Private Investigator 101

 

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I HAVE WRITTEN THIS BOOKLET IN HOPES OF BEING ABLE TO HELP OTHERS ENTER THIS EXCITING AND REWARDING PROFESSION

 

 

 

 

           

 

 

 

Its AUTHOR IS NOT A TEACHER, LEGAL ADVISOR

ACCOUNTANT OR AN ATTORNEY. FURTHER MORE THE AUTHOR ( CHARLES DAY ) OR HIS PUBLISHER   ASSUMES ANY LIABILITY REQUARDING ANY RISK OR LOSS BE IT PERSONAL OR PROPERTY FROM INFORMATION GIVEN IN THIS REPORT.

 

 

 

         

 

 

 

 

SHOULD YOU REQUIRE ADDITIONAL ADVICE, WHICH MAY REQUIRE PROFESSIONAL ACCOUNTING, LEGAL ADVISOR, AND ECT. PLEASE SEEK THE PROFESSIONAL SERVICE FROM THE APPROPRIATE EXPERT.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

INTRODUCTION

 

 

Dear Friends:

 

         

My name is Charles Day and I'm president of Confidential Investigative Services and a licensed Private Investigator. This booklet is designed to give you a basic start in the field of becoming and starting your own Private Investigator Agency.

 

 Its intent is to allow the reader to gain the basic knowledge required for you to establish your own agency. With this knowledge you are about to receive you should be able to start in this exciting career with the minimum start up cost and the basic knowledge required.

         

 

Its intent is not to replace the general experience you will acquire over the years through trail and error. I would hope that you will gain the proper guidance to allow you the knowledge to be able to reduce the common mistakes I have made starting my own agency.

 

You will soon learn that sometimes there is no right or wrong answer in this business. The Private Investigator will learn that sometimes

You must rely on the instincts and gut feelings you perceive involving some cases.

 

 

There will be other cases that won’t feel right to you. You will then have to evaluate and trace your steps to find something else. That old saying "If you don't first succeed-then try again,” will often apply to this business. You must realize that you are not going to be able to help everyone out there with their problems. There may come a time to walk away from a case. This sixth sense will come with experience.

HOW TO BECOME A PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR

 

 

 

 

 

 

TABLE OF CONTENT

 

 

 

 

CHAPTER    1.                           BASIC KNOWLEDGE

 

 

CHAPTER    2.                            PROFESSIONALISM

 

 

CHAPTER    3.                            LAWS

 

 

CHAPTER    4.                            EQUIPMENT

 

 

CHAPTER    5.                            SURVEILLANCE

 

 

CHAPTER    6.                            INTERVIEWING

 

 

CHAPTER    7.                            FIELD NOTES

 

 

CHAPTER    8.                            REPORT WRITING

 

 

CHAPTER    9.                            TESTIFYING

 

 

CHAPTER  10.                             ABOUT THE AUTHOR

 

 

 

 

CHAPTER  1

 

 

 

 

 

 

BASIC KNOWLEDGE

 

 

 

 

 

Today the field of Private Investigation has changed from the days of the clothe and dagger. This field today is a professional and highly sophisticated and competitive network. In order to compete with your counterparts you must excel in your given field of practice. By this I mean that you should specialize in a given service and obtain all the knowledge you can in this field.

         

 

The investigative field offers a wide variety of services that you may compete in. I specialize in divorce and child custody cases. There is money to be made in these two services. In the United States along there are over 150,000 divorces a week. That's right A WEEK.  Granted not every divorce will require the services that a private investigator has to offer. Try to visualize that if only 2% of these divorces require the service you offer think of the money there is to be made. These figures are very realistic and you will yield a high income just from these two services.

 

 

The previously mentioned services are just a few that a private investigator may offer. You must use your imagination to fully see the potentials of this very profitable business.  I would like you to use your imagination again and start looking at both sides of the picture. As I showed you above these are only two options in this field.

 

 

 

 

 

Both these options are on the civil side of the law, what about the criminal side of the law?  Were you aware that a good private investigator can offer services to the criminal side of the law too. You will have to rely on your own personnel standards and conscious when accepting criminal cases. I will never accept a case that I have some reservation about or goes against my standards. This is how I base my decision if I want to accept a case or to decline it.

