Private Investigators by Tyler D Falls

A Private Investigator is a professional trained in the art of investigations and surveillance. Otherwise known as Private eyes or Private eye detectives, these professionals are for hire 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Many investigators have backgrounds in CIA, FBI, military, special forces, police, and government. I assume you all have heard of the famous Sherlock Holmes, and his trusty side-kick detective Watson. They were a type of private investigator. Today's private investigators use modern technology along with investigator training to serve the public and attorneys, police investigations, insurance investigations, and so much more.

Here is a list of the different types of investigations that can be done. Almost all of them are undetectable and non-traceable if done by professionals.

1. Surveillance - monitor someone's every movement.

2. locate a person

3. Track cell phone usage and position

4. Infidelity Investigations

5. Find someone's current employer

6. Find a person by a utility company

7. Database record searches / Background Investigation - Dig up information like, employment status, civil history, criminal history, medical history and other specific research

8. Child Custody disputes - Acquire proof that a person isn't fit for custody.

9. Telephone number investigations

-Non-Published Number -Cell Phone

-Telephone Number

-Disconnected Number

-800/888/877/900 Number

-Pager Trace

10. Internet Surveillance & Monitoring - Find out what sites are being visited by a person, read their emails and forum posts, keylog and more

11. Business Help - Employment screenings, loss prevention, and employee investigations, insurance fraud, tenant screenings.

12. Attorney services

13. Photography and videography - Get pictures and videos of who ever, when ever.

14. Victim assistance - When the police just aren't cutting it for you.

15. Nanny cams/hidden cameras - Make sure you can trust your kids, or caretakers.

16. Trash recovery - Investigate someone's garbage.

17. DNA/Paternity testing

18. Polygraph testing

19. Executive protection (Body guards/ escort services) - Unarmed or armed. High profile, or low profile.

20. Collect child support payments - Cant find the mother or father? Find them and get money that's lawfully yours.

21. Electronic countermeasures, or counter eavesdropping - Make sure your employees or outsiders are not monitoring you!

22. Accident scene investigations

23. Special assignments - Anything else you can think of, Professional Private Investigators can usually do.

(except help kill someone)

There are certain rules one must follow when choosing a personal investigator. When finding a private investigator, make sure they have a private investigators license. Also keep in mind that the work that a private investigator does is strictly confidential and stays between you and them. So if the person you're talking to doesn't guarantee confidentiality, then don't bother talking to them again. Another important thing to keep in mind is that all investigators need to be insured. This way, while they are uncovering information that YOU hired them to, and they happen to harm someone, break, or damage anything, then you are not held liable for compensation. A reputable investigator should have no problem presenting a certificate of insurance coverage for you to review and verify. Finally, make sure you get a contract done up, and you read it very carefully. These things will protect you, and help you find a reliable and trust worthy personal investigators.

Looking for a private investigator? http://www.private-investigator-secrets.info

A private investigator's life: Under cover and on guard

By David Rattigan, Globe Correspondent | May 21, 2006

In the parking lot of a Salisbury bar, Corinne Ray considered her next move. It was happy hour. Ray had identified the automobile she was looking for, belonging to a wife suspected of infidelity, but the woman was not inside the building.

Article Tools

• Printer friendly
  

• Single page
  

• E-mail to a friend
  

• Local RSS feed
  

• Available RSS feeds
  

• Most e-mailed
  

• Reprints& Licensing
  

More:

• Globe City/Region stories |
  

• Latest local news |
  

• Globe front page |
  

• Boston.com
  

Sign up for:

• Globe Headlines e-mail |
  

• Breaking News Alerts
  

As the private investigator sat in her car, the woman in question rolled up on the back of a motorcycle. The woman and her paramour started kissing, and Ray reached for her camera.

The couple seemed ''to have had a few" drinks and too caught up in the moment to care about the apparent soccer mom taking photographs, Ray recalled.

''They kind of looked over at me, but they were focused on what they were doing," she said.

She got her evidence but was reluctant to leave. She was concerned about the wife, who appeared to be in no condition to drive. So Ray parked in the lot next door, ''thinking about what to do next," and didn't notice that the man on the motorcycle had pulled up to her car.

''What are you doing, taking pictures of us?" he asked. ''Was that you over there?"

He was a big guy.

''Your bike is really cool," Ray said, smiling and holding her can of mace discreetly at her side, hoping it wouldn't be needed. ''I was looking at motorcycles for my husband."

Perplexed and possibly flattered, the man rode off.

In this job, you need the ability to think on your feet.

Sophisticated technology, updated surveillance techniques, and new areas of law have changed some parts of the job description, but local private investigators say the profession carries many of the requirements it always has. Along with intellect and fearlessness, a PI needs an inquisitive nature balanced by an instinct for self-preservation.

