Private Investigator

California Business & Professions Code:

7521.  A private investigator within the meaning of this chapter is a person, other than an insurance adjuster subject to the provisions of Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 14000) of Division 5 of the Insurance Code, who, for any consideration whatsoever engages in business or accepts employment to furnish or agrees to furnish any
person to protect persons pursuant to Section 7521.5, or engages in business or accepts employment to furnish, or agrees to make, or makes, any investigation for the purpose of obtaining, information with reference to:

   (a) Crime or wrongs done or threatened against the United States of America or any state or territory of the United States of America.

   (b) The identity, habits, conduct, business, occupation, honesty, integrity, credibility, knowledge, trustworthiness, efficiency, loyalty, activity, movement, whereabouts, affiliations, associations, transactions, acts, reputation, or character of any person.
   (c) The location, disposition, or recovery of lost or stolen property.
   (d) The cause or responsibility for fires, libels, losses,accidents, or damage or injury to persons or to property.
   (e) Securing evidence to be used before any court, board, officer, or investigating committee.
  

For the purposes of this section, a private investigator is any person, firm, company, association, partnership, or corporation acting for the purpose of investigating, obtaining, and reporting to any employer, its agent, supervisor, or manager, information
concerning the employer's employees involving questions of integrity, honesty, breach of rules, or other standards of performance of job duties.




Training, Other Qualifications, and Advancement

Basically, anyone with the proper training can become a private investigator. 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 often become private detectives or investigators as a second career because they are frequently able to retire after 20 years of service. 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 or bachelor of criminal justice or police science degrees.

The majority of the States and the District of Colombia require private detectives and investigators to be licensed. Licensing requirements vary widely, but convicted felons cannot receive a license in most States and a growing number of States are enacting mandatory training programs for private detectives and investigators. Some States have few requirements, and 6 States-Alabama, Alaska, Colorado, Idaho, Mississippi, and South Dakota-have no statewide licensing requirements while others have stringent regulations. 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 an evaluation by the Federal Department of Justice and a criminal history background check; and receive a qualifying score on a 2-hour written examination covering laws and regulations. There are additional requirements for a firearms permit.

For private detective and investigator 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 a jury will believe.

Training in subjects such as criminal justice is 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 master's degrees in business administration or law, while others are certified public accountants. 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 prospective employees typically includes a background check of candidates' 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 designation Certified Legal Investigator 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.

Employment

Private detectives and investigators held about 24,000 wage and salary jobs in 2000. Approximately a third of salaried private detectives and investigators worked for detective agencies, while another third were employed as store detectives in department or clothing and accessories stores. The remainder worked for hotels and other lodging places, legal services firms, and in other industries.

Keen competition is expected because private detective and investigator careers attract many qualified people, including relatively young retirees from law enforcement and military careers. Opportunities will be best for entry-level jobs with detective agencies or as store detectives on a part-time basis. Those seeking store detective jobs have the best prospects with large chains and discount stores. Keen competition is expected because private detective and investigator careers attract many qualified people, including relatively young retirees from law enforcement and military careers. Opportunities will be best for entry-level jobs with detective agencies or as store detectives on a part-time basis. Those seeking store detective jobs have the best prospects with large chains and discount stores.

Employment of private detectives and investigators is expected to grow by 21 to 35% (according to the US Dept. of Labor, Bureau of Statistics) through 2010 and this is faster than the average for all occupations. In addition to growth, replacement of those who retire or leave the occupation for other reasons should create many additional job openings. Increased demand for private detectives and investigators will result from fear of crime, increased litigation, and the need to protect confidential information and property of all kinds. More private investigators also will be needed to assist attorneys working on criminal defense and civil litigation. Growing financial activity worldwide will increase the demand for investigators to control internal and external financial losses, and to monitor competitors and prevent industrial spying.

What do Private Investigators do?

There are many different fields where private investigators perform their duties and usually Private Investigators will have a general practice (meaning they cover many different types of work) or they will specialize in a certain area (meaning they concentrate their efforts in specific types of cases). Most private investigators will start out by specializing and then spread into other areas as they gain experience.

Depending on experience and specialization, some Private Investigators work for themselves, private investigation agencies, or private companies such as insurance agencies, collection agencies, hotel chains, law firms, etc.

Areas of Private Investigation include:

Law Firm Support

Law firms typically require the use of private investigators for a great many things like: 1. Process service (delivering legal papers) 2. Accidents investigated and reports written 3. Criminal investigations for criminal defense cases 4. Assets located 5. Divorce and other domestic investigations 6. Talking to witnesses and getting statements 7. Finding other information and facts to support their cases 8. Witnesses located and subpoenas served on them (delivering subpoenas to show up at court, etc.)

Domestic

Domestic cases includes things like doing surveillance of a spouse who may be cheating, or family members suspected of stealing money from their parents. It may also include finding out if a child is using drugs or hanging out with the wrong crowd. Almost anything about the doings and habits of family members may need to be investigated.

Bail Bond Enforcement

When someone uses a bail bond agency to get bailed out of jail, the bail bond agency puts up a "bail bond" with the Court. What this basically means is that the bail bond agency is guaranteeing the next court appearance of the person bailed out.

If the person bailed out does not show up for their next court date the bail bond agency is required to pay the full bail amount to the Court. Obviously this can be costly and therefore bail bond agencies often employ the services of a Private Investigator to help them track down a bail jumper who hasn't showed up to Court because once the person is arrested and brought back to Court, the bail bond agency is relieved of having to pay the bail amount.

Many times Private Investigators are used not only to find these bail jumpers but also to arrest them and return them to jail.



Background Checks

Many companies require background investigations of people they are looking to hire. What this means is that they want to make sure they are not hiring someone with a bad history of embezzlement or an axe murderer or something else showing bad habits.

The hiring process is costly for businesses and they are willing to spend some money up front on a prospective employee before hiring them and then finding out all of the bad things they have done in the past.

Missing Persons

A lot of people will hire P.I.s to find someone. This may be an old friend or lost family member. Sometimes missing people must be found for probate cases where they are willed something and can't be found to give it to them.

Insurance Fraud

Insurance companies battle fraud every day. The financial losses due to fraud are huge in this country and it costs the insurance companies lots of money when someone gets insurance settlements when they're not entitled to them.

Insurance fraud comes in many different forms from worker's compensation (where someone says they were hurt on the job and is found not to have been hurt) to staged auto accidents (where people get together and cause an accident on purpose to collect the insurance money) among many, many others.

Executive Protection

Most top celebrities and executives employ private investigators for their personal protection, basically as a bodyguard. This often times requires more than one investigator to be involved and serious planning of the executive's daily schedule. On rare occasions private investigators performing these duties may be required to carry a gun and have good physical characteristics to fend off attacks on the person they are protecting.

Nature of the Work

Private detectives and investigators use many means to determine the facts in a variety of matters. To carry out investigations, they may use various types of surveillance or searches. To verify facts, such as an individual's place of employment or income, they may make phone calls or visit a subject's workplace. In other cases, especially those involving missing persons and background checks, investigators often interview people to gather as much information as possible about an individual. In all cases, private detectives and investigators assist attorneys, businesses, and the public with a variety of legal, financial, and personal problems.

Private detectives and investigators offer many services, including executive, corporate, and celebrity protection; pre-employment verification; and individual background profiles. They also provide assistance in civil liability and personal injury cases, insurance claims and fraud, child custody and protection cases, and premarital screening. Increasingly, they are hired to investigate individuals to prove or disprove infidelity.

Most detectives and investigators are trained to perform physical surveillance, often for long periods, in a car or van. They may observe a site, such as the home of a subject, from an inconspicuous location. The surveillance continues using still and video cameras, binoculars, and a cell phone, until the desired evidence is obtained. They also may perform computer database searches, or work with someone who does. Computers allow detectives and investigators to quickly obtain massive amounts of information on individuals' prior arrests, convictions, and civil legal judgments; telephone numbers; motor vehicle registrations; association and club memberships; and other matters.

The duties of private detectives and investigators depend on the needs of their client. In cases for employers involving workers' fraudulent compensation claims, for example, investigators may carry out long-term covert observation of subjects. If an investigator observes a subject performing an activity that contradicts injuries stated in a workers' compensation claim, the investigator would take video or still photographs to document the activity and report it to the client.

Private detectives and investigators often specialize. Those who focus on intellectual property theft, for example, investigate and document acts of piracy, help clients stop the illegal activity, and provide intelligence for prosecution and civil action. Other investigators specialize in developing financial profiles and asset searches. Their reports reflect information gathered through interviews, investigation and surveillance, and research, including review of public documents.

Legal investigators specialize in cases involving the courts and are normally employed by law firms or lawyers. They frequently assist in preparing criminal defenses, locating witnesses, serving legal documents, interviewing police and prospective witnesses, and gathering and reviewing evidence. Legal investigators also may collect information on the parties to the litigation, take photographs, testify in court, and assemble evidence and reports for trials.

Corporate investigators conduct internal and external investigations for corporations other than investigative firms. In internal investigations, they may investigate drug use in the workplace, ensure that expense accounts are not abused, or determine if employees are stealing merchandise or information. External investigations typically prevent criminal schemes originating outside the corporation, such as theft of company assets through fraudulent billing of products by suppliers.

Financial investigators may be hired to develop confidential financial profiles of individuals or companies who are prospective parties to large financial transactions. They often are Certified Public Accountants (CPAs) and work closely with investment bankers and accountants. They search for assets in order to recover damages awarded by a court in fraud or theft cases.

Detectives who work for retail stores or hotels are responsible for loss control and asset protection. Store detectives, also known as loss prevention agents, safeguard the assets of retail stores by apprehending anyone attempting to steal merchandise or destroy store property. They prevent theft by shoplifters, vendor representatives, delivery personnel, and even store employees. Store detectives also conduct periodic inspections of stock areas, dressing rooms, and restrooms, and sometimes assist in opening and closing the store. They may prepare loss prevention and security reports for management and testify in court against persons they apprehend. Hotel detectives protect guests of the establishment from theft of their belongings and preserve order in hotel restaurants and bars. They also may keep undesirable individuals, such as known thieves, off the premises.

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 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 their 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.

As you can see there are many different areas of private investigation and things that private investigators do. There are also many other areas that Private Investigators are involved in every day. Often Private Investigators can be compensated very well for their work and while not everything a P. I.  does every day is glamorous, it can be a very stimulating and rewarding career.



What it takes to become a Private Investigator For the purposes of this information, we will cover the most common requirements and caution you that this information may not apply to your situation. Mainly this information pertains to working on your own, however if you want some serious, no-fluff and straight-to-the-point information on all of the requirements to becoming a private investigator, we suggest that you attend a training academy. States license their residents for a great many things. Most likely you hold a State license right now - think about it. You have a driver's license, right? Why do you think you have to first have a driver's license before you're allowed to drive? It's because the State wants to make sure only qualified people who have been trained and tested are driving on their streets. This is really the same thing with "professional licenses." That's a term used to describe the class of licensing a State does to make sure only qualified and tested people are providing professional services to their citizens. Private Investigators fall into this category, as do lawyers, doctors, accountants, engineers, nurses, and a whole bunch of other professions. Simply stated: the State wants to make sure you are qualified to perform investigations before issuing you a license to do so. By the way, it also allows the State to take action against your license. That means if you do not follow their licensing rules (like keeping your information and license fees current) or do something illegal or against the rules, they can suspend or revoke your license -- which means you can't continue to work as private investigator. Note: Private Investigation is one of the most varying license requirement careers there is. Not all States require a license and not all States have the same licensing requirements. You should contact the agency in your State for specific requirements prior to providing any private investigation services as some States even require special licensing for things like process servers, repossession agents, and polygraph examiners. WARNING: Never perform any duties requiring a license without first obtaining the necessary license(s) as this could be cause for fines, criminal prosecution, and/or permanently prohibiting you from ever being able to obtain a license -- among other penalties. Most States will require a minimum amount of time doing investigative work, some kind of testing, a background check, and an application review process before they will give you a license. Some States even require apprentice type experience where you need to work for a licensed Private Investigator for a while before being qualified. Let's look at each of these requirements: Minimum Experience

Normally you will need to have from 2 to 5 years of investigative experience to obtain a Private Investigator's license. By "investigative experience" this doesn't normally mean as a Private Investigator but more likely experience working for a company or other professional doing investigative work. This could be accomplished by: Working for a finance company or collection agency doing skip tracing (find people who have taken off on their bills) Working for a lawyer or law firm doing any of the investigative things they may need done like records research, asset investigations, etc.Working for an insurance company doing insurance fraud investigations. Working for a bail bond agency doing bail bond enforcement. Working for a government or law enforcement agency doing investigative work. Testing

Almost all States will require you to take a test (you must pass) before they will issue you a license. Typically these tests are very heavy on the licensing requirements of Private Investigators and somewhat lighter on actual investigative type questions. Background Check

Almost all States will require you to go through a background check of your past experience, criminal and financial history, references, and education. Most of the time you will have to pay for them to do this or it will be included in the licensing fee. Apprenticeship

Some States will require you to work under another licensed Private Investigator for a while before issuing you your own license. Application Review Process

After you meet all the minimum requirements and submit your application, there will be a review of your application. Some States will even require you to show up for an oral interview to ask you specific questions about your background before they will make a decision about giving you a license. Education

Most of your education will come from on-the-job experience, books, and any classes you take. Summary

If you are truly interested in becoming a licensed Private Investigator, check your local and state agencies for detailed information on Private Investigator licensing.