Private Investigator! is an adventure story arc of the Philippine comic strip series Pugad Baboy, created by Pol Medina Jr. and originally published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer. This particular story arc lasts 77 strips long and ran July to October, 2000, in the light of the then-recent bombings in some shopping malls. In 2001, the story arc was reprinted in PB the 13th, the thirteenth book compilation of the comic strip series. The story arc's title comes from the fact that every time Dagul's alter ego Bardagul Kapote's name is mentioned by the unseen narrator, he always follows it with the phrase "Private Investigator," which is what Bardagul Kapote is.

"Kapote" is Filipino for raincoat and Bardagul's trench coat can serve the same purpose as a raincoat in the Philippine setting.

Synopsis

Dagul, Debbie, and their housekeeper Brosia are watching a very gory movie in a shopping mall cinema when suddenly, an explosion is heard, sending the other moviegoers into panic. In the aftermath of the explosion, Brosia helps the janitor collect the debris from the explosion, which originated from the women's restroom, into a garbage bag. Brosia and her masters take home the garbage bag, even before police could obtain any evidence from it.

At home, Dagul tells Debbie that the garbage bag they took home might contain evidence related to the bombing. But examining it should be done by a very skilled detective. Dagul and Brosia then disappear and reappear as Bardagul Kapote, a trench coat-clad private investigator, and Brossy, his blonde secretary, both dressed in a 50s get-up.

Bardagul then examines the contents of the garbage bag. The absence of shrapnel tells him that the bomb used in the explosion is not a fragmentation bomb and neither it is a incendiary bomb because the garbage is still intact. Bardagul also finds some receipts, a classified ad from a newspaper, a leaf, and a SIM card. He gets his cellular phone and inserts the SIM card. The SIM card is locked, but an acquaintance, Noks Ramos (Igno), manages to unlock it in only four seconds.

Bardagul checks the SIM's log and calls the last number listed. The number leads to an Ilocano-speaking man. Since neither Bardagul nor Brossy can understand Ilocano and an interpreter is nowhere to be found, Bardagul hangs up. In the process, he finds out that the SIM is a prepaid one because its account has P460 left.

Bardagul then has a K-9 detective (Polgas) examine the physical make-up to the piece of debris from the explosion, which is revealed to be made up of cellulose, ethanolamine, nitrogen tri-iodide and activated carbon. He also finds out from his snitches that the fireworks business in Bulacan is on the rise again despite being in the off season as pyrotechnics sales from that province are transacted in several restaurants in Quezon City .

While about to go forward, and in an almost impossible instance, Brossy calls Bardagul through cellphone, even though he is yet to find out about its number. Back in the office, Brossy explains that the number of the SIM is the one posted on the classified ad. Furthermore, she tells him that fourteen of the contacts listed in the SIM are phone numbers to several fireworks factories in Bulacan.

Based from the info, Bardagul deduces that the perpetraitor of the bombing in the mall is a woman named Lita (the one mentioned by the Ilocano-speaking man earlier) and the explosive used in the bombing is a pyrotechnic device from Bulacan. He then asks for the receipts and the leaf that is among the evidence. The receipts have names of restaurants in Quezon City specializing in Ilocano cuisine and all of which list a dish called "inabraw nga saluyot." The leaf happens to be a saluyot leaf, which is predominant in Ilocano dishes.

Using the new information, Bardagul visits the Kaspagarigan Restaurant in Quezon City. He asks one of the crew about the receipt and the man remembers that in the Tuesday before, a female diner ordered "inabraw nga saluyot" and her male companion ordered "minatamis na langka" (sweetened jackfruit). The female diner then left, leaving the companion behind. One of the restaurant's guest relations officers later tells Bardagul that the male companion is from Bulacan who gave the female diner a box. The female diner also talked with the manager, telling him that she wanted to order a lot of goats for her farm in Laoag.

As Bardagul is about to leave, a man points a rifle at his back. But Bardagul uses some aikido to disarm the gunman and tosses him to the fence of the restaurant. Another member of the crew helps the man up and tells Bardagul that the man he has just manhandled is a security guard who may have mistaken him for someone else. Bardagul then leaves the scene and hides in the tall grasses surrounding the restaurant.

While hiding, he peeks at the crew member who has just helped the gunman who threatened him. The crew member is dialing a phone, but Bardagul can't see the buttons because of his distance. Suddenly, Bardagul's cellphone rings, telling him that the man is calling him, thinking he is Lita, his main suspect. Bardagul disguises his voice (first by singing the Ilocano folk song "Pamulinawen") to a female one. Using this cover, Bardagul finds out that Lita is in vacation in Fort Ilocandia, a hotel resort in Ilocos Norte. He then packs up and drives twelve hours to the said hotel.

Once at the hotel, he distracts the people at the concierge by telling them that Robin Padilla and Vina Morales are checking in just as he does. While the people at desk are running outside to look for the two actors, Bardagul checks the guest list and finds no one named Lita. He then checks the room service list and finds out that someone in Room 400 has ordered "inabraw nga saluyot." So when the desk people return to their posts after their futile search, he asks the concierge to check him into Room 398 for "superstitious" reasons. Room 398 happens to be near Room 400, where Lita is supposed to be staying. He sets up a trap at the door to enable him to wake up at the moment Lita leaves the hotel. He then goes to sleep, tired because of the long drive.

At four in the morning the next day, the trap sets off waking Bardagul up. He opens the door finding several goons about to beat him up with clubs. He takes care of each of them, but finds that Room 400 has been vacated. Furthermore, guns are beginning to cock. He plans to use his .38 revolver, but the goons' guns seem to be more powerful. So he escapes, while firing back at the goons.

Bardagul's pistol is a special one because it carries eight bullets of different kinds: one blank bullet, two rubber-tipped ones, three brass-tipped ones, and two double-action ones. At this moment, he loads bullets that explode on impact and shoots the balcony where the goons are. He then drives off.

