Understanding How to Assess Intelligence

OK,  I know when people see "intelligence" they think about spy agencies and whatnot. Well, most of what PIs deal with is intelligence.  Sometimes a PI will forget about assessing the intelligence "because the information is so good."  What I mean by that is, we learn something from a source that really could blow the case wide open.  We need to tread lightly, if we do not assess the intelligence.

OK, I have already over used "assess" so I will explain what I mean.  When we gather information, we need to weigh the quality of information we receive.  We really need to explain this if and when we pass this information on in our reports.  One line you should never see in a PIs report is "I learned that..." or "I discovered that..." at least not with an explanation of how it was learned/discovered.

You see, sometimes how you get the information is nearly as important as the information itself.  I am not saying you need to reveal your sources directly.  Example:  Let's say you run a report from one of the data companies.  The report shows that your person of interest resides at 123 Austin Street, Houston, TX.  Look at the report closely.  Does it show a driver's license using that address?  Can you find a second source through public records or even a Google search?  You should never just say "Well, Acme information service says he lives there."

Here is an example of what I mean.  I had to farm out a paper to be served out of state.  I gave them the information that I had.  I also explained where I received the information.  This included using "a friend of a friend on Facebook."  It also included jail booking records and what agency it was from.

If I just said "I have information he is at that address." without passing on how I got the information, the people receiving it have no idea how to assess the information.

This happens all the time.  What happens?  Someone telling me information without giving me an idea where it came from.  How do I know it happens?  I get something from someone almost every day this way.  What happens when I cannot confirm the information or deny it right away?  I have to pick up the phone or email and ask how did they get the information.

Save a step - pass on how you got the information.  You may have to say, "I have an informant I have used in the past that has been very reliable."  That is OK.  Or, "I learned it from the Ex."  Exes often keep closer tabs on the whereabouts of the ex than they did when they were together - go figure.

Weigh your intelligence, it will help you know how much time and effort to put in on what you are doing,   Sometimes you only have a sliver of information, and that is fine.  Just know how to use your resources wisely.

Stay safe!

The Ultimate Guide for Legal Recordings for Private Investigators

When can you make a recording?  When can you use it?  I won't get into all of the legal aspects of when you can use it right now.  However, I am glad when someone else has done all of my homework, and I don't have to "reinvent the wheel" when it comes to knowing what you can and cannot do when recording.

Normally, I stick to stuff about Texas, because that is what I am familiar with when it comes to Investigations.  However, I believe I have found the best source to know when you can and cannot record (barring court order, etc) anyplace in the US.

So I will call this the ultimate guide for legal recordings for private investigators.  OK, I admit I stole this from the reporters, but you don't have to tell them!

Here is the guide in a nutshell:

Below is the place to go to get the down low.  Also where to get the download.  I suggest you do so and save it to your computer for future reference.  That is what I did.

The Reporter's Recording Guide.

Stay Safe!

The Friday Afternoon Rush

In my business, I find a common factor of Fridays.  I believe it is because attorneys and "legal service" companies want to clean up their pending workload before weeks end.  So, more often than not, there is a Friday rush of papers to be served.

I even usually wait to go do Friday evening serves until after 5pm, to make sure that I will be able to catch all of thos last minute papers.  The problem is, some find ways to even get them to me after that.  Many of the people that I serve for email me th documents to be served.  On company, I went out on Friday and returned after 7pm, and still had no new documents.  When I checked on Saturday, there were 10 new papers to be served.  I was originally planning on a "slow" Saturday, but that had changed my plans.

Yes, I could have waited until Monday to start service, but I really do not like having a lot of pending work myself, but that applies to any day - not just Fridays.

I have learned to expect the rush of papers, but sometimes they still find ways to surprise me.

STay Safe!

Making Sure Your Photos and Video Can Be Used as Evidence

It is really not all that difficult to get photographic evidence or video evidence introduced into a case.

There is an age- old "7-Prong Test" for this type of evidence to be admitted:


1)   It must be proved that the camera was capable of taking photos/video.  In other words Was the camera was in good operating condition without malfunctions?

2)   The person taking the video/photos must be shown to be competent in the use and operation of the camera.

