One of the best ways to identify the proper professional to assist with your case is to ask friends and associate if any of them have used or know of a reliable investigator. Additionally, local law enforcement agencies can be an excellent resource to find the right investigator in your area. Begin the process with a telephone interview and do your own due diligence to obtain information about the investigator’s background, training and experience. You also need to ask questions about their experience with your specific type of case. You need to feel comfortable that the company you retain will be able to complete your investigation in a timely and professional manner.
Too often people fall into the trap of believing that just because you find it on the internet it must be true. While a good bit of reliable information is available on the internet, if you do not have the experience and expertise to sort out the good and the bad, you can end up with erroneous results. Utilizing the services of a licensed, experienced and well trained professional will always result in more accurate investigations and much more reliable outcomes.
A licensed investigator has access to information databases and systems that are not available to the general public. In addition, their expertise and experience will allow them to process that information, connect related points and pursue your case investigation in a much more efficient and complete manner. By being licensed, a professional investigator has the protection of conducting your investigation in a legal and ethical manner. Many people have attempted to complete their own investigations and have ended up having charges filed against them for committing acts that are in fact unlawful. Having the services of a professional, licensed investigator eliminates these situations.
You are absolutely free to consult with and retain a private investigator even if you have talked to local law enforcement. In fact, because they have a different focus and usually have relationships with local departments, using a private investigator to work for you in conjunction with the police is quite an advantage. Additionally, because the investigator will be working on you case as part of a much smaller case load than local departments, you will receive more focused personal attention.
It is a normal practice with most reputable investigation agencies to provide their clients with regular updates and status reports on the progress of the investigation. These updates can range from written reports documenting their activities and results to video recording of some events or points in the investigation. Professional investigators realize that they work for you and will make sure that you are satisfied with their actions and results as the case investigation progresses.
Just as in other professions, such as lawyers and doctors, some private investigators have specialized in different areas of expertise and focus. If you have some type of truly unique situation that you need specialized assistance with, then finding a professional who has experience with that issue is a benefit. In the vast majority of cases, a well-trained, experienced and reliable investigator or agency will have more than enough knowledge and connections to properly conduct your specific investigation.
Unless you are needing an investigation that will be entirely conducted across the country, in the vast majority of cases, it is better to use a local professional who has interstate experience. Having a personal local contact to guide you through the process is always much more beneficial than attempting to maintain a professional relationship via email or long distance telephone calls. Just make sure that the professional you are retaining has national and interstate experience.
Individual states have their own unique licensing requirements. Virtually all of the states, however, all require a certain amount of investigative experience and training, thorough background and criminal history searches and varying degrees of insurance and bonding. You can check on the licensing requirements in your state through the state’s consumer affairs office or licensing agency. Any professional private investigator you are contemplating retaining will be more than happy to provide you with all of the license documentation required by his state licensing agency.
Private investigators are not sworn police officers. They are prohibited from posing as a law enforcement office or clergy member during the course of an investigation. They also cannot conduct unwarranted wire taps nor can they trespass to obtain information. For complete information, please consult the licensing agency for investigators in your state.
A licensed investigator will have access to some government databases, such as Department of Motor Vehicles and property records. They will also have access to many of the private information and databases used for personal records across the country.