Private investigators handle important cases and tasks not handled by other professionals that are no less vital as part of the corporate and justice system. While the media has depicted private investigators as handling all sorts of crimes and cases, here are five of the most common cases a private investigator handles:
Background checks are common to see in a list of private investigator services. This service involves checking personal history on someone. The check could uncover important information about a person, such as their address history, credit history, criminal history, employment and education history, and their social connections.
Background checks are often used by employers to vet potential candidates or by landlords checking out prospective tenants. Some people run background checks on romantic partners to see if they have skeletons in the closet. Government agencies also rely on background checks to provide security clearance.
Surveillance is another common reason to hire a private investigator. Perhaps you want the detective to follow someone you think means you harm, such as a potential stalker or abusive partner. Surveillance is also used in civil investigations, often by insurance companies to obtain evidence about serious accidents and injuries. Between personal injuries, workers compensation claims, corporate fraud, and infidelity, there’s plenty of surveillance work for investigators to handle.
- Family Matters
Private investigators are often called in to help with private family law matters. Private investigators are used to collect evidence for civil trials, including child custody battles and divorces. They could also be tasked with finding missing family members or locating children given up for adoption in the past. Adopted children also hire them to learn more about their birth parents.
When used for divorces, private investigators are tasked with finding hidden assets someone has claim to or finding assets in the case of child and spousal support claims. If someone is getting alimony from their ex-spouse, the ex may hire a private investigator to see if they have found someone else and if it’s grounds to cancel the support.
Private investigators routinely help with infidelity and cheating. People turn to private investigators because they don’t know if their spouse is cheating or not and they want an objective individual to find out more. The objective party can investigate and determine if a partner is being unfaithful with no emotional attachment to the case that would hinder their judgement.
Infidelity can be hard to accept. Sometimes, people need to witness it for themselves to accept that it is happening. The person may be told time and again by their partner that nothing is happening only to find out it is. Private investigators get to the truth of the situation, no matter what it is.
- Other Investigations
Private investigators deal with a lot of different cases. These investigations are pretty diverse. Sometimes they have to investigate on behalf of insurance companies, such as car, home, and life insurance providers. Investigators can find information that would have otherwise stayed hidden. Perhaps they find evidence of insurance fraud or discover that someone is attempting to sabotage a business partner.
Other times, they look into businesses or into serious matters like abuse and theft by care workers who are supposed to be there to help. These tasks generally fall under “surveillance” but are so varied that they may involve a combination of different investigations and methods.
How Do Private Investigators Work?
Private investigators deal mostly in collecting and processing information. They have several tools at their disposal for this. They have access to certain databases only investigators and law enforcement can use. They also look through social media to find people and see if they admit to anything they’d rather other people didn’t know. Investigators sometimes talk to colleagues and neighbors as part of their process. They also check printed and electronic documents to locate assets and perform skip traces to uncover new information.
Private investigators do a lot more than just collect information. They also write and provide reports based on what they discover. This could be photo or video surveillance. Investigators also testify at court hearings about their discoveries.
Talk to A Private Investigator
Please don’t hesitate to get in touch and speak to a private investigator if you’re interested in what they do and how they can help you. You can learn more about their specific roles and the tools they use as part of their investigation.