 

 

 Some examples that you will come across on the criminal side of the law are working directly with a person that has been charged with a crime. They may want you to help prove their innocence. You may have to locate a witness or attempt to prove the police wrong with their investigation and your client right. I don't accept a lot of these case because I stay busy working the other side of the law. You will just have to see how you want to approach your new career. Remember this is your business and you will make your own business decisions.

           

 

One of the problems you may encounter is how to bid a case. You don't want to price yourself out of the business but you want to make a good living.  The first thing you need to do is check out you competition in your area. By doing this you can remain competitive and provide your clients with the the best service available. When considering you bid you need to include expenses, you will be surprised at how

these can add up. I will bid some cases by the hour and others by the job. I try to take everything in to account like your time, your expenses, and your materials. Don't forget you time to do reports and court room appearances, phone bills, and your car expenses. Some investigators will bid by the hour plus expense and mileage. It's not uncommon to charge say $50.00 an hour and 50 cents a mile. You will have to

determine what your client can pay and how much your services are worth to you.

 

 

 

 

Another problem you may encounter is how to market you services. There are companies out there that will market for you however they can be very expensive. Remember by keeping you over head low you won't spend yourself out

of business. There will be a time when you won't have the time to do these services yourself because you will be too busy making money. Don't get me wrong if you want to spend the extra money for these services you can. I want you to succeed in your new business, so try and keep your over head as low as you can. You should consider your resources and go from there. I use direct mailings (letters) along with newspaper ads mostly. I have found that these work for me. You can use television and radio but again consider the cost.

         

 

 

 I have found that this business can be seasonable; you may go weeks or even months without anything. But it all seems to even out, if you keep motivate and continue prospecting you will stay busy. It seem like December and January are slow months. I guess everyone is busy with Christmas, I have noticed that during these months serving legal process seem to pick up. It might be an advantage to you

because you may also be busy with Christmas. The point I'm trying to make is don't get discouraged when things get slow because believe me they will pick up. Just keep motivated and making contacts. I make a lot of contacts from referrals which come from longevity in the business. Make yourself a business plan and then stick to it. Use your telephone and make a goal where you are going to make so many contacts a week, then follow up with either direct mailing or a phone call. People need to know that you want their business

 

 

Time management can become a problem in this field. It is easy to set back and wait for things to happen, when you should be making things happen for yourself.  Which ever you decide about your career be it part time or full time you should stick to your business plan and your goals. The private investigator will find that will find that working nights and weekends is a must. You have to work around others schedules, thus you must be flexible and able to work the hours required to get the job done. Remember you set your own rates so you will compensate your self for these hours.  If you plan your time and stick to your goals and make the sacrifices, then you will have a very rewarding career.

 

 

Let me give you some ideas on the magnitude that a career as a private investigator can provide. Not only the income potential but other rewards you will achieve. Imagine how it will feel to lock wits with someone that is doing something that they know is wrong and attempting to do their best to conceal it. It is you job to out smart them and expose their behavior and satisfy your client’s needs. When you achieve this it's a feeling that words can't describe! Don't get me wrong it's not all glory; there will be times when the job can become boring and thankless. You have to take the good times with the bad.  This career is not for everyone. You may find after reading this booklet that you don't have what it takes.

 

 

The private investigator has to be CUNNING, SLY, SHROUD, and at times may find yourself in situations that make you feel uncomfortable. I really feel once you see the income potential and the good times and fun, then those bad times will seem petty!

 

 

I want you to start thinking about where you are going to come up with clients that will require the services of a private investigator. Just start using your IMAGINATION and I will also give you some examples that I use to get clients. We have already talked about the civil and criminal side of the law. So we know that we will make contacts with attorneys.

 

 

Attorneys require many services that a private investigator has to offer. All you have to do is sell yourself and the many services that you will supply them. An attorney may hire a private investigator to investigate a criminal case they are working on. They themselves don’t have the time to question a witness or investigate an accident scene. They may want you to do some follow up work on a case or serve

a summons on a witness or locate that hard to find witness. This is just a few again start using you imagination and you will see the potential services you have to offer to an attorney.

 

 

Another source is the corporate client. They may want you to come inside and do undercover work for them. You can help them with internal security problems or workman comp claims. They may want you to run background checks on key employees. Some corporations want to know what their competition is up to. Have you run bad debts down for them; most corporations will hire a company to help with their day to day problems they encounter because they don't have the time to perform these services themselves. As you can start to see there is a wide variety of services you can offer them.

