Private investigators can serve multitudes of purposes in both the private and corporate realm. Private investigator services are typically diverse and can bring clarity in the murkiest of circumstances. Whether it’s hiring a private investigator to track a missing loved one or to investigate a pervasive pattern of workplace theft, the name of the game is quality. When you’re ready to hire a private investigator, it’s important that you select the correct professional for the job. Here are some questions you can ask a private investigator about their firm and their body of experience when exercising due-diligence in the hiring process.
How long have they been in private investigations? What is their specialty?
While it’s true that many private investigator services can be very similar across all firm types—such as background checks, surveillance services, and location services, also known as “skip traces”—it’s also true that many private investigators choose to specialize in one or two areas of intelligence-gathering operations. For example, many law enforcement officials and investigators use their retirement years getting a private investigator’s license and continuing to serve the people in their communities by picking up missing person cases or helping families find clarity in the complex personal and domestic situations of their every day lives. Other private investigator services skew more towards the corporate side of the United States, such as internal corporate investigations, background check services, and serving as multi-tools for law firms. The nature of intelligence operations is knowing how to spot patterns, anticipate and assess cause and effect, and comprehensively pursue any and all leads that might arise. The more years private investigators have on the job, the stronger their investigative tool chest will be.
What is their level of transparency and communication?
Private investigators should always be straightforward with their clients. It demonstrates a level of integrity and transparency that is crucial in a quality investigator. Private investigators should be willing to meet with prospective clients in person. Quality investigators go the extra mile to establish professional relationships based on trust and transparency. Every investigation type is different, and the unexpected left turns of any case can be difficult to anticipate at times, but regardless, private investigator services should have a price range with the caveat that they may be subject to change. The best private investigator services will come with a cursory phone call and a free consultation from the investigator to determine the client’s level of need and to do their best to estimate what their retainer will be.
Do they have a verbal agreement or a written contract?
In tangent with transparency and communication, the terms of agreement regarding private investigator services should be clear, explicit, and in writing. Private investigators who do not clearly define their services, term of service, or outline terms of payment on paper should be a big red flag. Desperate clients sometimes get bilked for thousands because of dishonest professionals who intentionally keep them in the dark. A comprehensive, quality investigation is always initiated with clear terms in place, in writing, and signed by both the private investigator and the client.
Can you verify their private investigator number?
Private investigators are licensed state to state. Regardless of where the private investigator is located, they must be licensed in the state where the investigation is to take place in order to have investigative power and access to proper resources. Private investigators should provide their license number when asked so the client can run the number when their state’s database of privately licensed contractors.
In private intelligence, due-diligence is key, and that means as a prospective client, you have a right to know that you are getting what you paid for. That’s why you have to ask the right questions when vetting private investigator services for your needs. When it comes to your corporate or personal life, you deserve facts, not fiction.
Private investigators may have found a new niche in field operations. Civil unrest from both sides of the political aisle has inspired a great deal of public protests. Violence that broke out during protests across the country, including the recent siege on the nation’s Capitol building on January 6, 2021. Employers across the United States are becoming more concerned that their employees might be connected to radical groups, and could therefore pose a risk to their companies. That’s where a private investigator comes in. Employers everywhere are hiring private investigators to confirm whether or not their employees will pose either a security threat or a public relations threat to their company.
It’s impossible to have escaped coverage of protests across the nation in 2020. Protests about racial injustice and interference in the democratic process have already set everyone on edge. As tensions continue to rise it’s becoming more difficult to separate personal politics from the workplace. With the ubiquity of social media, people’s political rhetoric is on display for all to see. As the phrase goes, where there’s smoke, there’s fire. When employers see alarming posts on their employees’ Facebook pages, depending on the post, there might be reason to believe they could be involved in riskier activities that would pose an embarrassment, or compromise the corporation. Luckily, private investigators have the tools and experience necessary to provide crucial context in murky situations.
Through their licensure by the state, private investigators have access to secure, verified databases that allow them to view an employee’s extended background. This includes their detailed criminal history. If an employer feels there is a risk to the company, an employee’s detailed criminal history can shed some light on what they might be capable of. Private investigators can bring crucial context that might prevent liability to the company, or even threat of bodily harm to the rest of the workforce, like an active shooter event.
Private investigators can run surveillance on employees and determine if they are involved in extra-curricular activities that pose a risk to the organization. They can document their movements and determine if they are associating with radical or militarized groups. With their diverse experience, private investigators are good with risk assessment, and can determine whether or not these extracurriculars are a threat to the company.
Terminating an employee who has been deemed to be a risk can be a tricky business, particularly if they’ve not violated their terms of employment. Many companies have some form of morals clause that they are free to enforce at their discretion, but it doesn’t mean a wrongful termination lawsuit isn’t in the future. Should the company be threatened with a lawsuit, a private investigator is one of the best multi-tools to have at your disposal. A comprehensive report from a private investigator detailing the employee’s actions will be necessary evidence. A private investigator is also an independent contractor with no ties to either the organization or the employee, and their evidence will be scrutinized less in court. If necessary, they can also serve as expert witnesses during any legal proceedings that take place.
