Private Investigator Techniques

Private Investigator Techniques rnMost individuals haven't been faced with a situation in which they required the use of a Private Investigator. The Private Investigative field is one of those, like so many, who are significantly misrepresented by the media and entertainment industry. You might have seen the Private Detective represented on television running around picking locks, conducting illegal searches, and participating in high speed car chases. Since in most states the Private Investigation industry is regulated, any one of these activities could result in the loss of your license, civil suits, or even criminal prosecution. Usually Private Detectives have the option of carrying firearms, but they are far less likely to ever draw a firearm during the performance of their work. Even though a Private Investigator conducts many of the same activities a police detective would conduct, a PI is not a law enforcement officer with powers of arrest or the ability to obtain search warrants. Regardless, a PI can preform a incredibly useful service in many situations. Some of the most common tools used are: 1. Stationary SurveillancernThis is one of those things that, at least in very general terms, Hollywood gets right. Surveillance is a very common tool used by all investigators, including Private Investigators. One of the reasons for this is most courts have upheld the use of surveillance as a legally permissible thing for an investigator to do. What most people do out in public view is not recognized as something which has an “expectation of privacy”. In the state of Virginia, for example, Private Investigators are exempt from stalking laws when working for a client, just like a law enforcement officer is exempt. Obviously, there is a right way to conduct surveillance, and if done properly, it is relatively difficult to detect. If someone is well concealed a hundred yards away located in a sea of other vehicles, most normal people will be hard pressed to notice, even if they are a little paranoid. 2. Moving SurveillancernThis is considerably more difficult to do, but is extremely important to do well. This is one of those areas where experience really starts to show. PI's who are formal detectives or formal federal investigators are more likely to have the wheel time to do this decently. There are many professional tricks to doing this well, like looking ahead at traffic signals to determine if a light is about to change. If a light has been green for a long time, you better get in close to your subject, with the goal of preventing yourself from being caught behind a red light. Red lights, incidentally, are one of you biggest enemies in conducting a moving surveillance. You could perform flawlessly, and if you get caught behind a light which you cannot go through, you have usually lost the target. Moving surveillance should also be conducted with three vehicles who are in radio contact with each other. This allows a rotation of the “eye” (the current investigator who is watching the subject). When you are conducting the surveillance with just one vehicle, you can only stay with the subject as long as you think you are not being noticed. This can create a real limitation. 3. Computer searchesrnComputers are a major part of a modern investigation. A great deal of information can be obtained with general internet searches, including information obtained from social sites like Facebook and Myspace. But the real information is obtained through pay information services only available to professionals. These services are nothing like the low cost services available to anyone making searches on the internet, with real fresh and in depth data on addresses, relatives, and other critical data. 4. Electronic devicesrnThis is another area in which modern technology can give you valuable capability. One major example is the current technology advances in GPS capability, where you can even get live gps location information from devices attached on target vehicles. This area; however, could potentially expose an investigator to legal privacy violations, and is another area where experience is important. 5. Conducting interviews are one of the standard investigative techniques. Interviews are almost always better carried out face to face, but in the private realm, when funding is almost always an issue, you may often be forced to perform recorded interviews by phone. rnIf you require Private Detective services, ensure you hire someone with the experience background, and who meet your respective state standards.