         

 

I have worked for people who feel that they have been cheated when it comes to an insurance claims. They want you to investigate their case and help them find ways to get a larger settlement. On the other hand an insurance company will retain you to help them with a claim they feel is fraudulent.  Most insurance companies have their own investigators, but sometimes are more profitable for them to retain

a local investigator. If you sell yourself and your services, along with keeping you name and reputation of providing excellent service at a fair and compatible rate in front of them I'm sure sooner or later they will require you service.

 

 

Small businesses are excellent source of clients. They are small enough to remember that every dollar has to be spent wisely. They can appreciate another business getting started. You may want to give them a special rate that they to

 an appreciate.

     

       No matter how successful you become, don't forget the small business!!

 

They have many needs you can help them with. Some examples of those needs are bad checks or account collections. Most large companies will charge 50 % of the check or account balance. What if you would only charge 20-30 %, then you not only make money, you also make a happy client that will continue to use you and give you all the referrals that they can. Another service you can offer is a service called pre employment background checks. If you can determine a hidden fact about a prospective employee then you will save them money and time. Have you ever heard the saying “PAY ME NOW OR PAY ME LATER?” You may even want to help them set up an internal security program. As you can see there are many services that you can offer the small business.

         

 

Another other services that a private investigator can offer is skip tracing. Some clients have accounts that have moved and failed to leave a forwarding address. Again they don't have the time to follow up on these accounts and need to retain outside help. It will cost them about 50% to collect on these and most of the time it is simple to locate them. You must use your skills again. There are several agencies’ out there that have public records that you can access. Some examples are marriage license, court records, telephone numbers, city directories,

Newspapers. ( I have located people by reading their names in the paper). An old neighbor is another good source. Most of this information can be obtained from a phone call. Are you now starting to see how easy it can work?

         

 

How many of you have seen those ads that read REWARD? Believe me people will pay big to get something back that they may have lost or had stolen. The longer you are in this business the more informants and contacts you obtain. I know you have all saw those ads that read TIP HOT LINE. I'll let you in on a little secrete about those ads. The say they will pay up to $1,000.00 for information leading to an arrest or conviction. I have never been paid that amount of money, but have received from $200.00 to $500.00 for information.  I have mentioned before that the private investigator may be in a situation or area where you can pick up information about someone that is at large and hiding from the police. This is the information that you will use to collect those Tips Hot Line rewards. If you learn to keep your eyes and ears open you wouldn’t believe how many people will talk about things like that. Insurance companies will also pay big to recover items that were stolen or information about crimes involving their clients. It saves them money when they can recover the original item and not have to pay a replacement cost of the item.

 

 

Other sources of contact will come from using you background skills. Let's say that you are a fire fighter you may have the skills to investigate Arson Fires. Insurance companies will retain a local investigator to help them. Who but a local person knows the ends and outs of the investigation? A background in safety may help you obtaining clients that require work related accidents or OSA violations. We all have seen companies receiving fines for OSA violations. I mean large fines!  If you have experience in auto body work you may me required to investigate auto accidents or claims made against insurance companies.

 

 

I feel that everybody has some sort of background that will help them in the career field.  Just think about it!  Any one from a factory worker to a store clerk can use their experience in the field of private investigating. Use you imagination, a factory worker has knowledge of job related accidents or abuse of narcotics on the job site. How about safety violations or abuse of special privileges like punching someone else's time card.

 

 

The store clerk has knowledge on surveillance, shoplifters,

laws on detainment or arrest, padding books, expense account frauds. Stop and think about what you overhear from customers just standing around talking. Remember those rewards or tips hot line ads.

         

 

The list is just too numerous for you to imagine on how to make contact for clients. If you will just sit down and use your imagination you will start seeing how a career as a PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR will become a very rewarding and profitable field. This field is wide open where you can make a huge living for you and your family. I want you to start right now before reading any further and start making a huge list of all the potential clients you is going to start contacting. The

list will amaze you. Get your family involved and the list will grow even more. Ask them if they want the money that can be made in the career field, WATCH THEIR EYE’S WHEN YOU RECEIVE THAT FIRST CHECH !

         

 

After you complete you list and from the information I have given you, and by using your imagination , you will have an enormous client list to start you off before you even begin this career field. I will provide you other useful ideas and knowledge that you will apply in the following chapters.

 

 

 

GOOD LUCK

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter  2

 

 

 

 

PROFESSIONALISM

 

 

As I have mentioned in chapter 1, the career of the Private Investigator is a professional and highly sophisticated and competitive network. If you are going to succeed you are going to have to establish you reputation in this field. You need to begin right off getting yourself established. This is just like any other business and you want happy clients. You want to give them a service that is to the best of your ability and something they can afford. You want to give something they WANT and something you HAVE !

 

 

You will soon discover that your clients will come to you with problems that are confidential and personal and even sometimes illegal. Therefore you will find yourself in a situation that may not be accustomed to. Remember that your first impression is the most lasting. Both from you and your client. You need to sit down and listen to what they have to say. It may be that you can't even help them, and they need to be referred to some other professional like an attorney. I've had clients that call me for advice on a divorce before they even call an attorney. You need to extend professionalism and refer them to another professional who will help them with their imitate problem. This in turn will allow you to establish a reputation of being conscience of you client’s needs and not just out to make a profit. An attorney will appreciate you referred business, they may even feel they a obligated to you. Then the next time they will refer you some of their business. Please don't misunderstand me I want you to make lots of money , but I want you to be in business for a long time. This is just good business practice.

         

Unlike you list of potential clients you also want a list of other professional that may be of some help to you. It's what I call my favor list. It should contain names of contacts you have in the professional field. Like the names of a contact on the police department, sheriff office, attorneys. Don't forget mailmen, newspaper carriers. You can get a lot of information from these people. The telephone company

Is another good source to have. The most important contacts I have come from those in law enforcement personal. I never ask them for information that will put there job in jeopardy, but most will help you after you have established a good working relationship with them. The door swings both way and you will come across information that they have a need for. Pass this information on even if you don't make a profit from it. People appreciate thing that are Free, either knowledge or just a favor.

 

 

In this field you will learn that confidentiality is a must. Clients expect it and you will not survive without it. There may be cases that you won't even be able to discuss with a family member. Once you break this confidentiality you might just as well back your bags. In this world of the private investigator it doesn't take long for the word to get around. I'm sure you have heard about those guys you never want to        

do business with. Well it's the same as with any business you want business not to lose it. Other private investigators can be cut-throats. Don't get me wrong they are not all like that but just be prepared for the unexpected. I make it a point to be up front with everybody I deal with. I believe honesty is the best policy. That's how I do business , and I'll never change my standards just to please someone. You will have to set your own standards and they live by them.

         

 

I believe that if you just use common sense and maintain a healthy relationship with your fellow professionals you will obtain a very rewarding and profitable career. Again this field is not for everybody, nor will just anybody be allowed into it.

I can't reinforce the importance of conducting yourself in a professional manner at all times!  What ever you do never loose this professionalism

and allow yourself to revert to the private investigator that put money ahead of their clients needs.

 

 

 

 

Once you do this there is no way to recover the losses, which will happen to your business. So please don't fall into this trap ! The money will come you just need to be patient and do the best you can to give your clients the best service available to them. Remember be honest and up front with them and they will appreciate you friendship and the professionalism you extend to them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 3

 

 

 

LAWS

 

 

The laws governing the Private Investigator will vary from state to state. I would suggest that you contact your states Department of Licensing which should be located at your state capital.

 

Check out your local phone book, this should provide you with a phone number you can call and get all the information you need.

 

I have seen some states require a license, but some have no requirement to becoming a Private Investigator. You should be able to gather all the information you need with your Department Of Licensing. If you need further assistants you can check with your local law enforcement agency and they may be able to help you.

 

The main thing you need to remember is that a Private Investigator does not have the same powers as that of Law Enforcement Officer.  To keep yourself out of trouble, please research any mandatory requirements before you start any investigating work. It is better to spend a little time gathering all the information you may need before you start your exciting career as a Private Investigator, than running into problems at a later date.

 

Some of the laws you need to educate yourself in, and remember this is only a few there may be more.

 

Trespassing Laws

Stalking Laws

Firearm Laws (concealing)

Licensing Requirements

Curfew Laws

Civil Processing Laws

Public Information Laws

Private Investigator Identification (badge)

Self Protection Laws

Tax Laws (local, state, federal)

Detainment Laws

Powers of Arrest Laws

Private Security Laws

Chain of Custody Laws

Evident Laws

Restraint Laws

Child Custody Laws

Divorce Laws

 

 

Please remember this is only a few laws that will help you with your new career as a Private Investigator. You will need to stay current of any law that will be useful to you and your clients.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 4

 

 

EQUIPMENT

 

 

This chapter will give you some idea of some of the equipment you may need to perform you job as a Private Investigator.

 

You will need the basic equipment to get you started and as your caseloads increase you will want to maintain more inventory as your business grows.

 

To get started you will need the basic products like a vehicle,  notepads, pens, pencils, maps of the city are helpful, and a phone book is helpful, binoculars come in handy, flashlight, briefcase, cell phone if you have one. This should get you started, but as your business grows so will

your equipment needs.

 

A camcorder is nice to have; surveillance equipment can be helpful, camera, listening equipment, restraints, firearm, spy equipment like listening monitors, tape recorder, and just use your imagination and play it by ear as you go along.

 

As with any business you will have a budget and will have to stay within that budget, or you won’t be in business for long.  Most of the equipment needed is inexpensive and you probably have lying around the house anyway, so you shouldn’t have to spend an arm and leg to get started.

 

Remember that all your equipment is tax deductible, so keep your receipts for your business accountant, and if you don’t have an accountant keep them for the internal revenue should you ever need to produce them. Good bookkeeping is essential for any business.

 

 

Chapter 5

 

 

 

SURVEILLANCE

 

 

 

The act of surveillance is something that you will learn through trail and error. I will give you some basic surveillance techniques that I have learned through trail and error myself.

 

The first thing to remember is that a normal person is not aware of what is going on around them. Most people stay focused on their mission what ever that may be. Just think about yourself, when you are driving from point A to point B you are not aware of your surrounding environment. You don’t think about who’s behind you or whose is watching you. You are thinking about getting to where ever you are trying to get to.

 

Most people won’t notice another person unless they draw attention to themselves. When I say draw attention to them self, I mean by doing something that is out of the ordinary. Think about it when you are driving down the road you don’t realize that someone is even around you, unless they honk their horn, or flash their lights, make a sudden movement toward you, or somehow draw attention toward them.

 

This basic human fought most people have is what makes surveillance so easy for the Private Investigator to follow someone. It works to our advantage if we remember not to draw attention to ourselves. When you are doing surveillance work you MUST blend in with your surrounding environment. By this I mean you can’t stand out or be out of place or this will draw attention to you. I will share a few attention getting actions that will blow your surveillance every time if you allow them to happen.

 

Here are some common mistakes that we make when attempting surveillance.

 

 

Staying too close to your suspect

Sudden movement

Not blending in the surrounding environment

(This would be like parked in the middle of the street, or wearing clothing that doesn’t fit the surrounding environment, driving too slow/fast, fancy vehicle in low income area, loud music, sudden movement, annoying driving habits, staying in the same area too long, playing the catching up game, blocking traffic, having your dome light on, resting your foot on the brake, circling the block too often, parking in the open, cluttered dashboard, unusually license plate, headlight/brake light out, damaged fender, I could go on and on just use your own imagination)

Being out of place

Sudden stopping

Being too obvious

Falling asleep (yes this can happen)

Not knowing the area

Not obeying traffic controls

Getting impatient

Moving too much

 

 

This is just a few ideas to keep in mind, most of these common mistakes you will learn out like the rest of us through trail and error. I don’t mean to make a joke of this, but we all have to learn on our own.

 

If you do draw attention to yourself and your suspect becomes aware of your presents then the best thing you can do is call it a night and start over at another time. If you have an over suspicion suspect they will become aware of what is going on around then and will become a very hard suspect to follow.

 

There may come a point when you are going to need some assistance

and may have to have another party help you out with a case. We are all only human and need help from time to time. You may have to teach your helper and train them, so they will be able to handle their mission.

 

 

 

Chapter 6

 

 

INTERVIEWING

 

 

Interviewing is another one of those techniques that come with experience. A good interviewer needs to understand people and how they communicate or don’t communicate.

 

As a Private Investigator there will come a time when you have to do interviews to complete your investigation. I will try and give you a few techniques that I have learned through my experience from my law enforcement days, and some that I have pick up from other investigators.

 

I can always tell a lot from a person’s body language, by this I mean both verbal and non verbal language. One sure sign is eye contact, a suspect that isn’t telling the truth has a hard time maintaining eye contact with their interviewer.

 

Another sign that your suspect isn’t telling the truth is restlessness, by this I mean having a hard time sitting still and fidgeting, and moving around a lot. They can’t concentrate and ask you to repeat the questions again.

 

A suspect not telling the truth will also attempt to answer a question with a question, they will attempt to get your to      lead them into the answer you are looking for. An example of this would be “What time did you get home last night?” They may say “I’m not sure around ten, or maybe it was eleven”. They may be trying to get you to be more specific on the time you are looking really interest in.

 

Another sign that a suspect isn’t telling the truth is their non verbal indicators, like perspiring, fiddling with the hands, or clicking a ink pen, tapping the foot, rolling the eyes, moving the body from one place to another in their chair, cracking their knuckles, chain smoking, thirsty, impatient, avoiding eye contact, flushed skin color, pacing the floor, and just plain old trying to B.S. you.

 

The more interviewing you do, the better you will become at it. We conduct interviews to get answers to our questions. It like a puzzle we are trying to fill in the blanks. There for we want to take the time and plan our interviews, and ask ourselves just what do I want from this suspect. What question do I want to get answers for, and how will I get those answers from this suspect. It is so important to pre-plan your interview, write your question out and once you start the interview don’t sway from you game plan. The suspect isn’t going to give you anymore then they have to, so It is up to you to get the answers you want from your suspect.

 

The most important thing when conducting interviews is that you are in control, don’t let your suspect take over control of the interview. This is why planning is so important. If you see you are loosing control, then it is time to terminate it. You may have to try again at another time, or put your case together without this suspect.

 

Try and remember that the better you are prepared the more likely you are going to accomplish your mission with the interview. You will get the answers you need to complete the puzzle.

 

I have attempted to give some sound interview techniques that has worked for me, but over time you will develop your own techniques that will work for you. Interviewing is an “ART” that comes with time and experience.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 7

 

 

 

 

FIELD NOTES

 

 

 

Your field notes are the bread & butter for the Private Investigator. These are the notes that you take while doing your investigation. With these note you will prepare your report for your client.

 

Remember your field note must always be clear, concise, and accurate. This is for several reasons. You want your report for your client to be both accurate and clearly understood by them, and it must be accurate, because your client is relying on you to protect there best interest.

 

The next important thing to remember about your field notes, is you never, I repeat never want to write something in them that you don’t want a third party (defense attorney) to see. I will explain this later to you.

 

When taking field notes you want to record everything that is pertinent to your investigation. If you can remember to include and answer these questions in your field notes you will be okay.

 

WHO

WHAT

WHEN

WHERE

WHY

HOW

 

By answering these 5 questions you will have all your pertinent information recorded. This is how you will get your clear, concise, and accurate information for you report. That way when your are completing your report for your client, you will be protecting their best interest at all time. Remember your clients are your best form of advertisement you can have. A happy client makes a happy referral when someone asks them for advice on a good Private Investigator.

 

 

Do you remember me telling you never put anything in your field note you didn’t want a third party to see? Well you see if you are called to testify in court and you will at sometime have to testify through out your career as a Private Investigator. This may be some time after you have completed your investigation, and while in court you will need to refer to your field notes.

 

 

Once you refer to your field note while on the witness stand, then they become part of the court records and are open documents.  It is acceptable to note your opinions in your notes, but you should reframe from making unfavorable comments in your notes.

 

 

Imagine sitting on the witness stand and you are being cross examined by the defense attorney and they ask you what this comment meant.

“the dumb blond crossed the street”, “ I can’t believe she was that stupid”, “What a dummy”, “ he sure looks dumb with that hat on”

If it’s in your notes you can be ask about it. Don’t put comments like these in your field notes. It is very unprofessional and then you are the one looking “Dumb”

 

 

Field notes are very important and become the base of your investigation. With out good notes you will end up with egg on your face, and won’t be in business very long.

 

 

By taking clear, concise, and accurate field note you will maintain your reputation and professionalism and maintain a long successful career as a Private Investigator.

 

 

Chapter 8

 

 

REPORT WRITING

 

 

Report writing just like your field notes they are a vital part of a Private Investigator. Your reports will be seen by many people, and must be written properly.

 

When completing your final report for your client you want to remember that is has to be clear and easily understood. You will prepare it so it will accomplish your client’s needs.

 

Your client has hired you to provide answers and a service for them. You have agreed to provide these answers and this service, so your report must answer your client’s questions, and provide the service they have