While driving away, he tries to call Brossy, but there is no answer. Then, Bardagul remembers the address of the Ilocano-speaking man who talked to him days before. He is about to proceed and his cellphone rings again. It is one of the goons he has fought with earlier and he has kidnapped Brossy. Pretending to be Lita he tells the goon that he has done a good job and asks where he should drop the "hostage." The goon tells him that he will drop the "hostage" in a warehouse in Bacalad Road. The location are so detailed, Bardagul immediately realizes that the goons set him up. He then drives off.

He parks near a perimeter fence behind Lita's farm. He crawls under the fence when the Ilocano-speaking man, whom he identifies as Abraham, finds him and asks him about his business in Abraham's farm. Bardagul tells Abraham that he is no robber and he is just finding Lita. The mere mention of Lita earns Abraham's ire and starts to say curses while his daughter, a familiar face to readers of the strip, tries to separate the two so Abraham can calm down.

Abraham's daughter explains to Bardagul that her father pawned half of his land to Lita. When it was time to pay up, Lita did not return the land. In fact, when Lita was about to resell her land, Abraham borrowed some money to get the land back to him; Lita then stopped the sale. The daughter does not even know how Lita transferred the land deeds to her name.

Bardagul tells Abraham's daughter that he is about to infiltrate the warehouse on Lita's land and he tells her to call the other farmers for help in case he needs it.

Bardagul infiltrates the warehouse, breaks the lock and enters. Inside, he finds boxes of potassium nitrate, which can be used as ingredients for explosives. But for him, this is not enough evidence. So he searches for any box of "lolo thunder," a powerful kind of firecracker, and finds one hidden among the boxes of potassium nitrate. While he photographs the evidence, someone is calling him. It is Lita's eight goons, holding Brossy hostage and are looking for him. One of them dials the number of Lita's SIM card and Bardagul's phone rings. In an attempt to distract the goons, he fires three shots to the roof. While the goons are looking away, Brossy kicks the goon holding her. She even imitates Trinity's kick in The Matrix on another guard. She then escapes while Bardagul fires exploding bullets on the boxes. But the theatrics stop when Brossy is once again captured, this time by Lita, who is really Abraham's daughter, former Lt.-Col. Violeta Kainam (the main antagonist of the story arc Col. Manyakis). She is accompanied by her partner, former Gen. Cresendo Lagumbay (alias Sendong Langib, her counterpart in the story arc Retraining).

While the two ex-military officials tie Brossy and Bardagul up and introduce themselves, Brossy identifies Lagumbay as the big boss of Lucdet Security Agency. He clarifies that he is the big boss of forty security agencies, all of which hire ex-soldiers.

Kainam explains to Bardagul that the boxes are laced with trinitrotoluene and she can even make bombs make from ordinary fireworks. She takes advantage of making and exploding them because mall security has again been relaxed. Lagumbay and Kainam decide to leave Bardagul and Brossy tied up and shoot each of them down using Bardagul's revolver. But before that plan is set into motion, several Ilocano farmers from Bacalad, led by Abraham, charge into the warehouse, having disabled the goons. In response, Lagumbay guns Brossy down, not realizing that he has fired a blank. While Lagumbay shoots relentlessly, Bardagul rolls on him, knocking him out. As the farmers, particularly Abraham, release Bardagul from the ropes, Bardagul sees a truck driving away. He throws a box of "lolo thunder" towards the truck and shoots using his revolver's double-action bullets (those that explode on impact). The truck is torched, but Lita is seen driving away the other way in a sports car. So he takes Brossy (who still thinks she is dead) and drives after her, even using nitro to get close to her faster.

By the time they approach Vigan, Bardagul and Brossy realize that Kainam cannot be found. Brossy suggests that Kainam may not go to Manila, but Bardagul tells her that Kainam is going to Manila, but not by land. So they turn back. Calling the Laoag International Airport as Victoriano Lecaros, a member of Bongbong Marcos's staff, Bardagul finds out that a military flight is leaving the airport, bound for Manila, and a white sports car (Kainam's 1957 Corvette roadster) is found parked in the runaway. They reach the airport as the military plane is taxiing in the runway.

Brossy places two packs of TNT in Bardagul's trench coat pocket. Bardagul gives his car's cigarette lighter and she places it alongside the two packs. Brossy hangs the trench coat on plane's left hind wing and it explodes, disabling the tail rudder. The pilot (the goon whose right hand is bandaged) and Kainam alight from the plane to see the damage as Bardagul and Brossy restrain them. A third person comes out of the plane. It is the gunman whom Bardagul disarmed back in the Kaspagarigan Restaurant. The bandaged goon identifies the man as Melecio, a champion skeet shooter. So Bardagul throws another pack of TNT towards Melecio. Melecio aims and shoots it perfectly, even taunting Bardagul by telling him that TNT does not ignite by shotgun blast. Luckily, Brossy has lit a flare and like a bride tossing a bouquet, Brossy hurls the flare to Melecio's direction.

The TNT spread upon the poor skeet shooter lights up, causing him to accidentally pull his rifle's trigger. The bullet from the rifle makes a hole on the plane's left engine. The plane's fuel, which is 100- octane gas, leaks from the wing and is about to explode. Worse, the plane is full of TNT. Sensing some danger, Bardagul and Brossy run off to their car, with Kainam and the bandaged goon joining them. They drive away from the plane as it blows up.

Bardagul then turns over Kainam, Lagumbay, and their goons (Melecio included) to local authorities, as well as the evidence against them, except for the SIM card, which Bardagul plans to use up its balance first before surrendering it.