3)   The authenticity and correctness of the recording must be documented. You must be able to document  that tampering with the photos/video has not occurred.

4)   You also must be able to show that the video or photographs have not had any additions, deletions or changes made. Note:  You must be able to testify that the video is a true and complete recording, free of editing or tampering of any kind.  If a video is edited (like many need to be to have a time-stamp), the original unedited copy must be available for review by the court.  I also often have to convert the files to another format, as the court may not be able to view the original format.

5)   The court must be shown the manner of presentation.

6)   The recordings must show proper identification of the subjects depicted in the video or photographs.  Note:   The investigator must have proper facial views of the subject documented so that the identity of the subjects can be assessed.  Either that or other distinctive markings, or tattoos must be clearly visable.

7)   You need to be able to show that the actions was elicited voluntarily without inducement.  You cannot cause a situation that would create circumstances that would make the subject act differently than they might without the circumstances presented to them.  For example:  you cannot let the air out of a tire to cause the subject to have to change the tire.  This comes down to entrapment.

If you can meet the 7-prong test, you can get the evidence admitted.  Questions about video or photos on an SD card and whether they are on the orginal SD card are not really relevant.  SD cards are merely temporary storage devices for the evidence themselves.

Whatever you do - stay safe!

Process Service and Investigations - it is Similar, but not the Same

I get asked a lot about the differences between process service and investigations.  While thaere are many differences, there are similarities.  Sometimes to find the person to be served, you need to do some investigating yourself.  You may need to find where the person lives, works and hangs out.  The reason is you may need to serve them where ad when you know you can find them.

Process Service is 99% about being in the same place at the same time as the person you are serving.  This is easy enough when you have cooperative folks, and can be very difficult when people are trying to avoid service.  Sometimes you need to learn a prson's schedule and habits.  You need to learn about the vehicle they drive and may need to get a description or photograph of the subject.

One more similarity is surveillance.  There are those pesky serves that can only be done with surveillance.  You simply need to wait un noticed until the person eing served is leaving or arriving from a place you know the will be.

Since serves have a set fee, you usually need to get permission from the client to charge for "wait time" if you are going to conduct surveillance on a serve.  Otherwise, you are costing yourself money if you are doing a serve.  I know a lot of servers out there, myself included a time or two, that just get fed up with the avoidance that you make all sorts of special efforts to make the serve.  Sometimes it is just a matter of pride.

Whatever you do - stay safe!

Tunnel Vision

It amazes me how tunnel vision affects investigations.  In criminal cases,  I usually have the benefit of going in after the case has been investigated by the police.  I can see what they did, and I can't see what they didn't do.

What amazes me is how tunnel vision almost takes over an investigation.  It is like the investigators become possessed by something causing them to only focus on one suspect.  While more often than not, they usually have the right suspect, by having tunnel vision they end up missing key evidence and testimony by others.  Think of it this way, if you are looking at the possibility of other suspects, you are more likely to broaden your search for clues and evidence.  When you do this, you are more likely to discover more evidence.  This includes evidence against the given suspect.

When investigators focus on one suspect, they often allow other suspects to go free,  They also narrow the search of evidence so small that some obvious evidence is over looked.  I am not saying these are bad investigators.  What I am saying is that investigators need to be aware of how tunnel vision can cause you to narrow your focus so much that you miss key evidence.   This is a psychological thing that happens "naturally" and investigators need to fight the tendency to have tunnel vision.

Part of the problem is that investigators are pressured to clear cases by arrest, so once they get a suspect, they narrow the search of clues and evidence too quickly.

This was just something that hit me as I am working on a current case.

Whatever you do - Stay safe!

Starting Out as a PI - How to Survive

I recently started helping some out in developing a PI's survival guide for new and upstart PIs.  Some old timers will frown upon my share "trade secrets" but I am of the belief that there is a lot of work out there for private investigators that work hard and continually are trying to improve their trade craft.

The following are a few tid-bits of information I shared:

The first and foremost thing I learned to do is incorporate.  It wasn't that much to file (I don't remember the cost, but it wasn't high) as an LLC and you really don't need a lawyer to do so - pretty simple instructions from the Secretary of State.  You need this protection. I learned this the hard way from my father's business when he was a Hertz agent.  Someone who got in an accident and it was their fault sued my father.  They didn't win the case, but the cost of defending himself took pretty much all he had saved up.

