©jessamyn lovell, Guardia de Seguridad para el Pueblo (AKA: Security Guard), 2021 Security Guard aims to obscure my gender and identity altogether to become a faceless, nameless security guard. This is both a persona and a disguise developed during my training with international performance troupe La Pocha Nostra from 2016-2018. I have used Security Guard in multiple public performances since. I have used this disguise to perform actual security services to a cannabis farm.

©jessamyn lovell, Motel Maid Disguise (AKA “Joyce”), 2021 Ageless, nameless motel maid who blends right into any motel environment because no one notices “the help.” The stack of towels allows me to obscure my face, becoming even less human and noticeable. I used this disguise while investigating a human trafficking case in a local motel.

©jessamyn lovell, Professional Woman Disguise (AKA “Laura”), 2021 Laura. Late 40s, early 50s. She’s a go-getter, borderline workaholic, possibly a bit of a fast-talker. Most effective in shopping malls, upscale restaurants, and the courtroom. While waiting in a courtroom for a defendant to show who I had to serve, Laura blends right in with the lawyers, paralegals, and legal parties.

©jessamyn lovell, “Cultural Tourista” Disguise, 2021 Developed as a performance persona during my training with international performance troupe La Pocha Nostra from 2016-2018, I began using “Cultural Tourista” as a disguise to conduct surveillance in touristy places like Old Town in Albuquerque, Santa Fe and Taos Plazas. She is particularly effective in these places because she blends so well with the retired, wealthy Texans whose second or third homes are in New Mexico.

©jessamyn lovell, Pro-life activist Disguise (AKA “Laurel”), 2021 “Laurel” is an ageless conservative pro-life activist. She is shy but feels strongly about her beliefs. I used this disguise while embedded for a week within the most powerful national pro-life activist group. It was literally the hardest case I pursued. I went to church to prepare and integrate into a nearby parish I knew was very pro-life. I used my real legal first name to stay closer to the truth while “passing” as one of the activists. I attended prayer circles, fundraising dinners, and a press conference (on the campus where I teach).

©jessamyn lovell, Barfly Disguise (AKA “Chelsea”), 2024 “Chelsea” hopefully passes for late 30s 😉 perched at a high top in a bar or club – sort of a wallflower. She is meant to blend in like she’s waiting for a date but not draw too much attention. Perhaps my most vulnerable disguise, I first used Chelsea for surveilling an accused serial r*pist and used her many times since for gathering intel in crowded bars and clubs.

©jessamyn lovell, Pregnant Disguise (AKA “Lisa”), 2023 Lisa works well on surveillance in all sorts of situations because passersby perceive vulnerability in a pregnant woman, which allows me to sit for a long time without being noticed or seen as suspicious. I invested in the foam pregnant belly because when I was pregnant, I used that to my advantage trying to track down Erin Hart, the woman who stole my identity. She makes it easier to do surveillance in very public, high-traffic locations like a bus stop, hanging outside of a store, leaning against a car, and so many other similar situations.

©jessamyn lovell, Construction Worker (AKA “Mike”), 2023 A multi-purpose surveillance disguise. I do my best to masculine-ize myself by wearing a breast binder, heavy-duty shapewear to cinch my hips in, and occasionally facial hair. This disguise has been successful in allowing me to wander construction sites for long periods of time needed to conduct surveillance in heavy-traffic areas. For one case, I was waiting for a worker to come back from lunch so I could serve him a restraining order. He had been abusing my client for some time until she finally left him when he bruised their six-month-old baby.

©jessamyn lovell, Storage Space Disguise (AKA “Dee”) Field study, 2024, This disguise was created for use in one particular case and has since become yet another all-purpose disguise. The case required me to show up to the storage space of someone who owed my client money. The task I was charged with was to document and witness the storage unit owner as they went through their possessions assessing what might be worth any money so they could sell it and pay their debt to my client.

©jessamyn lovell, Nosy Neighbor Disguise (AKA “Theresa”), Field study, 2023, Theresa is definitely a kind of “Karen.” I affectionately call her a “nosy neighbor” but she is also probably a gossip and calls out anything she thinks “looks suspicious,” making her potentially problematic. Although her snooping behavior is risky at times, her age, class, and whiteness renders her invisible and her entitlement hints at a slight authority allowing her to gather information and “pass” as belonging – especially in suburban neighborhoods.

©jessamyn lovell, Field research evidence (consumer rights case), 2021, 3:52 p.m. Undisclosed location. Hired to document damage done by a repair facility to an RV owned by my client, a traveling nurse.

©jessamyn lovell, Field research (service of process), 2022 3:18 p.m. Undisclosed location. Surveilling what was supposed to be an empty lot vacated by an out of business modular home sales company. Turned out the owner was still living there. Got the plates to confirm it’s our guy. Next challenge – serve the guy papers.

©jessamyn lovell, Surveillance Target (artist), 2018 2:15 p.m. following subject pictured for a painter looking to get images of women not knowing they’re being surveilled. Each woman agreed to be surveilled ahead of time but I was to catch them unaware. I delivered the images to the client but I have no idea if they ever shared them with the subjects or made paintings from them.

©jessamyn lovell, Surveillance target (infidelity), 2018 9:42 p.m. Cheater case. I saw the target go in around dinner time. Surveillance is particularly tricky in suburbia because it’s easy to be spotted when sitting in a car for hours.

©jessamyn lovell, Surveillance (infidelity), 2018/2023 12:39 a.m. Another cheater case. Back alley of apartment building; target’s car is in view. No activity since approximately 8:12 p.m. Hours of surveillance makes these cases lucrative but a retired police officer and P.I. told me to stay away from these. I learned the hard way he was right. No one really wants to know if their spouse is cheating on them. If they’re hiring a P.I. to find out, they already know. If I find the evidence, or if I don’t, people are upset.