''I've gone into some really bad areas, to find witnesses for lawyers and locate missing persons," said Ray, 44, who runs Beverly-based North Shore Investigations Inc. The company specializes in missing persons cases, background checks, and witness interviews for civil cases.

''I try to look nonthreatening, which I am, and I think that's an advantage for me," she said.

John Nardizzi, whose work as head of Boston-based Nardizzi & Associates Inc. often takes him to the North Shore, said it's important to be able to defuse situations when a subject is nervous, angry, or doesn't want to talk -- as when he worked on a racketeering case involving young, low-ranking organized crime associates.

''I always try to keep in mind," Nardizzi said, that even if his subjects are threatening him, ''the reason is, they're nervous and upset. I just try to bring it down. The vast majority of the time, I need to rely on my skills and keep the person calm."Continued…

Alleged Police Intimidation Caught On Tape

Man Says He Was Intimidated By Police To Recant Brutality Allegations

Dave Savini
Reporting

(CBS)MARENGO, Ill. "They brought in another person and knocked him out right in front of me and told me that I was going to be next," says Kevin Gaughan while describing what he says happened at the Marengo Police Department.

Gaughan was 19-years-old in 2004 when he says he thought he was at the police department to give a statement about police brutality. Instead, Gaughan says he was intimidated by police and that it was caught on a police department security camera videotape that is now being made public through litigation.

Gaughan says police tried to get him to change his story involving earlier police brutality allegations he made targeting Marengo police officer Scott Crawford. Kevin Gaughan and his brother, Brian, say Crawford used excessive force against them in 2004 during an altercation at a local festival. Gaughan's attorney says they are two of at least five people who have come forward alleging abuse by Scott Crawford.

Gaughn hoped an outside agency, the Illinois State Police (ISP), would investigate their claims.

"They came to my parents house, where I was, and said, 'Why don't you come with us to the Marengo police station to finish up this investigation' and I said okay," but Gaughn says that is when the situation turned ugly. "Once I got inside, they just started yelling and swearing and threatening me."

Gaughan says they were trying to get him to recant the brutality allegations. Says a nervous Gaughn, "They were saying drop the charges. Don't continue this anymore or I am going to be brought up on (more) felony charges and my family is going to be brought up on charges."

CBS 2 examined the videotape, which has no audio. A State Police Special Agent can be seen lifting up a chair, a few feet away from Gaughan and repeatedly shaking it in the air. The same investigator is waving his arms, then holding them behind his back as though he was demonstrating being handcuffed. Gaughn claims the tape shows him being slapped, but law enforcement sources says a bug was being knocked off of him.

"I was terrified, scared," says Gaughan because he says he witnessed a man in custody get knocked out. A handcuffed Orest Hedio was brought into the room where Gaughan was talking to investigators. Gaughan says Hedio tried to give him advice.

"When he came into the police station (Hedio) turned to me and said don't talk to the cops without a lawyer and (officer) punched him the face," claims Gaughan.

The videotape shows a Marengo police officer apparently pushing Hedio. A State Police Investigator gets up from his chair and moves towards Hedio. That's when Gaughan says Hedio was punched. However, law enforcement sources and a police report say the State Police investigator did not hit Hedio and never touched him. They say the one responsible was a Marengo Police Officer. CBS 2 is told while the Marengo Police Officer was pushing Hedio, his head hit the wall and he was knocked out.

In an investigative report, the Marengo officer said Hedio, "...started kicking, and lost his balance, so he took Hedio to the ground to maintain control of him." The officer also said Hedio "... settled down immediately after going to the ground."

On the videotape Hedio never appears to kick the officer, and Hedio also appears to be unconscious once he hit the ground. The officer kicked his feet, removed his shoes and dragged him into a cell. Sources say no medical help was called. Later on the videotape, you can see the officer cleaning up the floor where Hedio fell.

Kevin Gaughan says that after all that he witnessed, he signed a statement recanting his original charges of police brutality. Then, he was charged with filing a false police brutality claim.

"They (police) are lying and ruining lives," says Paul Ciolino a private investigator hired by the Gaughans. "We need to do something about this because the breakdown of this system is that no one is going to have faith in it and no one is going to pay attention to the police."

Scott Crawford, the focus of the Gaughan's brutality claims, resigned from Marengo Police in 2005. This came after a videotape surfaced of him allegedly hitting a handcuffed man in 2001 while working as a Waukegan police officer. Police sources say Crawford failed to list this past abuse allegation and investigation on his Marengo job application.

Hedio and the Gaughans plan on filing seperate lawsuits against the police officers involved. Gaughan's attorney has already filed a motion to appoint an independent prosecutor. None of the law enforcement agencies involved would comment because of pending litigation.

"To me this is police brutality," says the Gaughan's father Brian Gaughan. He explains this two year ordeal has taken a toll on his family, "It's a nightmare. It's a financial nightmare. It's an emotional nightmare. Never in my life have I been afraid to be pulled over by police."