The next thing I recommend (though some PIs do not want to do this) is get certified as a process server and do this before or as they are waiting to become a licensed PI.  There are a lot of similarities and it can get the foot in the door with attorneys.  The process of becoming a licensed PI in Texas can take quite a while.  Through no fault of my own, it took me more than 6 months from when I first applied and I passed the managers test on the first try.  Maybe I will tell that whole story sometime later.

One key issue that hampered me was I did not know what equipment I needed.  Remember, I was starting out as a private investigator and had not done investigations privately, only as a police officer.  I bought a lot more stuff than I needed, and think more than anyone would NEED, but all the cool stuff made me buy too much.

So what equipment do I recommend? The piece of equipment I use the most, and works for me in all sorts of circumstances is a Sony digital recorder I bought at Wal-Mart.  I can put the thing on record and even drop it in a cargo pocket in some pants and it records conversations perfectly.  I paid all of $69 plus tax.  I did add a 2 Gig card.  The model is ICD-PX312.  Did I say I use this ALL the time.  I replaced the batteries after about 8 months, even though the battery indicator showed they were still OK.

But Guess what?  You can buy it even cheaper today.  Here is an example:

You can find one as cheap as $28 bucks now.  

I have more on this, but I hate long posts - stay tuned and stay safe!

Who Needs to Know When I am Making a Recording?

Whenever you are making a recording of an individual (this does not include video with no audio in a public place) usually at least one party to the conversation needs to be aware of the recording.  In other words, you cannot put a device to record all phone calls on a line, unless you are always a party to those phone calls.  Also, you cannot "accidentally" leave a recording device in another room and walk out to record what took place in the other room.  Exceptions to this require a judges order.

In other words, you cannot bug anyone's car, apartment, house, office... you name it.

You can, in one party state (meaning one party to the conversation is aware) walk around and record everything without telling anyone.  You can use a hidden camera and record everything that is going on around you (there are some facilities that can outlaw this).

Some states require both parties to be aware they are being recorded. These states are:

California
Connecticut
Florida
Illinois
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Montana
Nevada
New Hampshire
Pennsylvania
Washington

Assume places like Washington D.C. and other US places to be 2 party unless you can find something to clearly state otherwise.

This means in 2 party states you cannot secretly record any conversation or use a hidden camera with audio. You can use a hidden camera without audio in public places.

Whatever you do - Stay safe!

When You are Not Wanted

Sometimes private investigators get called upon to do a "welfare check" on an individual.  The most common is when there is no family close by and there is an elderly family member that no one has heard from for a long time.  There are other variations of these, but the bottom line is the investigator has no more authority to do a check than any other individual.

I was recently asked to do a welfare check on someone, and as soon as I got to the door to ask about the person, I was turned away by someone in the house that appeared to belong inside.  I had a small concern, but not a large one for the welfare of the person I was sent to check on, but not enough that I felt a need to call the police.

My point is that sometimes all an investigator can do is ask.  If they push the issue any more, they can be treading on harassment or similar charges.

I know this isn't the most interesting thing in a case, but it is the kind of day to day thing an investigator has to deal with.


Whatever you do - Stay safe!

So Many Strange Requests

Lately, I have gotten quite a few strange requests for my services.  These requests have ranged from "muscle" to conducing illegal surveillance.

So just in case you didn't know, here are some things I don't do for pay:

1.  Intimidate people.  I will not go to intimidate or threaten anyone in any form or fashion.
2.  Place a GPS on someone's vehicle besides yours.  When I say yours, I mean that the title is in you name. I also need written permission from you before I do that.
3.  I will not place a hidden camera anywhere in your home to catch your other half cheating on you.
4.  I will not put spyware on any phone that is not yours.  Show me the bill first.
5.  I will not break into an office to look for records (I know this is a common TV PI thing, but it is a felony to do so)

This list may have to be repeated and then be added to.  In case you are wondering, yes, I have been asked to do all of this.


Whatever you do - be safe!

