When a private investigator is looking for information about a person, he can collect many different records, spy and track someone’s movements in order to learn more about their nature and activities.
Private investigators gather information and provide appraisals of information, but they rarely make definite claims regarding the correct interpretation of the information they gather. So, in this sense, they are almost never wrong. Instead, courts and juries make decisions based on the detective’s findings.
A private detective can work on a wide variety of types of cases and can find a lot of information without breaking the law. It may sound uninteresting, but if you are an employer who wants to avoid a costly hiring mistake; a lawyer who needs a large and detailed collection of facts to win a case; a tenant who wants to protect his property and himself from liability; a company that needs due diligence information for a high-value business; or even a worried parent who wants peace of mind, a private eye can save the day.
The Benefits Conferred by Private Investigators
A licensed private investigator will understand what they can and cannot do to get the information they need to build a compelling case, meaning that if your case goes to trial, you can be sure the evidence will stand up to legal scrutiny. In addition, the private investigator cannot obtain other information that may be protected, although this may vary under state law.
The risk of losing a license usually ensures that the investigator will investigate and use legal or ethical means. A reputable licensed investigator has a lot to lose, so most of them will avoid a few cases that, in order to get the job done, could put their business at risk due to gray or shady practices.
Most private detectives provide their clients with evidence within the law and work to find the facts they need to solve a case or secure closure for loved ones after suffering an injury. Some investigators work on criminal cases in partnership with law enforcement to help deliver justice. Quite often, investigators are hired to investigate workers’ compensation and insurance fraud, verify employers’ backgrounds, search for missing persons, resolve copyright infringements, and assist with other court cases.
A private detective, such as that at Bales Security, can provide many useful services, such as assisting in the search for a missing or long-lost family member, as well as background checks for employers.
How Investigators Differ from Police
Unlike the police, private investigators do not have the authority to arrest people, even if they find information that convicts someone or evidence that they are guilty. An experienced private investigator can obtain the greatest amount of information, but only within an ethical and legal framework.
While we do not have a database of ethical investigators, there are a number of things you can do to verify your investigator. Often Internet search engines can be a good place to start, but it is imperative that you review all entries and engage a qualified researcher to analyze the information provided.
I often see background survey reports spitting out information from a database without analytics. I’m here to tell you that sending a full database report to a lawyer and charging more times than the report is actually worth is not background investigation.
The report has several notable gaps and a lack of depth, and the vast majority of the report was cut and pasted from various investigative databases. Some of these so-called holes and what I consider big problems may have an explanation, but the background report of the investigation was about a key witness in a case with serious consequences and big money at stake.
How Investigators Operate
Investigators can take detailed notes while talking to someone to extract the information they need. A private investigator may photograph a conversation between two people and record any information obtained from the conversation, but he cannot use a recording device without the consent of the two people talking about the conversation.
At this stage, the investigator can film and record all of the person’s movements, including going to the bank, store, park, etc. During the fieldwork, observations are required to determine where subjects may live and to document any risk factors that may affect rescue efforts.
To avoid committing a crime when investigating someone’s home or property, always make sure you get a search warrant or permission from the person being investigated. If you are being pressured by a client to obtain confidential information about a person you are investigating, you must obtain permission from that person, obtain a court order, or obtain a subpoena before doing so. Being a private detective always means walking eggshells around barriers you don’t have to break, and there’s a fine line between being able to legally investigate.
PIs are Constrained by Civilian Regulations
Investigators may pledge to uphold the law; they can regulate their behavior by adhering to a finely honed code of ethics. PIs cannot impersonate people or invade private property and can never enter anyone’s home to look for clues or evidence.
In addition to data readily available online, there are hundreds of semi-private data sources that PIs can use to collect personal and business information. Both public and private databases draw information from various public data (eg, criminal records, criminal records, voter registration records) and private data (eg, phone information, header data).
The list goes on and on and it is almost always a good decision to use a licensed investigator when making any major financial or legal decision. While private investigators may not live up to the “hero” TV character, we are often considered heroic by our clients because of our ability to quickly and discreetly solve problems through background checks and surveillance, find resources, and find people. Lauth Investigations International is made up of ex-military and law enforcement agencies and holds a brilliant A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau.