(© MMVI, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

What is a Private Investigator?

By Leonardo Espinal

A Private Investigator or Private Detective is an individual who obtains information through surveillance and other measures. According to Chapter 493.0 Florida State statutes Private Investigators and Private Investigative agencies serve in positions of trust. Untrained and unlicensed persons or businesses, or persons not of good moral character, are a threat to the public safety and welfare.

Individuals or agencies claiming to provide or advertise private investigator services must be licensed. You can check if a Florida Private Investigator is licensed at www.dos.state.fl.us/click on link to licensing or try www.mylicensesite.com  and if he owns an  investigative agency. These services Include:

Subcontracting with the government to determine crimes or wrongdoings against the United States.

Determining the identity, habits, conduct, movements, whereabouts, affiliations, associations, transactions, reputation of character of any society, person, or group of persons.

The credibility of witnesses or other persons.

The whereabouts of missing persons, owners of abandoned or escheated property, heirs to estates.

The location or recovery of lost or stolen property.

The causes or origins of fires, libels, slanders, losses, accidents,  damage or injury to real or personal property.

Securing evidence to be secured before investigating committees or boards of award or arbitration or trial of civil or criminal cases.

Most Private Investigators are retained by attorneys and law firms for surveillance, process service, accident reconstruction, and even to locate witnesses.

Insurance companies hire Private Investigators to perform surveillance and activity checks on their insurance claims to make sure that the claimant is not committing insurance fraud. From my experience as an insurance fraud investigator and many hours of surveillance, I would say 9 out of 10 claims are false. So why do you think our insurance rates are so high? It is a federal offense to commit insurance fraud, however our government agencies usually on most cases won't follow through and prosecute these individuals who are committing these federal crimes.

The general public hire Private Investigators to find lost loved ones, to check on cheating spouses, and criminal background checks. A good Private Investigator can perform all these basic tasks and do not specialize in one specific field. The Public should be aware when hiring a P.I overseas that most countries don't require or have any type of Private Investigator license. I have done many International Investigations in Nicaragua, Dominican Republic, and Costa Rica did you know that in theses countries there are no licensed Private Investigators I wouldn't subcontract a case to a P.I. in another country not only because they are not licensed, but because their work requires supervision. Don't get me wrong I use other Investigators, however I work along with them and supervise their activities it's my reputation on the line.

The government also use Private Investigator Services to determine crimes or wrongdoings done or threatened against the United States.

When having persons followed you should be ready to pay a high rate usually it takes two Private Investigators to follow a subject and this is do to traffic congestion (gridlock) and the subject's driving habits.

Be wary of Private Detectives or Private Investigators in other countries. Most countries do not regulate the industry which  means there is no licensing requirement. They may take your money and you'll probably never hear from them again. Remember you get what you pay for.

Author: Leonardo Espinal

Date: 12/02/2005

NTSB: Investigators recover flight recorders from UPS plane that crashed, killing 2 pilots

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Investigators found flight recorders on Thursday among the wreckage of a UPS jet that crashed at Birmingham's airport, killing two pilots.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Investigators found flight recorders on Thursday among the wreckage of a UPS jet that crashed at Birmingham's airport, killing two pilots.

The voice and flight data recorders could hold key evidence about what happened as the jet was attempting to land in Birmingham early Wednesday. The plane slammed into a hillside just short of the runway.

Workers in white coveralls focused their search Thursday on the tail section of the aircraft where the devices are typically found. In the late morning, one of them emerged from the partially burned section carrying one of the recorders and put it on an all-terrain vehicle. Other debris remains on the ground and hasn't been moved.

The search of the tail area had been delayed because it was still smoldering late Wednesday.

The A300 jet headed from Louisville, Ky., to Birmingham, Ala., landed in a field near the Birmingham-Shuttlesworth Airport around daybreak Wednesday, killing the two pilots on board and scattering wreckage over a wide area. The aircraft rained pieces of metal into front yards and sheared off a piece of one family's back deck.

Residents in a hilly neighborhood near the airport have worried for years about the possibility of a plane crash.

The crash happened in a grassy field where a neighborhood stood until several years ago, when airport officials began buying up and then razing houses to clear the area near the end of the runway.

But such offers, which began in 1986, weren't made on some of the nearby homes, including that of Cornelius and Barbara Benson, who live in a two-story, split-foyer home just a short walk from the crash site.

"Hopefully we can get out of here now," said Cornelius Benson.

The jet clipped trees around the Bensons' yard, leaving broken plastic and twisted metal on the ground, and took a piece of their deck before slamming into a hill.

Other neighbors living near the airfield reported seeing flames coming from the aircraft and hearing its engines struggle in the final moments before impact.

"It was on fire before it hit," said Jerome Sanders, who lives directly across from the runway.

A preliminary investigation indicated the pilots did not make any distress calls, NTSB board member Robert L. Sumwalt said.

