Private Investigator
A private investigator or private detective (often shortened to PI or private eye) is a person who can be hired by individuals or groups to undertake investigations. Private investigators often work for attorneys in civil cases. Many work for insurance companies to investigate suspicious claims. Before the advent of no-fault divorce, many private investigators were hired to search out evidence of adultery or other illegal conduct within marriage to establish grounds for a divorce. Despite the lack of legal necessity for such evidence in many jurisdictions, according to press reports collecting evidence of adultery or other "bad behavior" by spouses and partners is still one of the most profitable activities investigators undertake, as the stakes being fought over now are child custody, alimony, or marital property disputes.
Many jurisdictions require PIs to be licensed, and they may or may not carry firearms depending on local laws. Some are ex-police officers, although many are not. They are expected to keep detailed notes and to be prepared to testify in court regarding any of their observations on behalf of their clients. Taking great care to remain within the law in the scope is also required, as this may lead to the individual facing criminal charges. Irregular hours may also be required when performing surveillance work.
PIs also engage in a large variety of work that is not usually associated with the industry in the mind of the public. For example, many PIs are involved in process serving, the personal delivery of summons, subpoenas and other legal documents to parties in a legal case. The tracing of absconding debtors can also form a large part of a PI's work load. Many agencies specialize in a particular field of expertise. For example, some PI agencies deal only in tracing. Others may specialize in technical surveillance countermeasures (TSCM), or Electronic Counter Measures (ECM), which is the locating and dealing with unwanted forms of electronic surveillance (for example, a bugged boardroom for industrial espionage purposes). Other PIs, also known as Corporate Investigators, specialize in corporate matters, including anti-fraud work, the protection of intellectual property and trade secrets, anti-piracy, copyright infringement investigations, due diligence investigations and computer forensics work.
Increasingly, modern PIs prefer to be known as "professional investigators" or Licensed Private Investigators (LPI's) rather than "private investigators" or "private detectives". This is a response to the image that is sometimes attributed to the profession and an effort to establish and demonstrate the industry to be a proper and respectable profession.
WHAT CAN A PI DO FOR YOU?
Before you set out on your quest, you must forget about Hollywood's version of private detectives. Forget Tom Selleck's Magnum, P.I. or Bruce Willis in Moonlighting. PIs don't spend their days dangling from helicopters or having shootouts with criminals. Most of the time, they work out of an office, and a telephone or a computer are their weapons of choice. However, here are some things they can help you with:
Locating people or objects
Want to find out what your old high school buddies are up to? Did a client who owes you money skip town? A good private investigator can find just about anyone or even anything for that matter. If your valuable coin collection is stolen and the police aren't doing much, a private eye might be able to help.
Performing background checks
Whether you're about to enter a business relationship with someone and you want to see if they have a checkered past, or you're about to lease out your house and want to find out if the new tenant is trustworthy, PIs can get you the information you need.
Setting up surveillance
If you're certain your employees are stealing from you, a detective can set up a camera network to find out the truth, or even follow the subjects to their hideout. You might also need this type of service to verify the veracity of a person's statement. What if the person who is suing you for personal injury isn't injured at all? Setting up surveillance cameras in your house for security purposes is also right up their alley.
1- Where to look
Your best bet is to ask someone you trust wholeheartedly for a referral; the last thing you need is word getting around that you've hired a detective. If no one in your immediate circle has had to hire a gumshoe, you can always fall back on the Yellow Pages.
Keep in mind that your best bet would be to hire a detective that is located in the area in which the search is going to occur. For instance, if you know your gambling cousin has fled the East Coast for Oregon, employ the services of an investigator stationed on the West Coast and the cost will be reduced significantly. Should this be the case, however, searching the Internet for a detective may be the way to go.
2- License status
Besides Alabama, Alaska, Colorado, Idaho, Mississippi, and South Dakota, all other states including Virginia require that private investigators have a license issued by the government. The requirements to obtain such a license are usually quite rigorous and demand that the licensee has no criminal record. PIs must also pass state-specific tests to gauge their qualifications and experience. Some states, such as California, even demand that applicants have a minimum experience of three years in law enforcement.
Ask for the license number
Once you've located a detective you want to hire, ask to see his license and write down the number. It is illegal for a person to act as a private investigator without a license -- it's also illegal for you to hire an unlicensed person. It's definitely not worth the hassle. If the guy refuses to give you his number, walk away. (Phyleo DCJS ID# 11-5578)
Verify the number
Licenses for private dicks are public record so you can check the validity of your PI's license number quite easily. What you need to do is call your state's licensing authority. The name of this agency, unfortunately, varies from state to state. (For Virginia: Contact the Department of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS), http://www.dcjs.virginia.gov/index.cfm
Make sure the license hasn't expired, that the name provided matches your investigators, and ask to see if any complaints have been filed against him.
3- Insurance coverage
Although this may seem like a trivial, administrative nitpick, bonding and liability insurance coverage is one of the main elements you should lookout for when hiring a PI. Many jurisdictions insist that the licensee be covered by a policy covering a certain amount of money, since it's there to protect clients.
It's also an interesting way of telling amateurs apart from professionals. Investigators who are serious about their trade have, for the most part, coverage as high as a million dollars. Since this coverage is also public record, you can make certain it exists. Having insurance coverage is a mandatory requirement of DCJS, prior to granting a business license to operate in the state of Virginia.
Business ethics
Call your local Better Business Bureau or State Attorney General's office to make sure there haven't been any consumer complaints against your investigator or his agency. You should also be blunt and ask your private eye if he provides, and abides by, a confidentiality agreement. You definitely don't want your private information and investigation results being sold to a rival.
Final questions
Ask any questions you feel are relevant. At any point, if you don't feel comfortable with this person, excuse yourself and leave. As a good indicator of his ethics and proficiency level, ask about how the detective has gotten into this line of work. Also, don't be taken aback if the detective asks you questions. He has to protect himself, and ensure that you're not hiring him to do something illegal.
PHYLEO LLC is a member of the Private Investigators Association of Virginia (PIAVA), a professional association whose members are licensed private security services businesses and registered private investigators. PIAVA represents the modern investigative industry in Virginia. http://www.piava.org/
Private Investigation Terms and Definitions