by L. Scott Harrell
How do I become a private investigator?
That's a complicated question with several parts that largely depend upon in
which state you plan on working. You have two options; you either work for a
licensed private investigations agency or you go to work for yourself and
obtain your own PI company license. Either way, you there are two
considerations you must address at some point:
The first consideration is licensing; all but only a handful of states
require a state-issued license to be a private investigator. Each state has
different background, education and experience requirements that may vary
from simply attending a state-approved training course to pre-licensing
education, exams, years of work experience and obtaining a sizable
professional liability insurance policy with "errors and omissions"
coverage. To make matters just a little more confusing, there are some
cities that require private investigators to either register or obtain a
municipal license in states that do not otherwise require them.
The second consideration is training. Private investigation specific
training is the most important investment you can make in yourself! Since
most new PIs don't have the ability or are not ready to start up their own
investigations company you will most likely be looking for employment with
an established agency. As an owner of an established and well respected
detective agency I get resumes all of the time; the first thing I look for
before considering a candidate is to ask the question, "How has this person
invested in themselves before asking me to invest in them?"
What if I do not have the minimum experience required by the state to
obtain my own company license? How will I ever break into the industry?
If your goal is to eventually own your private investigations agency, no
problem... every state that requires experience also has a program in place
to see that new investigators have access to eventually obtaining their own
license. For example, in Texas where we hold an agency license those who are
too new simply go to work for an established company until they have the
required number of hours to be able apply for their own license. In Florida
(where we also have an agency license) they specifically provide internship
licenses. Again, every state is a little bit different but thousands of
successful private investigators are working today and tens of thousands
have come before us; we all had to get started someplace... you can too.
Also, consider your own background and employment related experience
carefully some of it may apply. I have known loss prevention agents,
security guards (in specific roles), accountants, firemen, bail bondsmen,
alarm installers, teachers, and even a librarian use their previous
employment experiences to apply for their own agency license.
What type of training should I be looking into?
Any amount of training is great though most PI companies don't place a whole
lot of credibility with the courses from PCDI, Harcourt, and Thompson
Direct. You could honestly do much better and at less cost.
Instead, look for academies or training programs that have been created by
private investigators. Who knows better about what a new or an aspiring
private detective needs to know than an investigator who has been in the
field for a considerable amount of time?
Also... look to see that the sponsoring company is active in the industry as
well. Are they still providing regular private investigative services to a
robust clientele? It's sad, but many PIs who wash out over a very short
period of time in the business look to teaching. In reality, you will learn
very little from those who could not make it themselves; success breeds
success!
Lastly, I have a little secret I would like to share with you...
Look over the education provider's entire website and see if you find
boastful claims or where the company is bashing other educators. This is a
very tight-knit industry and you will find that students who complete
training programs from educators that spend time "bad mouthing the
competition" have a terrible time getting a break simply because of the
animosity created through their educator's use of negative advertising. I
know that seems unfair but it is a reality in this business. This does not
mean, however, that you should dismiss the negative press but the first
thing an excellent private investigator learns is how to evaluate a claim,
identify the source and make a judgment based on additional facts and
research. Some statements will have merit while others will not; it's up to
you to make that decision.
What is the difference between a private investigator and a private
detective?
Nothing. The terms are used interchangeably but some states choose to use
the term "detective" while most use the term "investigator."
I really just want to help my friends and family to find old friends or
people who owe them money. Do I need a PI license?
That's a great question. Generally speaking, in those states where it is a
requirement you will need to obtain a license if you hold yourself out for
hire or accept payment from another person or business and participate in or
provide the following services:
* Surveillance
* Obtaining or furnish information related to a crime or the identity,
habits, business, occupation, knowledge, movement, location, affiliations,
associations,transactions, acts, reputation, or character of a person, group
or company.
* Securing evidence for use before a court, board, officer, or committee
* Locating or recovering lost or stolen property and unclaimed funds.
* Determining the cause or responsibility for a fire, libel, loss, accident,
damage, or injury to a person or to property.
Some states may specifically include such things as service of process, bail
enforcement, personal protection and genealogical research under those
activities that require a private investigator's license as well.
Do I have to have a degree in Criminal Justice from a college or
university?
No, though some states may accept a degree in Criminal Justice,
Administration of Justice or Police Sciences in lieu of the minimum
experience requirements. One recent study conducted on behalf of the
Virginia Department of Justice concluded that almost 57% of all private
investigators do not have a college education.
If I do not have a college education do I have to have a background as a
police officer or other law enforcement related profession?
No. Most private investigators do not have a law enforcement background
before entering into this industry. It is true that many private
investigators may have once had a career in criminal justice but the
bottom-line is that private investigation and law enforcement is very
different and my experience has been that very few who make the transition
from law enforcement are prepared for this type of work, either technically
or creatively, on their own. Most of them recognize this and seek industry
specific training as well.
What type of person makes a successful private investigator?
This business requires a rare blend of logic and creativity; it's rare
because logical people tend to not be very creative and vice-versa.
I would say that any successful detective must first have the ability to
communicate. This means that he or she must have the ability to connect with
people of all walks of life, regardless of economic status, ethnicity or
education. It also means that the investigator must have the ability to
clearly present a simple fact or a complex investigation in writing. The end
result of an investigation is the investigative report, which is given to
the client upon conclusion of the assignment; this is essentially our work
product. If you cannot write reasonably well, your reputation will surely
suffer as a result.
Secondly, great investigators have a burning desire to answer any question
that is put to them only after a careful and determined effort to identify
the facts and circumstances that contribute to a complete and unbiased
explanation. We are in the business to provide facts, not opinions; we let
our clients draw their own conclusions from our report. Oftentimes in order
to get to those facts, we must be relentless in our pursuit of information.
This is where logic meets creativity. Dead-ends often only require a
different approach!
Lastly, I believe that every investigator should possess a varied set of
experiences and knowledge. One characterization of the private detective
industry I can make is that by and large we represent a vastness of
experience, skills, and trades. One of the most accomplished investigators I
have ever met listed "Mom" on her resume. When she decided to become a
private investigator she had no appreciable skills that she could put in her
resume but through her own experiences she had developed an intuition that
was almost never wrong and she could simplify complex problems into there
most basic parts. I have personally hired a plumber, building contractor,
car salesman, and a host of other seemingly unrelated career types into my
own company, CompassPoint Investigations, because they had certain
intangibles that made them great in this business!
The bottom line is that anyone can train to become a wildly successful
private investigator, just like one can train to become a barber or an
attorney, but an aspiring detective has to bring some things to the table
that cannot be easily taught: creativity, logic, the ability to communicate
and an insatiable curiosity!
I have a criminal conviction in my background from many years ago. Will
this affect my ability to become a private eye?
Every state that requires a license to be a PI also requires a background
investigation as a part of the licensing process. I believe that a felony
conviction will be an automatic disqualification in almost every instance
(though I know a felon who has a PI license issued by the city of Columbus,
MO.), while misdemeanors may be considered depending upon the crime, its
seriousness and the amount of time that has passed since the conviction;
again this will vary by state.
Will my military discharge affect my ability to become a private
investigator?
In some cases a discharge that is anything but honorable may prevent you
from becoming a PI. Just as in the answer to the criminal conviction history
above, some states require PI applicants be free from negative military
discharge classifications- Bad Conduct Discharge, Less than Honorable or
Other Than Honorable service characterizations are grounds for denial of a
PI license in several states and jurisdictions.
Perhaps the Florida Division of Licensing put it best: "Private
investigators and private investigative agencies serve in positions of
trust. Untrained and unlicensed persons or businesses, or persons not of
good moral character, are a threat to the public safety and welfare. The
private investigative industry is regulated to ensure the interests of the
public are adequately served and protected."
Can I just specialize in a particular type of investigation or will I
have to do the surveillances and cheating spouse investigations too?
I absolutely recommend that investigators find their niche and specialize in
only a few types of investigations! There are several important reasons for
this, which I discuss in my training programs, but it can be summed up this
way: when you are the most notable investigator in your region of the
country for a specific type of investigation, you will find MANY additional
opportunities to make a lot more money than if you advertise yourself as a
"jack of all trades." This has been proven across the country time and time
again and is a major topic of discussion in our upcoming private
investigation marketing manual.
What types of assignments do private investigators typically take?
Wow, the options are endless and the subject really deserves its own entire
section! I have listed the most obvious types of private investigator
assignments in an article you can find by going to my Articles Page. I will
eventually briefly describe each type of investigation in the next couple of
weeks. Continue to check in as we are constantly making additions.
What type of investigation or specialty assignment pays the most?
I don't know that anyone can answer that question definitively, but I will
say that surveillance is typically the most lucrative type of assignment a
private investigator can get because it is solid, billable, blocks of time.
I am aware that there are particular types of investigations where
investigators are making anywhere between $300 and $500 an hour for
activities like forensic computer evaluation, security consulting,
automobile repossession, and a few others specialties. I personally have
made $10,000 in an hour on several occasions in 14 years doing bail fugitive
recovery work, those types of paydays are few and far between. Overall I
average almost $150 an hour while engaged in bail enforcement, not too bad
by most people's standards, though many investigators just don't have the
stomach for that type of work. It can be extremely dangerous, it is a very
competitive field and you get paid only if you can complete the case.
Is private investigation dangerous work?
Obviously, there are some PI jobs that are more dangerous than others like
collateral repossession or bounty hunting but, generally speaking, private
investigation is not a dangerous job. We all have heard the stories of PIs
getting caught while on surveillance by an irate cheating husband or being
chased out of a yard at the business end of a shotgun while serving a
subpoena. Most episodes of Magnum PI had Tom Selleck dodging bullets, too.
Certainly, scary things can and do happen on rare occasions but like all war
stories, the ones that seem to get a lot of attention play out more like
fiction than reality. Safety is always at the forefront of every trained
investigator's mind.
L. Scott Harrell is the author of several private investigator training courses stemming from 14 years of experience as a private detective and principal of CompassPoint Investigations.
More information regarding CompassPoint Investigations and the private investigation industry can be found via the internet: http://www.BeAPrivateEye.com