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Much has been written about how to detect signs of a cheating spouse, and even more on how to catch a cheating spouse. However, in many cases, the only way to get the answers you need is to hire a private investigator.
The very thought can be intimidating to many people, especially when one doesn’t know what to expect.
If you’ve never worked with a private investigator before, and all you know is what you’ve seen on TV or in the movies, you’ll probably be surprised to learn that we don’t work in dark offices, we don’t wear trenchcoats, and we don’t call women “dames.” In fact, we’re just normal business people, with experience as former police officers or investigators and the reason we are able to make a living in the field is because we know how to get information in a more efficient and effective way than most people.
Hiring a private investigator is simple enough. But knowing what to expect for the fee is just as important as knowing what you want the investigator to find out. Here are the top five things every client should expect from a private investigator:
1. A firm contract
A professional investigator will execute a contract between the two of you. And the contract will spell out exactly what to expect from the private investigator, and an explanation of what the investigators services will cost. Because an investigation is a form of service, rather than a tangible product, it’s often difficult to quantify the exact nature of the services that will be delivered. But a good investigator can give you a rough idea.
2. An estimated time table
One of the toughest things to predict in the PI business is how long an investigation will take. Often, a client may have a better idea than the private investigator. However, a good investigator will be able to ask the right questions in order to make a rough prediction about when to expect results. In most cases, the timetable is almost entirely dependent on the subject of the investigation and a number other variables.
3. Ongoing communication
One of the most important aspects of any investigation is the dialogue between investigator and client. The client almost always possesses critical information that the investigator can use to bring the case to a rapid close. Whether it’s a business fraud investigation, or a cheating partner case, or anything in between, the client can act as a second investigator by reporting observations to the PI. Likewise, feedback from the PI to the client can often trigger a breakthrough.
An experienced investigator will be able to advise the client on how to communicate privately and securely with the PI without compromising the investigation.
4. A complete and thorough investigation report
Professional PI’s will almost always provide the client with a detailed investigation report that the client can use as needed. Reports will often include video, still photos and other evidence gathered in the course of the investigation.
Most reports will include an explanation of who, what, when, where and how. The question of “why” is not always something an investigator can answer.
5. Advice on next steps
Often, clients take the investigator’s information and confront their cheating spouse with photos or other evidence. This is almost always a mistake because the spouse can construct an explanation around the evidence. Investigators with experience know that you never lay all the cards on the table when confronting someone who may be inclined to lie.
Investigators can and should offer guidance to their client on how best to use the information gathered – not legal advice – but advice on what to do next. Often, the advice is limited to “hire a lawyer,” or “call the police.” But the investigator’s experience usually allows him or her to provide insights to the client on how best to proceed.
Before proceeding to explore the best way to go about carrying out an intellectual property investigation, it may be a good idea to mention something with regard to when such an investigation would be justified. Now the need for you to carry out an intellectual property investigation would arise where you feel that someone could have breached your intellectual property rights. It could be, for instance, where you have filed a patent for a particular product and where, rather ‘coincidentally,’ you come across someone selling a suspiciously similar product.
It could also be where you, as a creative worker (say a writer, a film maker, a singer or anything along those lines) come across bootleg copies of your work, and where you are keen on knowing who is infringing on your intellectual-property rights. Or it could be where you feel that you are not getting enough money out of your intellectual-property and where you come to develop a suspicion that the other people with whom you co-own the intellectual property are short-changing you.
In all these situations, the intellectual-property investigation would have a number of objectives. Firstly, it would be aimed at identifying the source of the intellectual property infringement. This would be important because as it often turns out in these kinds of situations, the source of property rights infringement you most strongly suspect can be the most innocent person, whilst the person you least suspect turns out to be the real culprit. So the first objective would be to identify the actual source of the infringement. The second objective of the intellectual property investigation would be to establish the motives of the infringement. Sometimes, the motives for property rights infringement go beyond a desire to illegally benefit from the intellectual property. Sometimes, it turns out to be a case of malice, or a case of sabotage by a competitor, and these would be important things for you to establish properly. Finally, the intellectual property investigation would be aimed at building up a water-tight case that can carry the day in a court of justice, leading to restitution on your part, and punishment for the perpetrator of the intellectual property infringement.
The best way to go about intellectual-property investigation would be by engaging the services of an investigator who is knowledgeable and experienced in this area. Sometimes, especially in the earliest stages of the whole thing, this may have to be a private investigator; with whose help you can understand the fundamentals of the whole thing, before calling in government investigators with whose help you can build up a prosecutable case.
Normally, the investigation will start with the identification of possible suspects. A hypothesis on how the whole thing is happening will be developed at this stage too. This is where an investigator’s creativity comes in handy. Once we have a hypothesis (and a viable one at that), the next step would be to try and develop leads from it. Then the mechanics of the investigation would involve following those initial leads, and in the course of doing so unearthing other newer leads. The pursuit of the newer would lead to yet other leads…till the whole situation reveals itself, the real culprits identified and proper action taken against them.
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Many couples are now not averse to running a back ground check on their partner making use of an able private investigator. |
