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Private Investigators
THE
TERMINATOR
A
private investigator, private detective, PI, or private
eye, is a person who undertakes investigations, usually
for a private citizen or some other entity not involved
with a government or police organization. They often
work for attorneys in civil cases or on behalf of
a defense attorney. 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.
Many
jurisdictions require PIs to be licensed, and they
may or may not carry firearms depending on local laws.
Some are ex-police officers. 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 (e.g., being forbidden to trespass on private
property or break into homes) is also required, on
pain of losing their licenses as well as facing criminal
charges. Irregular hours may also be required when
performing surveillance work (e.g., outside someone's
house during the early hours of the morning).
PIs
also undertake 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,
or TSCM, which is the locating and dealing with unwanted
forms of electronic surveillance (for example, a bugged
boardroom for industrial espionage purposes).
Increasingly,
modern PIs prefer to be known as "professional
investigators" rather than "private investigators"
or "private detectives". This is a response
to the seedy image that is sometimes attributed to
the profession and an effort to establish and demonstrate
the industry to be a proper and respectable profession.
Global
Focus
In some countries through out the world Private Investigations
are illegal. In the following countries private investigations
thrive; United States of America, Mexico, Canada,
United Kingdom, France, Spain, South Africa and Japan.
In South Africa Private Investigators are in very
high demand due to poor police work and high crime.
Other countries through out the world have Private
Investigators but a lot of their duties are restricted.
In South Korea surveillance is only allowed in insurance
fraud situations. In [[in India, working the same
case may have to speak with a large network of people,
drive long distances and contact several companies
over a weeks time to solve the case. Some countries
in the world require licensing of Private Detectives
when most do not.
Working
conditions
Private detectives and investigators often work irregular
hours because of the need to conduct surveillance
and contact people who are not available during normal
working hours. Early morning, evening, weekend, and
holiday work is common.
Many
detectives and investigators spend time away from
their offices conducting interviews or doing surveillance,
but some work in their office most of the day conducting
computer searches and making phone calls. Those who
have their own agencies and employ other investigators
may work primarily in an office and have normal business
hours.
When
the investigator is working on a case away from the
office, the environment might range from plush boardrooms
to seedy bars. Store and hotel detectives work in
the businesses that they protect. Investigators generally
work alone, but they sometimes work with others during
surveillance or when following a subject in order
to avoid detection by the subject.
Some
of the work involves confrontation, so the job can
be stressful and dangerous. Some situations call for
the investigator to be armed, such as certain bodyguard
assignments for corporate or celebrity clients. Detectives
and investigators who carry handguns must be licensed
by the appropriate authority. In most cases, however,
a weapon is not necessary, because the purpose of
the work is gathering information and not law enforcement
or criminal apprehension. Owners of investigative
agencies have the added stress of having to deal with
demanding and sometimes distraught clients.
Training,
Other Qualifications, and Advancement
There are no formal education requirements for most
private detective and investigator jobs, although
many private detectives have college degrees or have
taken legal or criminal investigation courses. Private
detectives and investigators typically have previous
experience in other occupations. Some work initially
for insurance or collections companies, in the private
security industry, or as paralegals. Many investigators
enter the field after serving in law enforcement,
the military, government auditing and investigative
positions, or federal intelligence jobs.
Former
law enforcement officers, military investigators,
and government agents, who are frequently able to
retire after 25 years of service, often become private
detectives or investigators in a second career. Others
enter from such diverse fields as finance, accounting,
commercial credit, investigative reporting, insurance,
and law. These individuals often can apply their prior
work experience in a related investigative specialty.
A few enter the occupation directly after graduation
from college, generally with associate’s or bachelor’s
degrees in criminal justice, police science or with
a private investigation diploma.
The
majority of United States states and the District
of Columbia require private detectives and investigators
to be licensed. Licensing requirements vary, however.
Seven states—- Alabama, Alaska, Colorado, Idaho,
Mississippi, Missouri, and South Dakota—- have
no statewide licensing requirements, some states have
very few requirements, and many other states have
stringent regulations. A growing number of states
are enacting mandatory training programs for private
detectives and investigators. For example, the Bureau
of Security and Investigative Services of the California
Department of Consumer Affairs requires private investigators
to be 18 years of age or older, have a combination
of education in police science, criminal law, or justice
and experience equaling 3 years (6,000 hours) of investigative
experience, pass a criminal history background check
by the California Department of Justice and the FBI
(in most States, convicted felons cannot be issued
a license), and receive a qualifying score on a two-hour
written examination covering laws and regulations.
There are additional requirements for a firearms permit.
For
private detective and investigative jobs, most employers
look for individuals with ingenuity, persistence,
and assertiveness. A candidate must not be afraid
of confrontation, should communicate well, and should
be able to think on his or her feet. Good interviewing
and interrogation skills also are important and usually
are acquired in earlier careers in law enforcement
or other fields. Because the courts often are the
ultimate judge of a properly conducted investigation,
the investigator must be able to present the facts
in a manner that a jury will believe.
Training
in subjects such as criminal justice and police science
can be helpful to aspiring private detectives and
investigators. Most corporate investigators must have
a bachelor’s degree, preferably in a business-related
field. Some corporate investigators have a master’s
degree in business administration or a law degree,
while others are CPAs. Corporate investigators hired
by large companies may receive formal training from
their employers on business practices, management
structure, and various finance-related topics. The
screening process for potential employees typically
includes a background check for a criminal history.
Some
investigators receive certification from a professional
organization to demonstrate competency in a field.
For example, the National Association of Legal Investigators
(NALI) confers the Certified Legal Investigator designation
to licensed investigators who devote a majority of
their practice to negligence or criminal defense investigations.