Bardagul and Brossy then take time out in Pagudpud Beach in Ilocos Norte. There, Bardagul discusses the confirmed doubt that Lita's (Kainam) actions against her father, Abraham, are just an inside job because their farms are right next to each other and both have saluyot planted on them. So to make sure, he asked Abraham and the other farmers' help in staking Lita. He also explains that Kainam collaborated with Lagumbay in his security business to create terrorist threats on malls, forcing the mall owners to hire more guards, and lose money in the process. He also finds out that Brossy was kidnapped because she was flirting with a security guard, just as he suspected. They then return to Manila, having finished their mission.

Continuity errors and mistakes

This particular story contains at least two mistakes committed by Medina in writing the story.

• Whenever a SIM card is inserted in another cellphone, the log of the calls made on the former cellphone are not saved on the SIM card, but on the phone. So it is unexplained how Bardagul gets access to the phone log of the SIM card and calls Abraham's number.
• Bardagul realizes that the actions against him is a whole set up when the goon who abducted Brossy gives him detailed instructions to his own farm. It is unexplained however how Bardagul bought a farm in Ilocos Norte. It may be possible that the goon might be talking about Lita's farm and because of the pressure, Bardagul mishandles this information.
• The main compound of Fort Ilocandia has only two stories, so it is unexplained why Rooms 398 and 400 are on the same floor when they are supposed to be on the non-existent third and fourth floors respectively.

Miscellaneous trivia

• In the strip published after the end of the story arc, Tomas and Ka Noli remember Kainam and Lagumbay, not knowing that the two ex-military officers are the ones whose faces are shown on the TV near them. In the two story arcs where Kainam and Lagumbay each appear ( Col. Manyakis and Retraining respectively), Tomas is the main protagonist and Ka Noli helps his best friend out.
• Bardagul mentions that he and Brossy are in a 50s get-up. Brossy misinterprets that they are in 50s setting when Bardagul asks her to reach for his cellphone, which was not invented until the 1970s (the use of SIM cards came later).
• According to Bardagul, Brossy's hair is dyed blonde because the hair color is synonymous with being dumb, (although Brossy admits her hair is just treated with bleach). But when he is amazed by Brossy's thorough research on the SIM card despite being a stereotypical "dumb blonde," she tells him that she has just watched Erin Brockovich and may have been inspired by it.
• Brossy mispronounces "hostage" as "hostess" while the goon is speaking to "Lita" (actually Bardagul). The word hostess is sometimes used as a euphemism for a prostitute.
• Abraham and several of his fellow farmers in Bacalad speak entirely in Ilocano.
• Of the eight or more goons who appear in the story arc, Melecio is the only one whose name is mentioned.
• After Noks Ramos (Igno) manages to unlock the SIM card, the message "Welcome to Nenokia" appears. Nenokia is a portmanteau of nenok (Filipino slang for "stolen" or "to steal") and the name of the cellphone company Nokia. Nokia phones are popular among Filipinos.
• The "superstitious reason" Bardugal gives to the desk officer on staying on room 398: He has three children (Kules, Tiny, and Utoy), his youngest is aged nine, and his body is shaped like the number 8 (as inquired by the desk officer).
• As an allusion for Kainam and Lagumbay's modus operandi against the mall owners, Bardagul uses a tagline from a food mix advertisement: 'Di lang ginisa, sinangkutsa pa. (Not just sautéed, but also cooked all the way through.)
• While Kainam and Lagumbay introduce themselves with "ex-" on their former ranks, Brossy in turn "introduces" herself as David Duchovney's "ex-private nurse" (in keeping up with the parallelistic use of military ranks).

Unsolved Mysteries is an American TV show that was hosted and narrated by Robert Stack. It was regularly broadcast from 1987 to 1997 and sporadically broadcast from 1997 to 2002.

Somewhat like a documentary, Unsolved Mysteries, as its title indicated, was devoted primarily to the reenactments of unresolved real-life crimes or paranormal phenomena.

Very popular during its early years on the air, Unsolved Mysteries is sometimes credited ^{[citation needed]} as one of the first television programs to endorse the documentation of real-life crime scene investigating, which resulted in a thriving genre represented by programs like CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. ^{[original research?]}

Format

Unsolved Mysteries featured segments filmed in documentary style, with actors portraying the victims, perpetrators and witnesses. In most cases, however, victim's family members and police officials were also featured in interview segments that were interspersed throughout the dramatization. Before an episode begins, the following message is related to the audience: "This program is about unsolved mysteries. Whenever possible, the actual family members and police officials have participated in recreating the events. What you are about to see is not a news broadcast." For special episodes, like Mysteries of the Psychic Mind or Mysteries of the Afterlife, the message is: "This program is about unsolved mysteries. The re-enactments and special effects are actual eyewitness accounts. What you are about to see is not a news broadcast." Each episode of Unsolved Mysteries usually featured three or four segments, each involving a different story. Stack offered voice over narration for each segment, and appeared on-screen to begin and end segments, and to offer segues.

Viewers were invited to telephone, write a letter, or, in later episodes, use the internet to contact the program if they had information that might help solve a crime. The toll free number, 1-800-876-5353 (U.S.), and website (shown below) are still active today although the show is long out of production.

Unsolved Mysteries segments, all of which involved actual events, generally fell into one of four categories:

criminal activity 

accounts of abductions, suspicious deaths, murders, robberies and other miscellaneous unsolved cases, where either the suspects were unknown or could not be located. According to the show, about 40% of these episodes resulted in the capture of a suspect or suspects. ^{[ citation needed]}

lost loves 

accounts of individuals trying to reunite with someone from their past; often involving closed adoption or people separated by circumstances.

unexplained history 

"alternative" theories of history (among them the theories that outlaws such as Billy the Kid and Butch Cassidy did not die as history recorded it, that the Russian Grand Duchess Anastasia Romanov survived the 1918 regicide that killed her entire family, that the assassination of Louisiana senator Huey Long may have been an accident, and that the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr was in fact a conspiracy).

paranormal matters 

accounts of miracles, alleged UFO/alien encounters (including examination of the Roswell UFO Incident and the Phoenix UFO Incident, or scientific questions about life on Mars), ghosts, Bigfoot, or other inexplicable phenomena.

