An Inside Look at Private Investigators
by Larry Miller, CII

Contrary to popular opinion and despite what people read about and see on TV and in movies, private investigators (PIs), many of whom are former police officers, are not the flamboyant, swashbuckling heroes portrayed by Tom Selleck and others. Rather, they are for the most part, highly motivated, trained and experienced professionals who provide a needed service to their communities. This includes an active concern for the confidentiality and privacy of their clients, much the same as the attorney/client privilege. Most states require licensing and some also require rigid testing of PI wannabes before granting license. PIs are, in addition, insured and sometimes bonded, depending on requirements of the state in which they do business.

PIs perform a vital function in our society today, acting as a link between citizens and law enforcement and doing those investigations police departments have neither the time nor the resources to do. They also are the right hand of attorneys, helping you the client when necessary to prove your case in the best possible way.

For example, a family was distraught when one of its members was convicted and sentenced to long prison term for molesting his own daughter. So far as the prosecution was concerned this case was closed. However, the family and others familiar with the events and persons involved believed in the man’s innocence and retained a PI to prove that innocence. Through efforts of the family a female classmate of the daughter (an in whom the daughter often confided) was located and interviewed. Information provided by the classmate contradicted testimony admitted at trial and may be the basis for an appeal. The classmate had not been previously interviewed by defense council and had been rejected as a witness by the prosecution.

In another situation, a young mother was diagnosed with an incurable disease that could only have been passed on genetically. Except for the woman’s father, whose location was unknown, all other family members had been contacted and found not to be carrying the responsible gene. A PI was retained to locate the father, working from what little information the family had on him. He agreed to meeting his daughter and the outcome is believed to have been beneficial.

Also, insurance companies and industry are plagued yearly with worker’s compensation fraud costing them millions of dollars. Insurance claims adjusters are overburdened with other cases and a PI is retained to conduct surveillance and obtain photography of a worker claiming back injury but still working on “limited duty.” Over the course of several days, video proof of the man’s malingering was obtained and submitted to the client. The case was settled out of court.

Retail fraud is another crime costing retailers and customer millions annually with some of the losses caused by employee theft. Small business owners may not have the staff to conduct adequate background investigation. A competent PI will have a variety of sources from which to provide a thorough background investigation, especially when the position to be filled is a managerial one that entails money and policy responsibilities.

A PI might also be a Certified Protection Professional through the American Society for Industrial Security and qualified to conduct security surveys of a business or residence. If losses are being incurred and an employee is suspected, a PI might be hired to survey the establishment and install such security devices as might be necessary. She/he might also be asked to conduct surveillance on the suspect employee to determine any culpability in the firm’s losses. Asset searches are another area in which PIs can assist. A contractor defaults on a loan and the lender naturally wants to recover it’s money. To do so they bring in a PI to search for assets of the contractor which could be garnished to recover monies loaned.

PIs, like other professionals, come in a variety of specialties. Fraud examiners, surveillance specialists, criminologists, computer experts, skip tracers, genealogists, covert photographers, accident investigators, process servers are only a few of the talents offered by private investigators. Some also have a wide range of international investigator contacts on whom to draw for investigative expertise.