry?