Thanks
to Hollywood blockbusters and binge-worthy TV shows, there are tons of
myths about private investigators imbedded into our culture. Flashy
cars, law breaking, computer hacking -- we’d hate to break it to you,
but that’s not how it works on the job.
We know that private investigators are usually hired when something
is, for lack of a better term, wrong. But It's important to have
realistic expectations when you hire one.
Yes, private investigators can help you in situations where there are
no other solutions, but they simply aren't magic workers, and they can't
break the law.
In this post, we'll cover some common misconceptions about what private investigators can and can't do.
1. Can Private Investigators Break The Law? No.
Well, no. “We’re regular people, with regular powers,” says Brian Willingham, the president of private investigation agency
Diligentia Group.
“We have expertise in gaining information, but we certainly don’t have
special powers that say we don’t have to abide by the law.” Sure,
private investigators can crack a case that a normal civilian can’t. But
that doesn’t mean they have superhuman powers. In fact, they're just
ordinary people.
What makes private investigators different from your average person, however, are their experience, tools, and resources.
Usually, this comes from years of working on the police force, military
experience, training as an apprentice, or earning a state official
private investigator license.
Not every state requires a license, but Trustify
Sales Manager Sam Rosenberg says it helps them avoid harassment or
stalking charges while sitting on a house or following a person of
interest. After all, they aren’t cops and must follow the law like every
other citizen. As such, there’s a lot of red tape private investigators
can encounter.
2. Can Private Investigators Hack into Computers or Phones? No.
While private investigators have the know-how to obtain public records for personal and corporate investigations,
phones and computers are subject to the law - and to technical
limitations (you might remember the FBI strugging to break into a iPhone
last year).
When it comes to investigating phones, email accounts, bank accounts, and social media profiles the
only way to access them legally is with the owner's express permission.
Sometimes, this causes issues as people tend to think these are the
only ways of getting the information they are looking for.
For instance, what if a husband wants to see if his wife is cheating
on him? Surely he can just check the phone records to see if she’s
calling someone else.
"If he’s paying her phone bill, then technically it’s his account.
But even in that situation, he would have to get a subpoena to see that.
Without the subpoena, he could see the outgoing and incoming phone
numbers, but he needs the subpoena to see the content" says Mike, one of
Trustify's Investigation Experts..
Even snooping through your partner’s phone has its limitations. It might be legal in some circumstances,
but it may not be admissible in court. If you want evidence of your
partner’s affair, you’ll have to get undeniable proof without breaking
the law. That's where surveillance comes in...
3. Can Private Investigators Follow Someone for You? Yes!
Surveillance is often the best way to get the evidence you're looking
for without getting into legal difficulty. “If you think your husband
is cheating on you, we can’t get the text message, but we can put
surveillance on him and follow him to see if he is cheating" says Mike.
How does surveillances work? Usually private investigators “sit on
the house, to see who’s in the house, who’s going to the house, figure
out who’s there, and follow the person from the house to a different
location.”
But stake outs only go so far. They can only be conducted on public
property. Sam points out if they get caught on private property, and
someone asks them to leave, then they must leave.
And if their target leaves? Well...“
Mobile surveillance is where we follow a person,” Mike explains. “That’s more exciting, [since] you have no idea where they’re going to go or how they’re going to get there.”
That sense of unpredictability, though thrilling, can make the
surveillance complicated. Private investigators must follow a target
through crowds, onto subway trains, and if it gets chaotic, the private
investigators might even lose them.
But with all their years of experience, private investigators are
professionals who “think on their feet and adapt to circumstances very
easily,” Mike says. They make it look easy, even when it’s not.
Modern methods also make surveillance cheaper, and less about hanging
around in cars than it used to be. Modern investigators can set up
remote cameras, or even track vehicles using a national database.
4. Can Investigators Be Action Heros? No.
Okay, that one might be obvious, but on screen private investigators
are heralded as heroes with sports cars and fancy technology who will do
anything — even break the law — to solve the case.
Brian Willingham, the president of private investigation agency Diligentia Group, assures us a day on the job is not like a Magnum P.I. episode. He doesn’t drive a Ferrari, he doesn’t live on the edge, and he never breaks the law.
But while Hollywood puts a glossy shine on PI life, they also make solving a case seem lightning fast. It doesn’t work that way.
Private investigators spend long hours on the job tracking persons of interest to crack the case.
“Don’t believe what you see on TV,” Trustify
Private Investigator Network Manager Mike Hunter advises. “We’re very
good, but we’re not going to find the radical extremists in 60 minutes
with commercial breaks.”
Instead, for cases involving surveillance or deep research, expect at
least a few days or more to have your answers from your private
investigator.
5. Can Private Investigators Find Most Information Online? Sort of.
It's not as exciting as following a potential cheater through a city,
but researching is a highly useful skill that private investigators
have for all sorts of cases, from skip-tracing (where they will locate someone) to asset searches.
Because investigators have access to resources and databases that an
average civilian doesn't, not to mention the experience and know-how,
they can often find out things that others can't.
Looking into the background of a potential nanny, finding adoption
records, or locating an ex-spouse to serve them alimony papers can often
all be accomplished without an investigator ever leaving their
computer.
Knowing this, you shouldn't put private investigators in a box. If
you've spent hours searching for something and you keep hitting dead end
after dead end, it may be time to employ a private investigator to look
into the matter.
Private investigators routinely use human
intelligence, interviews, and even paper records to get things done.
Source : https://www.trustify.info/blog/5-things-private-investigators-can-and-cant-do