UPS spokesman Jeff Wafford said the jet was carrying a variety of cargo. He did not elaborate.

The pilots' names were not immediately released. But a man who identified himself as a family member said one of the pilots was Shanda Fanning, a woman in her mid-30s from Lynchburg, Tenn.

Wes Fanning, who said he was the woman's brother-in-law, said Shanda Fanning had been flying since she was a teenager.

He said officials contacted her mother and that UPS representatives were with the family.

Ryan Wimbleduff, who lives just across the street from the airport property, said the crash shook his house violently. Standing in his driveway, he and his mother could see the burning wreckage.

"I ran outside and it looked like the sun was coming up because of the fire on the hill," he said. "Balls of fire were rolling toward us."

Wimbleduff said it can be unsettling to live so near low-flying, big aircraft.

"We'll sometimes be outside and joke about being able to throw rocks at them, they're so close," he said.

Cornelius Benson, 75, said planes routinely fly so low over his house that a few years ago, the airport authority sent crews to trim treetops.

Sharon Wilson, who also lives near the airport, said she was in bed before dawn when she heard what sounded like engines sputtering as the plane went over her house.

James Giles said the plane missed his home by a couple of hundred yards, judging from tree damage and debris. He was at work at the time but said it was clear from the scene that the plane was attempting to land on the north-south runway that is typically used by much smaller aircraft. Large planes such as the A300 typically aim for the bigger east-west runway, he said.

"They were just trying to get to a landing spot, anywhere," he said.

The plane was built in 2003 and had logged about 11,000 flight hours over 6,800 flights, Airbus said in a news release.

The A300, Airbus' first plane, began flying in 1972. Airbus quit building them in 2007 after making a total of 816 A300 and A310s. The model was retired from U.S. passenger service in 2009.

Wednesday's crash comes nearly three years after another UPS cargo plane crashed in the United Arab Emirates, just outside Dubai. Both pilots were killed.

Authorities there blamed the Sept. 3, 2010, crash on the jet's load of 80,000 to 90,000 lithium batteries, which are sensitive to temperature. Investigators determined that a fire probably began in the cargo containing the batteries.

_Supervisor tries to get witness to change story about homeless gifts Cal Coast News