Investigations Basics - Part 6

A good memory

The third thing you need to have is a good memory.  Now we all are not gifted with having a good memory.  Frankly, mine is not all that good.  So I learned to compensate.  I record phone calls and interviews that are connected to the case.  I also take notes, just in case.  I am constantly using the reminders and calendar in my phone to keep me on schedule.  Use technology to your advantage and realize that being able to repeat or report on the information you obtain is a key element in the investigation’s success.
I also maintain a database of all my cases and any of my work that has every individual I get information on and from.  This can be very important, not only for your current case, but subsequent cases. It can also prevent you from conflict of interest later on down the road.

Take pictures and video, and don’t be shy about it.  Explain to others that you need to document who you have spoken with in the interview.  There are times where subtlety is needed, so use a spy camera for those occasions.  You don't have the mortgage the farm.  You can buy a key-chain camera online at eBay for around 12 dollars that will work just fine.  Have a good memory, but document everything you can with some type of recording.

Sometimes having a good memory means having a big enough memory card.

Stay safe!

Investigator Basics - Part 5

 Effective Communications Skills

As in many walks of life, you must be able to communicate effectively.  You need to be able to do this on the phone, in email, in written reports – almost in any form of communication you can think of.  Your ability to communicate on the phone will likely be what gets you more cases or not. 

It is not just about being able to express yourself either.  You must be a good listener in order to effectively communicate. In order to be good at interviewing people, you must be able to communicate effectively with the person to whom you are questioning. If you don’t have good listening skills, it will impair your real effectiveness as an interviewer.

As a consequence, you will find it very difficult to be a successful criminal defense or corporate investigator if you cannot conduct good interviews. There is nothing more offensive or annoying than someone speaking down to someone or using speech or language that is difficult to comprehend. You must be able to speak to anyone from a young person with a limited education to a professional person, in language that is appropriate and clear.  Always use the most concise word – the word that has the clearest meaning. 

Make sure that when you ask a question, it is not too complicated.  It is better to use several simple questions instead of a long complicated one.  This applies to information that you are giving too.  It is always better to be short and concise instead of wordy and complicated.

Try to keep your ideas and questions about certain issues together.  For instance, when covering the “Where” question: Keep all questions concerning the description of the location together.  Do the same thing when asking about the description of a person.  Keep those types of questions together. It is easier for the other person to keep their train of thought.  It is OK to go back later and ask a question on any topic for the purpose of finding out if they are telling the truth.

Avoid wording your questions so that you are asking about what a person does not know.   Do not ask “You didn’t see the license plate did you?” unless it is a follow up question to something they may have said about the license plate.  Instead ask them to describe what they remember about the vehicle.  You can help the person you are interviewing describe the vehicle by asking questions about the size, color, type, and so on. 

Here are some tips to communicating effectively:

• ·         Listen, then in your own words repeat what you understand the person is telling you
• ·         If you are giving any kind of information, ask if the other person understands the directions or information
• ·         Project positive attitudes towards others and try to foster good human relations
• ·         Be empathic and express concern for others
• ·         Manage conversations and effectively draw out information
• ·         Pay great attention to the other person’s non verbal cues

Whatever you do - Stay safe!

It Seems Someone Finally Got Caught

The headline reads "Beaumont man charged with impersonating private investigator."

I find it interesting that some that portrayed themselves so long as a private investigator was not caught sooner. Remember that not is it only illegal to work as a private investigator without a license, it is illegal to hire a non license PI for private investigations work.

Stay Safe!

Investigator Basics - Part 4

So now we finally get to the part where I discuss the needed qualities of an investigator:

The next few posts will be about attributes and special qualities that will help you as an investigator achieve success.

Today's topic: The Ability to get others to work with you

The first quality I will focus on is the ability to get people to work or co-operate with you.  Why you ask?  Well, first off, it is my blog, and secondly – it is likely one of the most important skills you will need.  It will help you with witnesses, clients, suspects, professionals you need assistance from, and pretty much anyone else you come across in your daily work.

You will make a living or go broke as an investigator with your ability to collect information.  If you can communicate well, you have an upper hand on becoming a great investigator.  That communication can be done in your interviews and in your writing of reports.  Often, you will need to communicate effectively to obtain information from all sorts of sources.

You will need to have the ability to interact effectively with all types of people.  It doesn’t matter if they are day laborers or lawyers, you will need to find a way to communicate effectively with them.  If you are having trouble relating to your clients, or suspects, people in the clerk’s office who are the custodians of public records, and witnesses, you may need to consider looking into another line of work.  If you alienate witnesses, they probably will not give you any information.

You have to be able to understand with whom you are dealing.  There are times a simple question and answer gets you the desired information for your case.  You need to know when to play nice and also when to be more forceful.  There are other times when you just need to lie to get the information you need.  I could have said it nicely that you need to “play a role” or use subterfuge or pretext, but we all know what is really going on. 

When you are working on an investigation, you will make many contacts.  These will be people that are connected to your case in numerous ways whether they are clients, witnesses, or suspects. Sometimes you will simply be dealing with members of the public who can provide information.

How are you going to get the facts and information you need if you cannot obtain co-operation from as many people as possible?  Remember that you are trying to bring your investigation to a successful conclusion. You need to have patience, good manners, diplomacy, and understanding. A suspect or witness who has been brow-beaten, scared, or annoyed by an impatient investigator has no value to you and will not add to the investigation.

Here are a few tips:

·         Be genuinely interested in others and make sure they know this

·         Be able to adapt to different personalities and circumstances

·         Communicate effectively with others

·         Be believable – even when you bluff

·         Motivate other people when needed

·         Understand the emotional strengths and weaknesses of others

·         Be sure to control your own emotions

·         Create friends rather than enemies – make sure people are happy to see you coming

Whatever you do - stay safe!

Investigator Basics - Part 3

Now is the time that I will talk about ethics and honesty.  I always keep my clients up to date on where the investigation is.  I also tell them about the cost effectiveness of this to do in the investigation.  I do not give play-by-play or real time updates on surveillance cases of any type.  Doing so would just be asking for trouble.  I give a thorough report the following day. This is for obvious reasons that the client may want to confront or catch the subject of the investigation “red handed.”

Remember when you are interviewing people, if their lips are moving they are lying.  OK, that is an exaggeration, but I have often found that people tend to tell lies, even when they don’t need to do so.  Do not get angry or frustrated by this, just be aware of it.  Also, do not decide how much information is enough information before you start the investigation.   Let the information and evidence speak for itself.  What may seem to be the opposite of this is – find out what the client is expecting.  Do they expect to see the subject “caught on tape?” Do they expect the subject to confess?   Do they think there will be irrefutable evidence found out?  These are things to be decided between the client and investigator before you have started to conduct the investigation.

One of the things you should always be doing is developing informants and sources of information before you need them.  Never underestimate the power of being a friendly patron and a good tipper at any place in the service industry.  Stop in at bars and restaurants – you don’t have to order expensive meals, just be friendly and leave good tips.  It more than pays off in the long run. People are often happy to give you information when they see you as a “good customer.”  Treat the people you deal with in the public records places with dignity, respect, friendliness, and honesty.  I try to keep the people I deal with in the Clerks’ offices at the courthouse happy to see me coming.  They have often done little things as a favor, because I am a good customer. 

Whatever you do - stay safe!

Investigator Basics - Part 2

So what makes you an investigator?

Remember, the investigator works at the gathering and analysis of information.  The information is in records, statements, and evidence.  Sometimes the evidence can be gathered without surveillance.  Sometimes the records are the evidence.  Sometimes the statements are the evidence.  Sometimes a person won’t freely give you the statement directly, so surveillance or even an undercover operation is needed to collect what you need.

Investigators are professional researchers and analysts that sometimes have to employ all of the following: observation, enquiry, examination, experimentation, and analysis.  It is not always easy to obtain the evidence and information you need to “solve” your case.  The problem for the private investigator, is that (s)he does not have the privileges often afforded to law enforcement, and does not have the authority and resources of the state or federal government behind them.  The private investigator must adhere to ethical behavior and work within the law.  The private investigator does not have any privileges or authority any private citizen does not possess.  The investigator must depend upon his or her own savvy, training, experience, connections, and good old fashioned hard work.

Sometimes asking a question once is not enough.  Try to not be too annoying (unless that is the desired effect) when repeating questions.  Rephrase the questions.  Ask the questions from different perspectives.  Also, never under estimate the “oh I almost forgot to ask…”or the “one more thing” before concluding the interview.  When people think the interview is over, they tend to let their guard down.  The Columbo TV trick can work well when done correctly.  I am not a believer in TV techniques, but they usually got put into a script for a reason.

I am sometimes simple minded.  I like to have the “Who, What, When, Where, Why and How” written at the top of the page of my notebook when I interview.  I tick mark the item covered, so I know what else I need to ask.  Sometimes I will just ask that simple question: How?  Or Why?

Do not be too quick to commit yourself to deciding the guilt or innocence of anyone whom you may question.  Of course, from the old school of investigating “If their lips are moving, they are lying” is almost better to adhere to than believing whatever someone may say.  Remember to balance what they say against the records and the evidence available.

Remember that in the field, your primary purpose is to gather facts. Normally, analysis, evaluation, and judgment are to come later. However, this does not mean you should be naïve about what is going on.  Decide for yourself if “playing dumb” is the best course of action.  I usually tell the person I am interviewing, that I have just been hired and I do not know the details of the case.  This is usually not true, but it gives me the excuse to ask very specific questions or repeat questions to clarify information. 

I have rarely felt like I had gathered all the information needed to decide the truth, unless I obtained a video showing the incident in question.  I do not know if there is any way to determine that you have gathered all the information possible.  I usually tell the client that there is more than can be gathered, but the cost effectiveness begins to drop dramatically, and I leave it up to them to decide if they want me to spend the time and money to continue the investigation.  This of course depends on the seriousness and the type of case being investigated.  You should always be asking yourself if there is anything that you have overlooked that could make a difference in the outcome of the investigation.

Stay with these principles, and you can work your way into becoming an accomplished investigator.  Whatever you do, stay safe!

Investigator Basics

Note:  this is the first part of a multi-part series on private investigations basics.

If you want to be able to gather information, you need to develop some skills in the human interaction department.  To a lot of people, these skills come naturally.  Whether it is because of how they were raised, or because they have a personality that helps them interact with others.  The rest of us have needed to learn some of these skills, to become professional investigators.

I cannot tell you all of the reasons that people like or dislike others.  Nor can I tell you why people trust or fear other people (in each case).  Sometimes it is even difficult to understand why people are attracted to or repelled by others.  There are many college courses and books on these subjects, but it usually boils down to past experiences, yours and theirs.

If you want to become an effective investigator, you must be aware that there are many things in your whole basic make-up that can make an impression upon others – be it good or bad.  This can come down to your choice of shoes, the type of deodorant or cologne/perfume you use, your facial expressions, the kind of body language you display, and of course your voice tone and phrasing. We cannot fail to mention your sex, race, and your upbringing.  These all factor into how people see you.

The basics of investigation pretty much is gathering and analyzing information.   The information you most often get is from others’ statements.  Of course, there is the obvious evidence (like photos and video) but usually most of the evidence you gather will be the statements made by people themselves.  No case can be “solved”, assets recovered, or missing people be located without the investigator successfully gathering information.  There is no one skill that will make you a good investigator, you need to develop many skills, know your strengths and weaknesses, and be aware of how you have been fooled in the past.

Diligence v. Diligence

I know that you can only work with the tools that are available to you.

Think about this for a moment.  As a private investigator – you are given information by a client as a starting point.  If you are like me, there is a about a 30-40% chance that some of that information is not correct.  A name will be spelled incorrectly or it will be the wrong name altogether.  An address given will be incorrect.  Dates, times, and anything involving a number seems to have a higher chance of being incorrect than other basic information.

This is why it is so important to get as much information as possible.  This was the investigator can cross-check the information so as to start the investigation in the right place or with the right person.  It may not be the investigator’s fault that (s)he was given bad information.  The problem is, the client rarely sees it that way.  This is also why written information is so much better to go on than verbal.  When you have a written request – it is obvious what you were asked to do.

