On the LPS website Events page a list of our forthcoming investigations etc. will be given. If you wish to attend any of these events then you must inform the President preferably 7 days before the event but certainly by the day before the event is scheduled to take place. Some events may not be posted until close to the event date in which case it is permissible to inform the President closer to the event but no later than the preceding day. Any person who turns up at an event without informing the President of their intention beforehand may not be allowed to take part in the event. This is especially true of events where only a limited attendance is allowed. To contact the President about an event you should go to the Contacts page.

On the Events page a start time for the event will be posted. This time must be strictly adhered to. If you arrive at the site after the start time you will either not be allowed to take part in the event or you will have to wait outside the investigation area until the first part of the investigation is over (especially if a vigil is being undertaken). Whether or not you are then allowed to take part will be at the discretion of the President.

It is not the responsibility of the LPS management team to provide transport for members who, therefore, must make their own way to the meeting point. Members are not allowed onto the site without authorisation from the Senior Co-ordinator. At the start of an LPS investigation all LPS members will be divided into teams. Members may request to work together on the same team and wherever possible this will be allowed. Each team will have a Team Leader who is responsible for that team during the investigation. The division into teams will be undertaken by the President unless members raise specific objections to the composition of the team. Any objections should be raised in private with the President.

An investigation may be divided into a series of vigils which is especially true of indoor, all night investigations. Team Leaders will agree, before the investigation starts, as to the number and location of each vigil as well as the duration. The Investigation Coordinator will be in overall control of an investigation and will inform all team members of the arrangements, vigil locations and duration etc., for the investigation. Vigils will start at a specified time and all members must be in place by this start time. Between vigils there will be a break of 10 to 15 minutes before the next vigil starts. On indoor investigations a room will be set aside as a Control Room for use by the teams between vigils. This room is the base of operations and is the only room in which the consumption of food and drink is allowed. Smoking is not permitted on site, including outdoor events in the area where the investigation is taking place. For outdoor investigations a location off-site will be assigned as the general meeting area. In this area the consumption of food, drink and smoking will be permitted. Anyone who is not in place with their team at the allotted start time must remain in the Control Room or outdoor meeting area for the duration of the vigil.

During the rest period between vigils members should avoid wandering around the site as experiments may have been left at some locations which could be easily disturbed and the results would become invalid. Prior to the start of an investigation Team Leaders will agree on the experiments that will be performed by the teams. If you have any particular experiment that you would like to try then please let any Team Leader know at the start of the event.

Team Leaders will keep notes during a vigil and it is vital that you inform them of anything that happens. Even trivial things, like suddenly feeling cold, may have relevance so the information should be passed on. If anything occurs then Team Leaders should be told straight away so that they can note the time. Vigils are normally done in silence but this should not stop you relaying information, just remember to talk quietly so as not to disturb the other teams. You are encouraged to keep your own investigation notes and should include as much detail as possible including times of any occurrences, if you do keep your own notes then you do not have to inform the Team Leader when anything happens.

Vigils will normally last from between thirty minutes and one hour, the length varying according to circumstances and the location of the investigation. The Investigation Coordinator will inform team members of the length of the vigils and will communicate the start and end of the vigil with the leaders of each team by walkie-talkie. At the start of the session ten minutes will be allowed for team members to take photographs. After ten minutes you should only take a photograph using a flash if you feel there is something relevant to photograph. Under no circumstance should you leave the location of the vigil until the vigil is officially over but you may remain longer if you have found something interesting but you must inform your Team Leader who will inform the Investigation Coordinator as soon as the end of the vigil has been announced. This also applies to people in the Control Room or the off-site meeting area who should not leave the room/area during the vigil period. On indoor investigations all teams will normally spend at least one session in the Control Room. Talking is permitted in the Control Room and outdoor meeting area during vigils but it should be done quietly.

For outdoor walking events the team structure may still be used but the proceedings may be more informal. Quiet talking is permitted on such events but remember that at some haunted sites the paranormal event is a sound (horse’s hooves etc.). On outdoor walking events there is usually no restriction on the use of flash photography. Outdoor events involving a vigil should follow the same guidelines as for an indoor event as given above including restrictions on eating, drinking and smoking. As some walks may be along narrow country lanes it is permitted to wear reflective clothing during the walk so as to make you more visible to passing motorists. On off-road sites the wearing of reflective clothing is not permitted as it causes problems with flash photography, anyone wearing such clothing at the start of a vigil will be asked to remove it and if this is not possible they will be asked to leave the site. To make the removal of reflective materials easier we would suggest using reflective armbands.

At the end of an investigation the Team Leaders will collate all of the data from the investigation and write up separate reports which would normally be completed within two weeks of the investigation. If a team member has kept their own notes then they should type them up and send the information to the Team Leader within seven days. The information can either be typed straight into an email or sent as a text file or Word document attachment to an email. Failure to provide the report within seven days will mean that the member will not be allowed to attend the next investigation. These reports will form part of the investigation notes which go on the website, into the newsletter or be given to the site owner. If any interesting photographs, video recordings or sound recordings are found by anyone present then they should be shared with the other members. These photographs and recordings may also go on the website unless specified that they shouldn’t. Photographs can be sent through the website from our photo album page (www.lutonparanormal.com/photos.html) and these will be added to the gallery if it is felt that they are suitable. For most events a website photo gallery will be created in which investigation and background photographs will be placed.