__

Former sexting cop wants his job back WXIX

News	4 new results for private investigator

Liverpool firm first to get private investigators' standard Post Online A Liverpool-based private investigation firm is the first to achieve accreditation ... “You have to remember that anyone can be a private investigator in the UK. See all stories on this topic »
Long Island Private Investigator Providers, The Protective Group ... PR Web (press release) Private investigator provider, The Protective Group, comments on an article published by Kera News For North Texas, which discusses how private investigators ... See all stories on this topic »
Two of Lamar Odom's alleged mistresses, Jennifer Richardson and ... TheCelebrityCafe.com Lamar Odom's alleged mistress, Jennifer Richardson, is claiming that Odom's wife Khloe Kardashian knew about her and that she had a private investigator ... See all stories on this topic »	TheCelebrityCafe.com
Internet Bounty Hunter Takes Skip Tracing Deadbeat Dads ... Virtual-Strategy Magazine (press release) Rexxfield Cyber Investigation Services are now available to licensed private investigators & attorneys who are trying to locate deadbeat parents that refuse ... See all stories on this topic »   Digital Bounty Hunter Finds Parental Abduction Offenders to Reunite ... DigitalJournal.com Traditional Parental Abduction investigations are provided by Private investigators, often in collaboration with law enforcement agencies in countries that are ... Book review: The Children's Crusade by Elliott Hall Garstang Today But this is no tongue-in-cheek village romp; in the dark and shadowy world of Private Investigator Felix Strange, killing is a serious business – deadly serious. News 6 new results for private investigator NSU to offer private investigator class Beauregard Daily News A 40-hour basic private investigator course will be offered through Northwestern State University's Office of Electronic and Continuing Education Aug. 22-25. See all stories on this topic »   Soca failed to act on 'blue-chip hacking' Financial Times Soca has compiled a list of 102 companies and individuals suspected of having commissioned four private detectives, who were convicted of illegally “blagging” ... See all stories on this topic »   Rexxfield's Digital Skiptracing Tools Now Publicly Available DigitalJournal.com Skiptracing tools are traditionally provided by private investigators. These professionals use tried and proven investigative techniques in attempts to physically ... See all stories on this topic »   At least 100 victims of blue chip hacking, police finally admit Daily Mail At least 100 people were victims of private investigators involved in the ... It seems that for every private investigator in the country, there could be 25 victims. See all stories on this topic » Daily Mail 'Investigator' charged with pointing gun Muncie Star Press However, police say there was no kidnapped girl, and 55-year-old Jeffry J. Gregory's claims that he was a private investigator working for state police and the ... See all stories on this topic »   Book Review: 'March Violets' by Philip Kerr Seattle Post Intelligencer (blog) March Violets by Philip Kerr is the first in a series of noir novels about Bernie Gunther, an ex-policeman who turns private investigator. "March violets" refers to ... The latest edition of the Division of Licensing Newsletter is now available on the Division's website at http://licgweb.doacs.state.fl.us/news/newsletters.html.  This Newsletter features information about the department’s ongoing investigative efforts to crack down on fraudulent training certificates and a summary of the revisions to Chapter 493 made by the 2013 Legislature.   Omaha private investigator denies allegations that she scammed ... The Republic OMAHA, Nebraska — A 67-year-old private investigator in Omaha has denied federal allegations that she scammed a woman out of more than $850,000. See all stories on this topic »   Now Kim Kardashian Supposedly Hires a Private Detective to Stalk ... The Stir She did hire a private investigator to follow Scott Disick around when she thought ... coupled with the private detective rumor -- really just don't seem fair to them. See all stories on this topic » The Stir Omaha private investigator facing federal charges Nebraska Radio Network Omaha Private Investigator Tish Walker is denying federal accusations that she scammed a client out of more than $850,000. Walker says she was hired by the ... See all stories on this topic »   Long Island Insurance Investigator Provider, The Protective Group ... Newsday Private investigator provider, The Protective Group, comments on an article published by The Insurance Journal, which discusses how insurance investigators ... See all stories on this topic »   Omaha private eye denies scam allegations Fremont Tribune A 67-year-old private investigator in Omaha has denied federal allegations that she scammed a woman out of more than $850,000. Patricia Walker-Halstead is ... See all stories on this topic »   Private eye accused of defrauding client of $850000 Scottsbluff Star Herald OMAHA — An Omaha private investigator was indicted Thursday on allegations that she schemed to defraud a client of more than $850,000. See all stories on this topic »   Long Island Private Investigator Provider, The Protective Group ... Watch List News (press release) Private investigator provider, The Protective Group, comments on an article published by The Wall Street Journal, which discusses how private investigators are ... See all stories on this topic »   Private meeting probe almost complete NorthernLife.ca Ontario Ombudsman Andre Marin addresses city council in December, two months before councillors fired him as their private meetings investigator. See all stories on this topic » NorthernLife.ca PID consulted in Hunt-Millner accident Paradise Post A San Francisco private investigator is looking into whether the Paradise Irrigation District can be held at fault for a fatal accident that involved PID board ... See all stories on this topic » Former private investigator testifying at 'Dirty DUI' trial KTVU San Francisco A former Concord private investigator who was a key figure in a Contra Costa County law enforcement scandal was on the stand Monday, testifying in the 'Dirty ... See all stories on this topic »   British private eye held in China Irish Independent A British private investigator and his American wife