A private investigator can determine if your employee is a risk to your company and help you mitigate any losses that might occur. When the situation is murky, you’ll depend on that crucial context to prevent further losses and make informed decisions.
Private investigations can be a great way to find answers when law enforcement or other investigating bodies cannot provide answers. Both corporations and private citizens turn to private investigators to get to the unseen details in their cases and provide clarification in crucial matters. Given the ubiquity of information technology the lines between private investigations and personal investigations can blur very quickly, and it’s important to know when the line has been crossed in getting to the truth.
Private investigations require a great deal of informational tools in order to generate leads and find answers. With the growing sophistication of the internet, access to public records, and thousands of television shows about investigative procedures, it’s easy to see how a layman could view private investigations within their capability. The internet has already connected millions of people who call themselves “armchair detectives.” Armchair detectives are private individuals with an affinity for mystery and intrigue who use their free time examining the evidence of existing cases and attempt to find answers by collaborating and comparing notes online. Researching and discussing cases online is a great way to pass the time and keep the mind occupied, but when the investigation moves offline and into real life, that is where things can get dangerous.
When there is no justice through the proper channels, it’s not unheard of for private citizens to take up the mantle of finding answers. Parents of missing children often pick up where law enforcement left off when they have exhausted all existing leads in their child’s case. The story of Miriam Rodriguez, the woman who tracked down every one of her daughter’s killers one by one and handed them over to the authorities. Despite her success in this mission, her story ended tragically when she was shot in her front yard by members of the cartel who had kidnapped and killed her daughter as another act of revenge. The dangers posed by private investigations is why you should always seek the help of a professional, licensed private investigator. They can provide the same methodology as law enforcement, with similar tools and more freedom.
Many police officers and law enforcement officials turn to private investigations when they retire from their department. Law enforcement officials by nature are typically doers, and sometimes have difficulty enjoying the great deal of down time in retirement. As a result, many make the decision to get their private investigator’s license so they can continue using their skills to serve the community. However, some former law enforcement officers never take this crucial step, but still avail themselves of private investigations in retirement. Not on the internet mind you, but in real life.
One example in which such private investigations went to far is the case of former Houston Police captain, Mark Aguirre. Like many, Aguirre had been plagued by baseless claims of voter fraud in the 2020 election, convinced that fraudulent voting had taken place that would benefit the Democratic party in the outcome. Despite the fact that these claims have been refuted by a series of judges in multiple states and the amount of illegal votes cast by imposters or deceased persons was under 50—which amounts to a statistical anomaly. However, Aguirre remained convinced.
This undated photo provided by the Houston Police Department shows Mark Aguirre. Aguirre is an ex-Houston police officer who was arrested on Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2020, for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon for an incident on Oct. 19 in which he pulled over an air conditioning repairman and held him at gunpoint believing the man had 750,000 fraudulent mail-in ballots in the back of his truck. Police say there were no ballots in the truck, only air conditioning parts and tools. (Houston Police Department via AP)
With many states allowing their citizens to vote earlier than normal in the election due to the pandemic, hundreds of thousands of votes were already theoretically en route to be counted through the mail. Aguirre and a few of his friends and associates had set up what he referred to as a “command post” at a hotel in Houston. They had been running surveillance on individuals who they believed to be transporting illegal votes, one of whom was an air conditioning repair man. On October 19, about two weeks before Election Day, Aguirre placed a call to Lt. Wayne Rubio in the Texas Attorney General’s Office and asked him to conduct a traffic stop for the repairman’s truck. When Rubio refused, Aguirre responded that he would take care of the traffic stop himself and “make a citizen’s arrest.” In an interview with police, Aguirre said that he ran the man’s truck off the road, got out of the vehicle, brandished a firearm and forced the repairman to the ground with a knee on his back. Fortunately, no one was hurt in this confrontation, and when law enforcement responded, a search of the truck yielded no evidence of transporting illegal ballots. The truck only contained equipment and parts relevant to the driver’s business. Aguirre was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. If he is convicted, he could face up to 20 years in prison.
While no one was hurt in this incident, it is a perfect reason why taking private investigations into your own hands can be dangerous and ill-advised. If private citizens feel there is a problem that is not being properly investigated, it is recommended they seek the expertise of a licensed private investigator to find answers. They are professionals with the tools and access to get to the bottom of murky situations. Despite their toolchest of experience in law enforcement, former police officers do not have the same resources in retirement as they did on the force. While their expertise could assist in a private investigator’s case, it’s best to leave it to the professionals.
Since 2018, the number of working private investigators in the United States has been expected to rise exponentially in the coming years. The continued development of the internet, ubiquity of information technology, and the budding applications in both the professional and private sector are all factors that have directly influenced this rise. The private investigation industry has seen a lot of professional transplants, in which individuals who previously worked in a similar or completely different industry have begun the process of getting their private investigator license and opening their own private investigation firms.
