Sometimes, hiring a private investigator to assist a legal team in building up the facts and evidence to make a strong case is helpful. For example, you might find yourself in the middle of a divorce, child custody, or injury case that looks bad. If so, stop and ask yourself a simple question: Do you stay put and hope for the best, or do you consider using a private investigator (PI)?
What to Consider Before Using a PI
If you are considering hiring a professional like Colorado Springs Private Investigator, you must balance the pros and cons. You will want to try everything you can to win your legal battle, and hiring a PI might be your answer.
However, there are some ground rules to know if you hire a PI for your legal case. The most important considerations for your decision are:
Make Sure You Find the Right Professional
When you decide to involve private investigations in your case, find the right one for you. Specifically, select a legitimate and reputable company for the job.
What makes a good investigator? David Kearns, MD of Expert Investigations Group, says: Certainly not a fancy website, a city centre profile address and a statement saying “my team are all ex-Police and Special Forces”. This is standard for the majority of the investigation industry, which is made up of poorly skilled, ill-equipped and uninsured individuals. Does your investigator know how to gather, preserve and present evidence? Do they know the legislation and stated cases that unpin the evidence required to prove the case?
Here are a couple of simple tips:
- Ask for a copy of their insurance and GDPR policy.
- Ask for a named reference from Solicitors. Most investigator’s references say “Bob from Staines or Helen from Portsmouth. You want a named reference that you can qualify with: “Richard Santy. Employment Partner at Mills and Reeve LLP”. Any good investigator will have at least one of these.
- Benchmark a few investigators against each other.
3 More Tips When Hiring a Private Investigator
1. Only hire someone if they can do the work properly and do it so that it works well in your favor. You need someone who will be hard-working and get what you need, so ensure the company has a good reputation.
2. You might also want to check if a member is of a recognized professional body, which varies according to your physical location. A lot of the time, people who become a PI were previously part of law enforcement.
3. Some might be part of organizations such as The Association of British Investigators, which rely on a rigorous code of conduct. You will want someone in the PI profession who upholds all professional values.
Before Using a Private Investigator, Test Them Out
If you would like to double-check that they are legit and the right business for you, then the next step would be to do a trial run. To do so, approach them with a false request and see how they handle it.
By testing the waters, you can see if the individual follows the moral code of conduct. Do they do everything by the book, or not?
For example, you might ask them to get your spouse’s bank details for you. If they end up doing so, they know that this activity is illegal as they must have the person’s consent to access their financial records.
If they break the law in this scenario or another one, they either are not well-versed in legal matters or do not respect the law. Either way, you don’t want to mix yourself up with that matter when you’re trying to get help for a legal issue, whether a personal injury case or another type.
On the other hand, if the PI refuses your “test” request and gives a good reason as to why they cannot do it, then you have evidence of their upstanding behavior. Consider using a private investigator of this caliber, provided you have a good rapport and feel comfortable with the person, mainly if there are sensitive matters to discuss with them.
Do Your Homework
You can also check them out yourself by doing some homework on them. Now is the time when you become like an investigator and find out as much as you can about the company you want to work with down the line.
Do as much research about this company as possible. Here are some questions to pursue answers to:
- How long have they been working as a private investigator?
- What experience do they have?
- Will their skills benefit your needs?
The point here is to determine whether they are the right fit for your legal case or not. If the answer is no, hiring them would be pointless.
If they don’t specialize in your case, they can’t help you either. For instance, if you are going through a divorce and think your spouse is cheating on you, but the PI candidate does primarily fraud investigations, they’re unlikely to help you effectively.
Takeaway on Using a Private Investigator
You need to see their strengths and weaknesses in your unique situation. By doing so, you might find that they can help you win your case – or that you must look for a different company to use now.
As a side note, if you are filing for a divorce, you might want to read this article about getting out of a bad marriage.
Great advice