Viewers were given updates on success stories, where criminals were brought to justice and loved ones reunited.

The show also featured, in many of its later episodes, journalist Keely Shaye Smith and television host Lu Hanessian as correspondents in the show's telecenter, where they provided information on updated stories, and actress Virginia Madsen as Robert Stack's co-host.

The show is also famous^{[ citation needed]} for its eerie theme song, which makes striking use of a Phrygian mode ^{[citation needed ]}.

Broadcast History

Robert Stack, Host

NBC, 1987-1997

The show aired on NBC from 1987 – 1997 . When it first appeared on television, Unsolved Mysteries was a smash hit. ^{[citation needed]} It was originally hosted by Perry Mason's Raymond Burr as a television special. Karl Malden also hosted the show before Robert Stack took over full-time. Part of this popularity might be credited^{[ citation needed]} to older viewers who recognized Stack as Eliot Ness from the popular 1960s television hit The Untouchables, and Stack's Unsolved Mysteries persona seemed to echo his portrayal of Ness:^{[ original research?]} he was garbed in a trenchcoat and depicted wandering through foggy landscapes. Unsolved was also one of the few prime-time shows of its era to appeal to fans of the supernatural, and used effective special effects to enhance tales of the unexplained.

In 1992, NBC aired a short-lived spin-off series called Final Appeal.

CBS, 1997-1999

By 1997, however, the show started to lose its audience, and NBC cancelled the show. It was soon revived on CBS. In early 1999, Stack was joined by actress Virginia Madsen for hosting duties in hopes to regain ground on the ratings, but to no avail. After two years, CBS removed the show from its Friday night lineup.

Lifetime, 2001-2002

Unsolved Mysteries slowly faded, but in 2001, the program regained some popularity with a somewhat new audience, when it was revived on the Lifetime cable television network, where new episodes aired sporadically until 2002, usually on weekdays between 11 A.M. and 3 P.M. Old episodes still run in syndication on several television networks (notably Lifetime) in the U.S., Canada, and Australia ; but as of August 14, 2006, Unsolved Mysteries is not being aired on Lifetime. On January 1, 2007, the program moved to Lifetime Real Women, which is mostly on digital cable.

During some shows, callers give tips to the telecenter. When the show aired on NBC and CBS, the number was displayed on the bottom of the screen. When it moved to Lifetime, the number was removed and an address was put in place. Strangely enough, Lifetime kept the telecenter segments in the broadcast, despite the fact that this wouldn't make sense to a viewer who had tuned in after the show was taken off NBC and CBS.

The neutrality of this section is disputed. Please see the discussion on the talk page.

Some viewers^{[ citation needed]} blamed the decline of Unsolved Mysteries on the addition of co-hosts Keely Shaye Smith and Virginia Madsen, while others ^{[citation needed]} blamed the show's late-era "makeover", which involved the changes to theme song and putting its telephone center on camera. Ratings also declined when the program moved from its original Wednesday evening to Friday evening beginning in the Fall 1994 season ^{[citation needed]} (which is less popular for television viewing). Also, many point ^{[citation needed ]} to the inception of Fox's America's Most Wanted series as being somewhat detrimental to the popularity of Unsolved Mysteries. ^{[ citation needed]} Despite these changes, Unsolved Mysteries still remains a favorite amongst its audiences, receiving somewhat of a cult status among older viewers who remain upset about the perceived mistreatment of the show by the various networks. ^{[citation needed]}

HBO

According to an Article from Broadcast & Cable, HBO Distribution is planning on bringing back Unsolved Mysteries when the cable channel Lifetime contract expires in 2008. The show would feature a new set new music and recaps on old cases as well as new cases and eventually a new host. [2] Sticking with the erie theme that Unsolved Mysteries has always had, some rumored names to be the new host include James Earl Jones , Bryant Gumbel, and actor Richard Jenkins.

DVD Releases

Six 4-disc DVD sets have been released, each with a different theme.

• UFOs (September 7, 2004)
• Ghosts (September 14, 2004)
• Miracles (October 26, 2004)
• Psychics (January 25, 2005)
• Bizarre Murders (January 25, 2005)
• Strange Legends (February 15, 2005)

The sets were re-released on June 21, 2005 with a lower suggested retail price. On March 21, 2006, a compilation set called The Best of Unsolved Mysteries was released, which contained selected segments from each of the earlier DVD sets along with some previously unreleased-on-DVD content. A special boxed set featuring the first six sets along with the new content from the Best of collection was also produced.

A detective is an investigator, either a member of a police agency or a private person. Private detectives usually operate commercially and are licensed. They may be known as private investigators (P.I.s or "Private I's", hence the play-on-words, "Private Eyes"). Informally, and primarily in fiction, a detective is any licensed or unlicensed person who solves crimes, including historical crimes, or looks into records.

Detective work typically requires a great deal of walking or "footwork", hence the slang terms "flatfoot" and "gumshoe", the latter referring to an inexpensive shoe with "gum rubber" soles.

Detectives and their work

Selection and training

In most American police departments, a candidate for detective must first have served as a uniformed officer for a period of one to five years. Detective is often an appointed position, rather than a position achieved by passing a written test. Prospective U.K. police detectives must have completed at least two years as a uniformed officer before applying to join the Criminal Investigation Department.

In many other European police systems, most detectives are university graduates who join directly from civilian life without first serving as uniformed officers. Some people argue that detectives do a completely different job and therefore require completely different training, qualifications, qualities and abilities. The opposing argument is that without previous service as a uniformed patrol officer, a detective cannot have a great enough command of standard police procedures and problems and will find it difficult to work with uniformed colleagues.