Diligence vs. Diligence

Diligence – I have harped on this before.  You need to be at least diligent in all that you do.  I do not mean the legal definition of diligence. You do not want to rely on what some information database gives to you alone.  Remember to actually investigate.  Talk to people. Make phone calls.  Check other sources of records.   Diligence is rarely specifically defined in a legal sense.  When it is, it usually does not require all that much.

Some legal dictionaries say things like: “diligence n. reasonable care or attention to a matter, which is good enough to avoid a claim of negligence, or is a fair attempt (as in due diligence in a process server's attempt to locate someone).” Or something like "due diligence is a measure of prudence, activity, or assiduity, as is properly to be expected from, and ordinarily exercised by, a reasonable and prudent person under the particular circumstances; not measured by any absolute standard but depends on the relative facts of the special case."


Legal diligence basically is “just enough to not get sued” or what is “expected.”  I hope that you do more that what is expected.  Strive for excellence.  That is how I handle all of my cases, from the background check, a process service, or a homicide.   I have to work within the constraints of the client’s budget, but that does not mean I will do a half-a$$ed job.  I may not be able to put in all the hours I would like for a case, but what hours I do put in, they will be productive ones.

I have noticed that it seems I get the job done in less time than a lot of investigators out there.  When you are doing your job in an effective manner, you will do it faster than someone just billing hours.  I am not talking about surveillance, because we all have no control over the subject of the investigation.  We have to wait for him or her to make their move.

You can be diligent, as described in a regular dictionary: “constant in effort to accomplish something; attentive and persistent in doing anything or done or pursued with persevering attention; painstaking: a diligent search of the files.”  That is a good thing.  It is a much better practice than the “legal” definition of diligence.  When in doubt – do your best!

And whatever you so - Stay Safe!

How do You Record Your Interviews?

Investigators almost always try to record the interviews they conduct.  The main reason is for the purpose of accuracy when they have to report their findings.  There are instances when you interview a potential witness, and they change their story in court.  It is awfully nice to have a recorded interview where they state something different, especially if you need to discredit the witness or what they "now" say damages a case.

Every time I conduct an interview, I try to get it recorded.  I have tried out several high-end recorders, only to find out the are "too good."  Too many times when I have used the high end products, they are too sensitive and pick up way too much background noise.  When I say recorders - I am speaking of digital recorders.  I do not use tape any longer - it is just logistically too impractical.  The 4th recorder I decided to try out was basically out of need.  I had sent back another expensive model, and I needed one as a stop-gap measure.   I bought a $59 model from Wal~Mart.

The recorder I got was a Sony ICD-PX312 digital recorder.  It has a removable micro-SD card (which was one of the few requirements I have).  It can record in several formats, and has several quality settings.  I stated off using everything in the middle range.  It it easy to set up and easy to use.  I can turn the recorder on and lock the power button so it continually records conversations.  I put the recorder in my pocket and conduct the interview.  It doesn't matter if it is a shirt or pants pocket - it records the conversation really well.

I would have to give this recorder a 5 out of 5 rating if I had a system.  It is easy to use, easy to set up and always gives me a great recording.  This equipment is standard issue for everyone working for me.

If you use something that works really well, I would like to hear from you.

Don't Forget the Basics

If you are called upon to work any type of homicide investigation, including a suicide, don't forget the basics.  A lot of times law enforcement agencies focus on the "suspect' and the crime and they often forget to do the basics of a homicide investigation.

Homicide 101: You track down the victim's last 24 hours.

Every detective knows this is the basics.  However, I have been called in on more than one occasion where this is not done.  Sometimes it is because the police feel they have a slam dunk case.  Other times they do not see the relevance of doing this basic step in the investigation.

There are a lot of things that may or may not turn up in this process.  However, forgetting or just ignoring this process can leave out a lot of critical information.  This process often leads to more witnesses and more evidence that can make the case for either the state or the defendant.

It seems in today's world with surveillance cameras and other technology, basic investigative work is overlooked again and again.  I know police agencies are strapped budget-wise, but not doing the basics can be an embarrassment later.

Canvassing, interviews, tracking down the last 24 hours are all things you need to do in your investigation.  If you leave any of these out - you may not just have egg on your face - but you just may lose your case.

Whatever you do - Stay safe!