Sifting through mountains of public records, interview notes, and location data is the daily grind for a solo PI. The real challenge isn't gathering intel—it's connecting the dots before your client's deadline.
The key principle is structured automation. Instead of manually building visuals, you train AI to transform your raw, unstructured notes into structured data formats that visualization tools can instantly understand. This turns a day's work into a minutes-long process.
Core Framework: The Automated Geotag Plotter
This framework automates the creation of timeline-based maps from your case notes. You move from scribbled addresses and timestamps in a notebook to an interactive map showing subject movement, all without manual data entry.
A tool like Google My Maps is perfect for the final visualization. Its purpose is to take structured location and time data to plot points, draw lines, and create layers for different subjects or event types, resulting in a clear, court-presentable visual.
Mini-Scenario: You upload a week's worth of surveillance notes stating, "Subject visited 123 Main St at 10:00 AM, then the downtown bank at 2:30 PM." Your AI workflow extracts the addresses and times, then generates a file that populates a map with two pinned locations connected by a path, labeled with the times.
Implementation in Three Steps
Extract with Precision: Use an AI agent to review your notes, identifying and isolating key entities: addresses, dates, times, and person names. The output must be a clean list or table, such as a CSV, with columns for each data type.
Structure for Visualization: Feed this structured data into a second, specialized automation. This process geocodes the addresses (converts them to latitude/longitude) and formats the data specifically for your chosen mapping tool's import requirements.
Generate and Analyze: Import the formatted file directly into your visualization platform (e.g., Google My Maps). The map and timeline are built automatically. Your role shifts from data clerk to analyst, interpreting the patterns and gaps the visual reveals.
By adopting this structured automation approach, you turn disjointed notes into authoritative visuals that tell a compelling story. You save critical hours, enhance your analytical clarity, and deliver professional, insightful results to your clients. The tool doesn't replace your expertise—it amplifies it.
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