Additionally, in some U.S. police departments, policies exist that limit the term that an officer may serve continuously as a detective, and mandate that detectives must regularly return to patrol duties for a minimum period of time. This is based upon a perception that the most important and essential police work is accomplished on patrol, and that the skills, experience and familiarity with their beats that patrol officers maintain are essential for detectives to maintain as well. Investigations, by contrast, often take weeks or months to complete, during which time detectives may spend much of their time away from the streets. In this thinking, rotating officers also promotes cross-training in a wider variety of skills, producing both better detectives and uniformed officers. Such policies also serve to prevent "cliques" within detective bureaus that can contribute to corruption or other unethical behavior.

Detectives obtain their position by competitive examination covering such subjects as principles, practices and procedures of investigation; interviewing and interrogation; criminal law and procedures; applicable law governing arrests , search and seizures, warrants and evidence; police department records and reports; principles, practices and objectives of courtroom testimony; and police department methods and procedures.

Private detectives in the U.S. are licensed by the state in which they live after passing a competitive examination and a criminal background check. Some states, such as Maryland, require a period of classroom training as well.

Organization

The detective branch in most larger police agencies is organized into several squads or departments, each of which specializes in investigation into a particular type of crime or a particular type of undercover operation, which may include: homicide; robbery; motor vehicle theft; organized crime; fraud; burglary; narcotics; vice; forgery; criminal intelligence; sex crimes; street crime; computer crime; crimes against children; surveillance ; and arson, among others.

Techniques

Street work

Detectives have a wide variety of techniques available in conducting investigations. However, the majority of cases are solved by the interrogation of suspects and the interviewing of witnesses, which takes time. Besides interrogations, detectives may rely on a network of informants they have cultivated over the years. Informants often have connections with persons a detective would not be able to approach formally. Evidence collection and preservation can also help in identifying a potential suspect(s).

In criminal investigations, once a detective has a suspect or suspects in mind, the next step is to produce evidence that will stand up in a court of law. The best way is to obtain a confession from the suspect, usually this is done by developing rapport and at times by seeking information in exchange for potential perks available through the District Attorney's Office, such as entering plea bargain for a lesser sentence in exchange for usable information. Detectives may lie, mislead and psychologically pressure a suspect into an admission or confession as long as they do this within procedural boundaries and without the threat of violence or promises outside their control. In the United States suspects may invoke their Miranda rights and refuse to answer any investigative questions until they consult with an attorney.

Forensic evidence

Physical forensic evidence in an investigation may provide leads to closing a case. Forensic science (often shortened to forensics) is the application of a broad spectrum of sciences to answer questions of interest to the legal system. This may be in relation to a crime or to a civil action.

The use of the term "forensics" in place of "forensic science" is (in a literal sense) incorrect; the term "forensic" is effectively a synonym for "legal" or "related to courts" (from Latin, it means "before the forum") and applies equally well to studies such as "forensics clubs" that practice formal debate. However, the single word is now so closely associated with the scientific field that many dictionaries include the meaning given here. Many major police departments in a city, county, or state, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, maintain their own forensic laboratories.

Records investigation

Detectives may use public and private records to provide background information on a subject. Police detectives can search through files of fingerprint records. In the United States, the FBI maintains records of people who have committed felonies and some misdemeanors , all persons who have applied for a Federal security clearance, and all persons who have served in the U.S. armed forces As well, detectives may search through records of criminal arrests and convictions, photographs or mug shots, of persons arrested, and motor vehicle records.

With a warrant, police detectives can also search through Credit card records and bank statements, hotel registration information, credit reports, Answer machine messages, and phone conversations.

Court testimony

Unless a plea bargain forestalls the need for a trial, detectives must testify in court about their investigation. They must seem reliable and credible to a jury, and must not give the impression of personal vindictiveness or cruelty. A detective's background often comes into question in courtroom testimony. A famous example came in the murder trial of O.J. Simpson, when Detective Mark Fuhrman of the Los Angeles Police Department testified for the prosecution. Attorney F. Lee Bailey first asked Fuhrman if he had ever used the "n-word" (see Nigger) Fuhrman denied this. In court, Bailey produced taped interviews with Fuhrman using this offensive word.

Famous Fictional Detectives

The neutrality and factual accuracy of this section are disputed. Please see the relevant discussion on the talk page.

Main article: Detective fiction

The detective story has been a popular genre in literature and the performing arts since Edgar Allan Poe gave birth to it with his stories of master French detective C. Auguste Dupin in the mid-19th century. Arthur Conan Doyle's 19th-century character Sherlock Holmes and Agatha Christie's 20th-century creations Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple are perhaps the most famous detectives in fiction. In many police drama series, detectives are depicted as being something of an elite class, with most uniformed police officers deferring to them. Most famous fictional government detectives work for local or regional agencies.

In the 20th century, "hard-boiled" private detective characters such as Sam Spade, Philip Marlowe and Mike Hammer became enormously popular. Elements of detective work were also featured in famous "federal" characters, such as Ian Fleming's James Bond (the first two Bond film adaptations featured more investigative work than their successors) and Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan. Meanwhile, in comics, Dick Tracy served as the archetypal police detective. In the Die Hard series of films, Bruce Willis' character John McClane is a NYPD Detective. Famed DC Comics character Batman was also created around this time, who emphasized less on great physical strength and abilities (like Superman) and more on the human condition, including solving crimes as a detective. One of Batman's nicknames is "The World's Greatest Detective."

Recently, in the Japanese Anime, Death Note and the live-action movies Death Note and Death Note: The Last Name, the detectives "L" and " Near" are said to be the best in the world. "L" is such an intelligent and cognizant individual, that he is the world's top 3 detectives all at once by using an alias for the other two. In other previous anime's, such as Detective Conan, Jimmy Kudo is the world's greatest detective at the age of 17.