have been arrested in Shanghai accused of illegally trading in personal information about Chinese citizens, ... See all stories on this topic » Irish Independent Report to be released from investigation into former Freetown ... Wicked Local Selectmen officially agreed to release a 655-page report composed by independent private investigator Kenneth Harrison into alleged unethical business ... See all stories on this topic »   Search to continue for missing Akron teen Taylor Robinson NewsNet5.com AKRON, Ohio - Private investigators, volunteers and a cadaver dog plan to search a wooded area in Akron for 19-year-old Taylor Robinson who has been ... See all stories on this topic » NewsNet5.com Energy Company Wants to Know who Talked Courthouse News Service DALLAS (CN) - A Texas energy company wants to depose a private investigator to find out who hired her to drum up info about its CEO's criminal history. See all stories on this topic » News 7 new results for private investigator Private detective costs Orwigsburg more than $1300; no official ... Republican & Herald ORWIGSBURG - A private detective from Orwigsburg was hired at a cost of $1,368 to conduct an unspecified investigation earlier this year for borough officials, ... See all stories on this topic »   Private Investigators Dudley Give Information Regarding Private ... Watch List News (press release) According to the BBC News report dated 29 August 2013: Theresa May to demand police improve domestic violence handling, the Home Secretary has been ... See all stories on this topic »   Private prober best for SFGH Trinidad Guardian Health Minister Dr Fuad Khan says it is time for a private investigator to probe the theft of the $.5 million ultrasound machine at the San Fernando General ... See all stories on this topic »   Dirt bikes and a handlebar moustache in the greatest golf advert ever The Score The Ryder Cup star is taking no prisoners in his role as Dick Fowler, Private Investigator. Check out this great video of Fowler getting hacked off with a rude ... See all stories on this topic »   Ark. official: Hiding from gunman 'failed policy' Fox11online.com But on Thursday, Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel said the state's private investigator licensing board didn't have the authority to designate school ... See all stories on this topic »   Jury deliberations suspended in 'Dirty DUI' trial San Jose Mercury News His defense says he never accepted any kind of payment and he has been set up by Christopher Butler, a now-incarcerated private investigator who would set ... See all stories on this topic »   Grapes of wrath New York Daily News Vincent Parco, the private investigator who claims lawman Wyatt Earp as one of his heroes, says the New York State Liquor Authority is too understaffed to ... See all stories on this topic » News 4 new results for private investigator Private Investigator Likely Chosen to Look Into Swallow Allegations KUTV 2News 2News has learned a private investigator has likely been chosen to look into ... Our information is lawmakers made the choice of a private investigator yesterday. See all stories on this topic » KUTV 2News Plantation police employee improperly looked up people's private ... Sun-Sentinel Mims is a private investigator who had been hired by Wayne Cook to watch his wife. The trio had been flagged by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, ... See all stories on this topic »   Accused child killer Gary Waite can spend public money on expert ... Glens Falls Post-Star The defense lawyer for accused child killer Gary Waite has been given permission to spend up to $19,000 on medical experts and a private investigator as the ... See all stories on this topic »   A THANK YOU TO CANADA Sky Valley Chronicle And finally we'd like to thank the private investigators from around the country who have contacted us to discuss the ethical aspects of the work of private ... See all stories on this topic »   Simon Cowell Did Not Hire Illegal Private Investigators, Says Publicist Entertainmentwise A representative for Simon Cowell denies allegations that the star had hired a disgraced private investigator to obtain information illegally. The 'X Factor' boss is ... See all stories on this topic » Entertainmentwise Private investigators probing Oland murder, court hears CBC.ca Private investigators are somehow involved in the Richard Oland murder investigation, a provincial courtroom heard on Friday. Who hired them and why ... See all stories on this topic » CBC.ca Deadline for rogue private investigator client list looms ITV News The head of the Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca) has refused to release a document listing clients of rogue private investigators, despite an ultimatum ... See all stories on this topic »   Missing teens found in Chicago, local investigator talks WZZM Private Investigator, Mike Cook, was working the case of the missing Mt. Pleasant teenagers, Jayden Thomas and Braxton Wood, when he got a call from a ... See all stories on this topic »   The Midnight Promise named best fiction at Ned Kelly Awards The Canberra Times I was interested in setting up the recognisable framework of the isolated and heavy drinking private investigator - whose next case walks through the door, and ... See all stories on this topic » Retired private investigator arrested in Yard hacking probe London24 Retired private investigator arrested in Yard hacking probe ... The Metropolitan Police this morning arrested a retired private investigator as part of a probe into ... See all stories on this topic »   Rubashkin Lawyers And Family Allegedly Contact Trial Jurors ... FailedMessiah.com Private investigators working for former Agriprocessors vice president Sholom Rubashkin have been caught contacting jurors from Rubashkin's 2009 bank fraud ... See all stories on this topic »   Convicted former Agriprocessors manager in hot water for ... The Gazette: Eastern Iowa Breaking News and Headlines Private investigators apparently working on behalf of former Agriprocessors vice president Sholom Rubashkin have been contacting jurors from his bank fraud ... See all stories on this topic »   Appeals court to hear testimony in Woodworth case Albany Times Union (AP) — Ballistics evidence tying a northwest Missouri man to the 1990 shooting of his two neighbors has been compromised by a private investigator and jurors ... See all stories on this topic »

