Keeping an Eye Out: Detective Hopes to Save Companies Money, Keep Streets Safe

There's a lot of down time while policemen are on patrol, and Brian O'Keefe, a former police officer in New Berlin and Shorewood said he'd always thought of going out on his own.

So, the Muskego resident retired at the ripe old age of 39, and started his own detective and surveillance business.

"Insurance fraud is incredibly prevalent, especially workman's compensation, so that's part of my main focus in the business," he said.

Dynamic Risk Solutions is O'Keefe's company, and he said it also includes video surveillance of drivers, either through insurance companies or employers.

"In particular, American Family has a program that will reduce premiums if parents agree to install a video camera in their car to monitor their teens' driving habits," he explained. For those who don't have the program offered, they can work with O'Keefe to set it up.

Surveillance also includes in-person follows, where a driver is monitored for about a half an hour. O'Keefe said this can apply to elderly drivers on behalf of their families, or employers wanting to make sure their employees are driving safely. The fee isn't intimidating, either, at $99 for the service, which includes a video record of the driver.

O'Keefe cited some statistics that indicate his work could save lives as well as money.

"While age alone isn't a factor, 14 percent of accidents are caused by elderly drivers, and one in four teens will be involved in an accident within the first year of driving," he said. About 300,000 of them will pay a visit to the emergency room in the next year. In addition, crashes involving commercial drivers cost companies about $20 billion every year."

He felt Wisconsin's laws have made driving too easy, especially as people age.

"Eight years is a long time to go between drivers tests," he said.

Cameras can also be placed in a business to reduce employee damage or theft, or to record someone who says they can't work because of an at-work injury.

O'Keefe called the insurance fraud work "especially lucrative, mainly because so many people try to get away with it, and claim an injury that can't be proven in an x-ray. There is often an additional payout from insurance companies as well when they recoup money from fraudulent claims."

If you're interested in keeping an eye on a loved one or an employee, or are a business that needs fraud investigated, you can call O'Keefe at (262) 212-4643 or check out the website for Dynamic Risk Solutions.