Dick Wolf's Law and Order franchise of television series are a modern example of the detective genre, following detectives through the investigation of various crimes.

Diagnosis Murder is also another example of recent fictional detectives in other roles, for example, Dr. Mark Sloan, Chief of Internal Medicine at Community General Hospital frequently is seen solving crimes with other members of his staff, namely Dr. Amanda Bentley (Pathologist) and formerly Dr. Jack Stewart along with Dr. Sloan's son, in the LAPD Homocide Dept; Lieutenant Steve Sloan. Dr. Sloan is a criminal medical consultant to the Los Angeles Police Department.

See also

• Criminal Investigation Department
• Private investigator
• Eugène François Vidocq
• Special Agent
• Labor spies

CASES

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Itinerary

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Even if you do not remember encountering Nicole, but were in Syria on the appropriate dates, we would appreciate if you would contact us.

 The Missing Girls of Iraq

The man on the phone with the 14-year-old Iraqi girl called himself Sa'ad. He was calling long distance from Dubai and telling her wonderful things about the place. He was also about to buy her. Safah, the teenager, was well aware of the impending transaction. In the weeks after she was kidnapped and imprisoned in a dark house in Baghdad's middle-class Karada district, Safah heard her captors haggling with Sa'ad over her price. It was finally settled at $10,000. Staring at a floor strewn with empty whiskey bottles, the orphan listened as Sa'ad described the life awaiting her: a beautiful home, expensive clothes, parties with pop stars. Why, she'd be joining two other very happy teenage Iraqi girls living with Sa'ad in his harem. Safah knew that she was running out of time. A fake passport with her photo and assumed name had already been forged for her. But even if she escaped, she had no family who would take her in. She was even likely to end up in prison. What was she to do? Safah is part of a seldom-discussed aspect of the epidemic of kidnappings in Iraq: sex trafficking. No one knows how many young women have been kidnapped and sold since the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003. The Organization for Women's Freedom in Iraq, based in Baghdad, estimates from anecdotal evidence that more than 2,000 Iraqi women have gone missing in that period. A Western official in Baghdad who monitors the status of women in Iraq thinks that figure may be inflated but admits that sex trafficking, virtually nonexistent under Saddam, has become a serious issue. The collapse of law and order and the absence of a stable government have allowed criminal gangs, alongside terrorists, to run amuck. Meanwhile, some aid workers say, bureaucrats in the ministries have either paralyzed with red tape or frozen the assets of charities that might have provided refuge for these girls. As a result, sex trafficking has been allowed to fester unchecked.

"It is a problem, definitely," says the official, who has heard specific reports from Iraqi aid workers about girls being kidnapped and sold to brothels. "Unfortunately, the security situation doesn't allow us to follow up on this." The U.S. State Department's June 2005 trafficking report says the extent of the problem in Iraq is "difficult to appropriately gauge" but cites an unknown number of Iraqi women and girls being sent to Yemen, Syria, Jordan and Persian Gulf countries for sexual exploitation. Statistics are further made murky by tribal tradition. Families are usually so shamed by the disappearance of a daughter that they do not report kidnappings. And the resulting stigma of compromised chastity is such that even if the girl should resurface, she may never be taken back by her relations. A visit to the Khadamiyah Women's Prison in the northern part of Baghdad immediately produces several tales of abduction and abandonment. A stunning 18-year-old nicknamed Amna, her black hair pulled back in a ponytail, says she was taken from an orphanage by an armed gang just after the U.S. invasion and sent to brothels in Samarra, al-Qaim on the border with Syria, and Mosul in the north before she was taken back to Baghdad, drugged with pills, dressed in a suicide belt and sent to bomb a cleric's office in Khadamiyah, where she turned herself in to the police. A judge gave her a seven-year jail sentence "for her sake" to protect her from the gang, according to the prison director.

Two other girls, Asmah, 14, and Shadah, 15, were taken all the way to the United Arab Emirates before they could escape their kidnappers and report them to a Dubai police station. The sisters were then sent back to Iraq but, like many other girls who have escaped their kidnappers and buyers, were sent to prison because they carried fake passports. There, they wait for the bureaucracy to sort out their innocence. What happened to the gang that took them? The sisters hear rumors that the men paid their way out of jail and are back on the streets. "I don't know what to do if the prison administration decides to release me," says Asmah, pushing back her gray head scarf to adjust her black hair. "We have no one to protect us." Women's advocates are trying to set up halfway houses for kidnap survivors. The locations are secret to keep the women safe from both trafficking gangs trying to cover their tracks and outraged relatives who may try to kill the women to restore their clans' reputation. But the new Iraqi government has set up several bureaucratic roadblocks. Even organizations that do not receive government money have to secure permission from four ministries and the Baghdad city council for every shelter they hope to operate. Wringing her hands in exasperation, activist Yanar Mohammed says, "They want to close our women's shelter and deny our ability to open more."

That means that for girls like Safah, there are few havens left in Baghdad. In 2003, after Safah's father died, her grandmother took her to House of Children No. 2 orphanage in Adhamiya without the knowledge of most of her family. At the orphanage, she was befriended by an affable nurse who spent hours chatting up Safah, a fresh-faced girl whose fingers are still pudgy with baby fat. The nurse's modest hijab framed a sweet face that made Safah feel that the nurse was a good, spiritual woman, one she could trust. The nurse convinced Safah that she could be killed over the shame her disappearance had brought to her family. The nurse offered to adopt her. But official channels would have taken too long, so the nurse told Safah to hold her lower-right abdomen, scream and writhe on the carpet of the orphanage director's office, pretending to have appendicitis and requiring emergency medical assistance. Once at the hospital, the nurse whisked Safah into a waiting car.