Private investigator

Allan Pinkerton (left), an early American private investigator, with Abraham Lincoln and John Alexander McClernand.

A private investigator (often abbreviated to PI and informally called a private eye), a private detective or inquiry agent, is a person who can be hired by individuals or groups to undertake investigatory law services. Private detectives/investigators often work for attorneys in civil cases. A handful of very skilled private detectives/investigators work with defense attorneys on capital punishment and criminal defense 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 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 behaviour" 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.^[1]

Private investigators can also be used to perform due diligence for an investor who may be considering investing money with an investment group, fund manager or other high-risk business or investment venture. This could serve to help the prospective investor avoid being the victim of a fraud or Ponzi scheme. By hiring a licensed and experienced investigator, they could unearth information that the investment is risky and or that the investor has suspicious red flags in his or her background. This is called investigative due diligence, and is becoming much more prevalent in the 21st century with the public reports of large-scale Ponzi schemes and fraudulent investment vehicles such as Madoff, Stanford, Petters, Rothstein and the hundreds of others reported by the SEC and other law-enforcement agencies.

Requirements

Many jurisdictions require PIs to be licensed, and may or may not carry firearms depending on local laws. Some are former police officers, some are former law enforcement agents, some are former spies and some are former military, some used to work in a private military company, some are former bodyguards and security guards, although many are not. While PIs may investigate criminal matters, most do not have police powers, and as such they have only the powers of citizen's arrest and detainment that any other citizen has. 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. Great care is required to remain within the scope of the law, otherwise the investigator may face criminal charges. Irregular hours may also be required when performing surveillance work.^[1]

Australia

Private Investigators in Australia must be licensed by the licensing authority relevant to the State they are located in. This applies to all States except the Australian Capital Territory. Companies offering investigation services must also hold a business licence as well as all operators holding an individual licence. Generally the licences are administered and regulated by the State Police, however in some states this can also be managed by other government agencies. ^[2]

UK

In 2001, the government passed the licensing of private investigators and private investigation firms in UK and Wales over to SIA (Security Industry Authority act), who acted as the regulatory body from then on. However, due to the cutbacks of this SIA, licensing of private investigators in the UK was halted indefinitely. As of the moment there are no governmental backed authorities in the UK to license private investigators.

Responsibilities

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 counter-measures (TSCM), sometimes called 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, specialise 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. Some PIs act as professional witnesses where they observe situations with a view to reporting the actions or lack of them to a court or to gather evidence in anti-social behavior.^[1]

Undercover investigator

An undercover investigator, undercover detective, or undercover agent is a person who conducts investigations of suspected or confirmed criminal activity while impersonating a disinterested third party. Undercover investigators often infiltrate a suspected insurgent group, posing as a person interested in purchasing illegal goods or services with the ultimate aim of obtaining information about their assigned target.^[3]

Many undercover investigators carry hidden cameras and recorders strapped to their bodies to help them document their investigations. The period of the investigation could last for several months or, in some extreme cases, years. Due to the dangerous nature of the job, their real identities are kept secret throughout their active careers.^[4]

Modern private investigators

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.^[1] However, in 2009 a Toronto Star journalist obtained a private investigator's license in Ontario with no training, and reported that other Ontarians had done the same.^[5]

History

In 1833 Eugène François Vidocq, a French soldier, criminal and privateer, founded the first known private detective agency, "Le Bureau des Renseignements Universels pour le commerce et l'Industrie"^[6] ("The Office of Universal Information For Commerce and Industry") and hired ex-convicts. 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 pretences after he had solved an embezzlement 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.^[1]

After Vidocq, the industry was born. Much of what private investigators did 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 was to assist companies in labour disputes. Some early private investigators provided armed guards to act as a private militia.^[1]

In the United Kingdom, Charles Frederick Field set up an enquiry office upon his retirement from the Metropolitan Police in 1852. Field became a friend of Charles Dickens and the latter wrote articles about him. In 1862 one of his employees, the Hungarian Ignatius Paul Pollaky, left him and set up a rival agency. Although little remembered today, Pollaky's fame at the time was such that he was mentioned in various books of the 1870s and immortalized as "Paddington" Pollaky for his "keen penetration" in the 1881 comic opera, Patience.

In the United States, the Pinkerton National Detective Agency was a private 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 undercover investigations and detection of crimes to plant protection and armed security. It is sometimes claimed, probably with exaggeration, that at the height of its existence the Pinkerton National Detective Agency employed more agents than the United States Army.^[1] Allan Pinkerton hired Kate Warne in 1856 as a private detective, making her the first female private detective in America.^[7]

During the union unrest in the US in the late 19th century, companies sometimes hired operatives and armed guards from the Pinkertons. In the aftermath of the Homestead Riot, several states passed so-called "anti-Pinkerton" laws restricting the importation of private security guards during union strikes. The federal Anti-Pinkerton Act of 1893 continues to prohibit an "individual employed by the Pinkerton Detective Agency, or similar organization" from being employed by "the Government of the United States or the government of the District of Columbia."^[1][8]

Pinkerton agents were also hired to track western outlaws Jesse James, the Reno brothers, and the Wild Bunch, including Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. The Pinkerton agency's logo, an eye embellished with the words "We Never Sleep," inspired the term "private eye."^[9]

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 1920s and the expanding of the middle class came the need of middle America for private investigators.

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 defence investigations and the invention of low-cost listening devices.

Most jurisdictions require a clean criminal record at the licensing application entry point. When a board of directors exists, it will review an applicant's appeal to determine whether the board can approve the application based on the elapsed amount of time since the last offence was recorded. The board of appeal may approve an application based on good conduct within the last five to ten years.

Fiction

The PI genre in fiction dates to Edgar Allan Poe, who created the character C. Auguste Dupin in the 1840s. Dupin, an amateur crime-solver residing in Paris appeared in three Poe stories.