To receive the designation, applicants must satisfy
experience, educational, and continuing-training requirements
and must pass written and oral exams administered
by the NALI.
Most
private-detective agencies are small, with little
room for advancement. Usually, there are no defined
ranks or steps, so advancement takes the form of increases
in salary and assignment status. Many detectives and
investigators work for detective agencies at the beginning
of their careers and, after a few years, start their
own firms. Corporate and legal investigators may rise
to supervisor or manager of the security or investigations
department.
Source:
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor,
Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2006-07 Edition, Private
Detectives and Investigators, on the Internet at http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos157.htm
(visited November 13, 2006).
History of the Private Investigator
In 1833 Eugène François Vidocq, a French
soldier, criminal and privateer, founded the first
known private detective agency, Le bureau des renseignments
(Office of Intelligence) and, again, hired ex-cons.
Official law enforcement tried many times to shut
it down. In 1842 police arrested him in suspicion
of unlawful imprisonment and taking money on false
pretenses after he had solved an embezzling case.
Vidocq later suspected that it had been a set-up.
He was sentenced for five years with a 3,000-franc
fine but the Court of Appeals released him. Vidocq
is credited with having introduced record-keeping,
criminology and ballistics to criminal investigation.
He made the first plaster casts of shoe impressions.
He created indelible ink and unalterable bond paper
with his printing company. His form of anthropometrics
is still partially used by French police. He is also
credited for philanthropic pursuits – he claimed
he never informed on anyone who had stolen for real
need.
After
Vidocq, the industry was born. Much of what private
investigators in the early days was to act as the
police in matters that their clients felt the police
were not equipped for or willing to do. A larger role
for this new private investigative industry to was
to act as sudo law men, particularly when dealing
with labor and employee issues. The wealthy found
that the need to help control large numbers of workers
who had developed new ideas as a result of the French
Revolution and the freedom of men did not sit well
with the wealth resource owners. Some early private
investigators were nothing short of mercenaries and
or professional military companies helping private
entities with problems that could be solved with force
or the show of force, usually in foreign countries.
In
the US, the Pinkerton National Detective Agency was
a security guard and detective agency, established
in 1850 by Allan Pinkerton. Pinkerton had become famous
when he foiled a plot to assassinate then President-Elect
Abraham Lincoln. Pinkerton's agents performed services
which ranged from the equivalent of both a private
military contractor to that of security guards. During
the height of its existence, the Pinkerton Detective
Agency had more agents than the standing army of the
United States of America, causing the state of Ohio
to outlaw the agency, due to the possibility of its
being hired out as a "private army" or militia.
During
the labor unrest of the late 19th century, businessmen
hired Pinkerton guards to keep strikers and suspected
unionists out of their factories. The most notorious
example of this was the Homestead Strike of 1892,
where Pinkerton agents ended up killing several people
by enforcing the strikebreaking measures of Henry
Clay Frick, (acting on behalf of Andrew Carnegie,
who was abroad). The agency's logo, an eye embellished
with the words "We Never Sleep" inspired
the term "private eye.
Pinkerton
agents were hired to track western outlaws Jesse James,
the Reno brothers, and the Wild Bunch including Butch
Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
It
was not until the prosperity of the 1920s that the
private investigator became a person accessible to
the average American. With the wealth of the 20s and
the expanding of the middle class came the need for
middle America.
Since
then the private detective industry has grown with
the changing needs of the public. Social issues like
infidelity and unionization have impacted the industry
and created new types of work, as has the need for
insurance, and with it insurance fraud, criminal defense
investigations, the invention of low cost listening
devices and more.
PIs
in fiction
Perhaps the most famous fictional PI is the Sherlock
Holmes character created by Arthur Conan Doyle, who
would refer to himself in the jargon of his age as
a "private inquiries agent." (See Crime
fiction for details.)
Since
about the 1940s, PIs have also been frequently found
in fiction as a stock character; they are a hero archetype
who stumbles into detective stories to solve a mystery
case, whether it be a whodunit murder or other crime
activity. The PI is usually cool, relaxed and intelligent.
A stereotypical look would have him drink whiskey,
smoke, dress in a trenchcoat and fedora and be a good
marksman.
PIs
are also popular in television fiction, including
such hit series as Magnum P.I., Tropical Heat, Veronica
Mars, Moonlighting, Remington Steele, The Rockford
Files, Monk, and Spenser: For Hire; both TV and movie
PI fiction often utilize the device of the main character
first-person voiceover to make up for the fact that
visual fiction is rarely ever shot in the true first-person,
as well as to provide exposition about the detective's
thoughts. Meanwhile filmmakers like Joel and Ethan
Coen (The Big Lebowski), David O. Russell (I ? Huckabees),
and writers like Jennifer Colt (The Butcher of Beverly
Hills), and Laura Anne Gilman (Staying Dead) have
moved the traditional PI protagonist towards new genres.
PIs
in reality television
Cheaters is a popular television show featuring private
investigators, focusing on proving infidelity cases.
Parco
PI was a cable reality television show. The show featured
Vinny Parco, a private investigator in New York City,
New York.
Big
Tim Earthquake Bristow
Persons
Of Interest
Gabrielle
"Virgin Star" Maas
Charles
"Fantasy Island" Gant
Danny
"The Hustler"
Profiles
The
Legal System
Cases
Crocodile
Mick Pitman VS Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin
Booble
VS Google
Virgin
Star Gabrielle
Maas
Gordon
Wood - Caroline Byrne
Media
Man Australia is delighted to be assisting private
investigators and legal authorities in relation to
a stalker they encountered in the course of their
business
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