The next three weeks were the worst in Safah's life. "I was tortured and beaten and insulted a lot in that house," Safah says. She wouldn't provide many details about what happened in the whiskey-soaked den in Karada. But she says that when it became apparent to her that she was about to be sold to Sa'ad, the man on the phone from Dubai, she became desperate. She passed word of her confinement to a neighborhood boy, who reported it to the local police station. Officers raided the place and arrested the nurse. Bureaucratic red tape somehow kept Safah and the nurse in the same prison for six months before Safah was finally released back into the custody of the orphanage a month ago.

Understanding of the Private Investigations Industry:

Private Investigator Career Description:

Private detectives and investigators work for a variety of clients to confirm facts either through paperwork or surveillance. They assist people in legal matters and with a wide range of problems.

• Private investigators are people who are paid to gather facts. Usually work for private citizens or businesses rather than for the government. Although they sometimes help solve crimes, they are not law-enforcement officials. Their job is to collect information, not to arrest or prosecute criminals.

An investigator's caseload often includes background investigations, surveillance and skip traces (the process of locating a person's whereabouts for any number of purposes), or searches for missing people. Investigators may also serve legal documents, notifying people of their involvement in legal proceedings.

• Successfully solving a case begins with planning and analysis. The investigator must:

• Discuss the case with the client and determine whether it is legal, ethical and possible to solve.

• Work out a plan and budget for gathering the necessary information.

• Conduct the investigation, gathering evidence in such a way that it can be presented in court when necessary.

• Analyze the evidence.

• Report to the client with findings.

Background Checks

• Background checks, or background investigations, are one of the many services offered by private investigators. Background checks and investigations often involve an individual’s criminal history, driving records, academic background, work experience and more. Background checks and investigations are often done as part of a pre-employment screening to help a company evaluate an applicant’s background to make informed hiring decisions and reduce negligent hiring liability. Another popular trend in the dating would is to do a background check on a prospective mate to learn more about their criminal or financial history.

• Background checks and investigation services may include the following:

  Verification of employment, education history, references, professional licenses, driving records or DMV searches, drug screening, credit history, civil history, criminal background checks, tenant screening, certifications, sex offender registry search, and asset location searches.

• Types of Background Checks/Investigations: Individual Background Check - Business Background Check

Which part of the industry fits your particular background and skills?

• I was appointed as an Administrator to 3 different estates - 1 in Las Vegas, Nevada , 1 in Bullhead City, Arizona and 1 in Los Angeles, California. All 3 of the estates had assets (mostly money), that were co-mingled, requiring research, travel, fact finding, accounting, filing, inventory, communications both written and verbal and an understanding of each of the states’ requirements to bring all 3 of the estates to a close to the satisfaction of all family members involved, the attorneys and the courts.

• I have a strong practical background in communications and research

• Resolve service and billing problems. Consistently recognized for professionalism.

• Activities involving the communication of information to people

• Activities involving business contact with people

• My detail orientation and organizational skills

• My experience in handling the Risk Management project for the City of North Las Vegas.

  Did you ever Background check someone?

• The answer to this question is “No.” However, I have had background checks ran on me for various work locations, ie. Stratosphere Hotel, City of North Las Vegas.

• At one time Sheriff cards were also a requirement for employment in some areas in Las Vegas.

  
  What are the reasons you value that area of Private Investigation?

• Communicate easily and present information effectively

• Work well under pressure when faced with critical/unexpected situation

• Gain a thorough knowledge of laws/regulations/investigative methods

• Gather facts/determine importance by own judgment/measurable standards

• Reason and make decisions to analyze and solve cases

• Motivate people to give information

• Interest in law enforcement and crime prevention

• Ability to remain calm under pressure

Private detectives and investigators use many methods to determine the facts in a variety of matters. To carry out investigations, they may use various types of surveillance or searches. To verify facts, such as an individual’s place of employment or income, they may make phone calls or visit a subject’s workplace. In other cases, especially those involving missing persons and background checks, investigators often interview people to gather as much information as possible about an individual.

In all cases, private detectives and investigators assist attorneys, businesses, and the public with legal, financial, and personal problems.

Private detectives and investigators offer many services, including executive, corporate, and celebrity protection; pre-employment verification; and individual background profiles. They investigate computer crimes, such as identity theft, harassing e-mails, and illegal downloading of copyrighted material. They also provide assistance in civil liability and personal injury cases, insurance claims and fraud, child custody and protection cases, missing persons cases, and premarital screening. They are sometimes hired to investigate individuals to prove or disprove infidelity.

Most detectives and investigators are trained to perform physical surveillance. They may observe a site, such as the home of a subject, from an inconspicuous location or a vehicle. They continue the surveillance, which is often carried out using still and video cameras, binoculars, and a cell phone, until the desired evidence is obtained. This watching and waiting often continues for a long time.

Detectives also may perform computer database searches or work with someone who does. Computers allow investigators to quickly obtain massive amounts of information on individuals’ prior arrests, convictions, and civil legal judgments; telephone numbers; motor vehicle registrations; association and club memberships; and other matters.

The duties of private detectives and investigators depend on the needs of their clients. In cases for employers that involve fraudulent workers’ compensation claims, for example, investigators may carry out long-term covert observation of subjects. If an investigator observes a subject performing an activity that contradicts injuries stated in a worker’s compensation claim, the investigator would take video or still photographs to document the activity and report it to the client.

Private detectives and investigators often specialize. Those who focus on intellectual property theft, for example, investigate and document acts of piracy, help clients stop illegal activity, and provide intelligence for prosecution and civil action. Other investigators specialize in developing financial profiles and asset searches. Their reports reflect information gathered through interviews, investigation and surveillance, and research, including review of public documents.