Notable private investigators

• AnnaMaria Cardinalli
  
• Charles Frederick Field
  
• Joe Gores
  
• Leonard Padilla
  
• Dashiell Hammett
  
• Vincent Parco
  
• Anthony Pellicano
  
• Daniel Ribacoff
  
• Jorge Salgado-Reyes
  

See also

• Mystery film
  
• Bounty hunter
  
• Private police
  

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Private investigators

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h} "Private Detectives and Investigators". United States Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2010-2011 Edition. 2010.
2. ^ http://www.onlineinvestigations.com.au/how-to-choose-a-private-investigator-in-australia/
3. ^ http://www.wisegeekedu.com/what-does-an-undercover-detective-do.htm
4. ^ http://www.nyc.gov/html/om/pdf/2009/pr442-09_report.pdf
5. ^ Popplewell, Brett (2009-09-18). "$80 and I'm a security guard". The Star (Toronto). Retrieved 2010-05-22.
6. ^ Historique des détectives et enquêteurs privés et grandes dates de la profession – "Le Bureau des Renseignements Universels pour le commerce et l'Industrie”
7. ^ "Kate Warne America's First female Private-Eye". Pimall.com. Retrieved 2013-02-14.
8. ^ 5 U.S. Code 3108; Public Law 89-554, 80 Stat. 416 (1966); ch. 208 (5th par. under "Public Buildings"), 27 Stat. 591 (1893). The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, in U.S. ex rel. Weinberger v. Equifax, 557 F.2d 456 (5th Cir. 1977), cert. denied, 434 U.S. 1035 (1978), held that "The purpose of the Act and the legislative history reveal that an organization was 'similar' to the Pinkerton Detective Agency only if it offered for hire mercenary, quasi-military forces as strikebreakers and armed guards. It had the secondary effect of deterring any other organization from providing such services lest it be branded a 'similar organization.'" 557 F.2d at 462; see also "GAO Decision B-298370; B-298490, Brian X. Scott (Aug. 18, 2006).".
9. ^ "Pinkertons". Tom-horn.com. Retrieved 2013-02-14.

Article date
Click to enter the date and a brief description of this news article or press release. You may want to include an excerpt from the article or a sentence or two about the publication in which the story appeared. To link the article title to another web site or document, select the title and click the "Link" button in your editing toolbar.

Article date
Click to enter the date and a brief description of this news article or press release. You may want to include an excerpt from the article or a sentence or two about the publication in which the story appeared. To link the article title to another web site or document, select the title and click the "Link" button in your editing toolbar.

Japanese private investigator speaks of 'bullying' acts in school ... The Japan Daily Press A Japanese private investigator who specializes in helping parents whose children have been bullied in school has spoken up and revealed the kind of cases ... See all stories on this topic »	The Japan Daily Press
Man jailed for stabbing wife after she hired private investigator to ... Herald Sun A MAN who stabbed his wife to death in a moment of madness after she hired a private investigator to track his movements has been jailed for 20 years. See all stories on this topic »
Wausau school board to take bids on private investigation into ... WSAU WAUSAU, Wis. (WSAU) - Wausau school board members are moving forward with an investigation into the controversy surrounding holiday music in the district. See all stories on this topic »
Alisal school board meets Wednesday The Salinas Californian According to DeMarr's website, since 1988 he has been providing “professional, licensed private investigation and private detective services, to businesses and ... See all stories on this topic »
ABC Picks Up Untitled Phillip Marlowe Series From 'Castle' Creator Screen Rant Back in the 1940′s, Raymond Chandler's book series about a private investigator named Phillip Marlowe was adapted into successful films starring actors such ... See all stories on this topic »
Experian Sold Data To Vietnamese ID Theft Ring InformationWeek Fake private investigation firm tricked data broker into divulging numerous Americans' ... Vietnamese criminals posing as a U.S.-based private investigator ...  See all stories on this topic »

Phone hacking trial: Private investigator Glenn Mulcaire admits he ...Mirror.co.uk A private detective working for the now defunct News of The World has admitted hacking phones on its behalf including that of murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler, ... See all stories on this topic »	Telegraph.co.uk
Private detective and paper's staff 'targeted royals, and celebrities'The Times (subscription) Royalty, politicians, celebrities: all were allegedly victims of phone hacking carried out by a private investigator employed by the newspaper or by its own ... See all stories on this topic »	The Times (subscription)
Private eye sues Mingo officials over arrestCharleston Gazette A private investigator who ran for sheriff in Mingo County last year sued several county officials and agencies on Wednesday, claiming county officials cooked up ... See all stories on this topic »
Mulcaire pleads guilty to hacking Milly Dowler's phoneYour Local Guardian Private investigator Glenn Mulcaire has pleaded guilty to hacking the phone of ... Reporting restrictions meant the 43-year-old private investigator and former ... See all stories on this topic »	Your Local Guardian
Three News of the World journalists plead guilty to phone hacking ...New York Daily News Private investigator Glenn Mulcaire, who had already been convicted of similar ... RELATED: UK DETECTIVE FOUND GUILTY IN PHONE HACKING SCANDAL. See all stories on this topic »	New York Daily News
Universal taps 'True Detective' creator Nic Pizzolatto to write ...TheCelebrityCafe.com The movie will be based off the James Garner series from the mid-70s, which was about a private investigator that is hired to solve cold cases while living in a ... See all stories on this topic »