Two professional areas that are seeing a lot of transplants are journalism and law enforcement. In their pursuit of the truth behind a good story, journalists are realizing that they can apply private investigator methodology to their journalistic pursuits, and vice versa in applying journalistic integrity to private investigations. In the same process of application, law enforcement officers are finding a third act in their professional lives by transitioning from law enforcement to private investigations.
Private investigator methodology is often compared to that of law enforcement. This is because fact-finding and following leads typically demand the same approach. This makes former law enforcement officials often ideal individuals to become private investigators. Police officers and detectives in particular are natural doers—professionals who thrive on action and progress. As such, many law enforcement officials find retirement disagreeable, and seek to apply their professional knowledge to private investigations.
Police turned private investigators can continue their careers of service to the community. While police turned private investigators can also apply their due-diligence and methodology to corporate investigations, their expertise is best put to use helping families get justice. Former police officers know the system, and in many cases, they remain living in the communities where they served during their retirement—so not only do they know the system, but also THE system in local law enforcement that might have failed to get justice. The reasons why criminal investigations fall apart are not exhaustive. Sometimes local police departments do not have the resources at their disposal to carry out a comprehensive investigation. They might lack the manpower to properly exhaust every lead. As a result, evidence disappears, witnesses disappear or cannot remember details accurately, and the trail towards the truth goes cold.
Police officers and other investigating bodies often run into bureaucratic or jurisdictional issues that prevent them from moving forward with a case. And the lack of communication between departments in different jurisdictions allows suspects and subjects to move between jurisdictions. The result is the same—the trail goes cold. Private investigators are not members of law enforcement. They are not bound by jurisdiction. They are only bound by their limits of licensure. As long as a private investigator is licensed in the state in question, they can follow tips and subjects wherever they lead. Private investigators don’t need substantial evidence to follow someone, nor have to clear their next step with a bureaucratic ladder of command. Private investigators can strike when the iron is hot, and increase the chances that answers will be found.
Police officers’ knowledge of the system allows them to collect evidence and witness accounts with great detail and discipline. They know exactly what law enforcement would be looking for and how thorough to be. They can take special professional care that no evidence is mishandled for later use in a criminal trial, and preserve the integrity of witness testimony by serving as an expert in the courtroom. Testimony of a former police officer always adds another veneer of integrity to the case.
2020 is already going down in the history books as one of the strangest and most devastating on record. On New Year’s Eve, as most of the world looks forward to bidding this awful year goodbye, many are waking up to bizarre news of Casey Anthony having filed paperwork to open a private investigation firm in Florida. Under Anthony’s name, the company will be called Case Research & Consulting Services LLC. Florida private investigators and Floridians alike are stunned by the news, reaping the tragic irony of a woman with Anthony’s backstory working in search of truth. The idea of “private investigator Casey Anthony” is garnering mixed reactions, from the mystified to the enraged.
It’s hard to find a person in the United States who is not aware of Casey Anthony. The entire nation was outraged when she was acquitted by a Florida court in the 2008 death of her two year-old daughter, Caylee. The case received a figurative flood of media coverage, with the public obsessing over the story. When the family realized the daughter was missing, Anthony led Florida investigators on a wild goose chase involving a story about a nanny who refused to return the child to her family. Despite a strong case against her, a Florida jury acquitted her in 2011. Following her acquittal, Anthony disappeared from public life. She started a photography studio that closed in 2018. She told the media around that time that she had recently begun working for Patrick McKenna, the lead investigator on her defense team who was also on the defense team for O.J. Simpson. She had begun doing some online investigation work, such as social media investigations for McKenna’s firm. An address associated with McKenna is listed as Case Research and Consulting Services’ business address.
This move has arched eyebrows throughout the nation, as many cannot forget the alleged lurid details of how Anthony’s defense team operated during the trial. Private intelligence and private investigations are operations that demand a high level of integrity on behalf of the investigator—a quality that no one would immediately associate with Anthony. When she was released from prison on lesser charges associated with the case, there was a steady stream of bizarre details about the defense that continued to mystify followers of the case. Following her acquittal, another private investigator on her defense team, Dominic Casey, said in an affidavit that on more than one occasion, he observed non-ethical behavior between Anthony and her attorney, Jose Baez. He visited Baez’s offices outside of business hours and was shocked to find Anthony there so late, and observed her running naked through the hallways of the offices. He told the media that she was sleeping with Baez in order to cover her attorney’s fees. Dominic Casey also reported that after he was hired, Baez told him that Casey had told him that she had in fact murdered Caylee, and Baez instructed Dominic Casey to find the body before someone else does, according to the affidavit. These are the allegations of one Florida private investigator against a celebrity defense attorney, but like the photography studio, it’s possible that this is another endeavor for Casey Anthony that will eventually fizzle out.