Legal investigators specialize in cases involving the courts and are normally employed by law firms or lawyers. They frequently assist in preparing criminal defenses, locating witnesses, serving legal documents, interviewing police and prospective witnesses, and gathering and reviewing evidence. Legal investigators also may collect information on the parties to the litigation, take photographs, testify in court, and assemble evidence and reports for trials.

Corporate investigators conduct internal and external investigations for corporations. In internal investigations, they may investigate drug use in the workplace, ensure that expense accounts are not abused, or determine whether employees are stealing merchandise or information. External investigations are typically done to uncover criminal schemes originating outside the corporation, such as theft of company assets through fraudulent billing of products by suppliers.

Corporate investigators work within firms to excavate abuse of company procedure. This might mean investigating drug use within the company, or a violation of financial rules. They might also investigate other companies with which their employer has business.

Financial investigators may be hired to develop confidential financial profiles of individuals or companies that are prospective parties to large financial transactions. These investigators often are certified public accountants (CPAs) who work closely with investment bankers and other accountants. They search for assets in order to recover damages awarded by a court in fraud or theft cases.

Detectives who work for retail stores or hotels are responsible for controlling losses and protecting assets. Financial investigators are often trained as certified public accountants, and look to assets to recover damages awarded by a court. In other words, they help to make sure that those who are determined to owe money are held accountable.

Store detectives, also known as loss prevention agents, safeguard the assets of retail stores by apprehending anyone attempting to steal merchandise or destroy store property. They prevent theft by shoplifters, vendor representatives, delivery personnel and even store employees. Store detectives also conduct periodic inspections of stock areas, dressing rooms, and restrooms, and sometimes assist in opening and closing the store. They may prepare loss prevention and security reports for management and testify in court against persons they apprehend. Store detectives, or loss prevention agents, work in retail stores (often undercover) to protect the store from theft.

Hotel detectives protect guests of the establishment from theft of their belongings and preserve order in hotel restaurants and bars. They also may keep undesirable individuals, such as known thieves, off the premises.

Working Conditions:

Private detectives and investigators often work irregular hours because of the need to conduct surveillance and contact people who are not available during normal working hours. Early morning, evening, weekend, and holiday work is common.

Many detectives and investigators spend time away from their offices conducting interviews or doing surveillance, but some work in their office most of the day conducting computer searches and making phone calls. Those who have their own agencies and employ other investigators may work primarily in an office and have normal business hours.

When the investigator is working on a case away from the office, the environment might range from plush boardrooms to seedy bars. Store and hotel detectives work in the businesses that they protect. Investigators generally work alone, but they sometimes work with others during surveillance or when following a subject in order to avoid detection by the subject.

Some of the work involves confrontation, so the job can be stressful and dangerous. Some situations call for the investigator to be armed, such as certain bodyguard assignments for corporate or celebrity clients. Detectives and investigators who carry handguns must be licensed by the appropriate authority. In most cases, however, a weapon is not necessary, because the purpose of the work is gathering information and not law enforcement or criminal apprehension. Owners of investigative agencies have the added stress of having to deal with demanding and sometimes distraught clients.

One of the hardest aspects of this field is the stakeout, which could require sitting in a cramped area for hours or even days at a time. While much of the work is tedious, it can also be creative and stimulating at times, as investigators work to prove a theory by any means necessary.

Training, Other Qualifications, and Advancement While a degree is not a requirement, most states demand that their private detectives and investigators are licensed. Requirements vary by state, but more are increasingly making some sort of training mandatory before certification. In California, for example, the requirement is that the applicant is at least 18 years old, has some police, criminal law or justice education, and three years of investigative experience. He or she must then pass a test administered by the Department of Justice, and a criminal background check. No felons may be certified.

There are no formal education requirements for most private detective and investigator jobs, although many private detectives have college degrees. Private detectives and investigators typically have previous experience in other occupations. Some work initially for insurance or collections companies, in the private security industry, or as paralegals. Many investigators enter the field after serving in law enforcement, the military, government auditing and investigative positions, or Federal intelligence jobs.

Former law enforcement officers, military investigators, and government agents, who are frequently able to retire after 25 years of service, often become private detectives or investigators in a second career. Others enter from such diverse fields as finance, accounting, commercial credit, investigative reporting, insurance, and law. These individuals often can apply their prior work experience in a related investigative specialty. A few enter the occupation directly after graduation from college, generally with associate’s or bachelor’s degrees in criminal justice or police science.

The majority of States and the District of Colombia require private detectives and investigators to be licensed. Licensing requirements vary, however. Seven States—Alabama, Alaska, Colorado, Idaho, Mississippi, Missouri, and South Dakota—have no statewide licensing requirements, some States have few requirements, and many other States have stringent regulations. A growing number of States are enacting mandatory training programs for private detectives and investigators. For example, the Bureau of Security and Investigative Services of the California Department of Consumer Affairs requires private investigators to be 18 years of age or older; have a combination of education in police science, criminal law, or justice and experience equaling 3 years (6,000 hours) of investigative experience; pass a criminal history background check by the California Department of Justice and the FBI (in most States, convicted felons cannot be issued a license); and receive a qualifying score on a 2-hour written examination covering laws and regulations. There are additional requirements for a firearms permit.

For private detective and investigator jobs, most employers look for individuals with ingenuity, persistence, and assertiveness. A candidate must not be afraid of confrontation, should communicate well, and should be able to think on his or her feet. Good interviewing and interrogation skills also are important and usually are acquired in earlier careers in law enforcement or other fields. Because the courts often are the ultimate judge of a properly conducted investigation, the investigator must be able to present the facts in a manner that a jury will believe.

Training in subjects such as criminal justice and police science is helpful to aspiring private detectives and investigators. Most corporate investigators must have a bachelor’s degree, preferably in a business-related field. Some corporate investigators have a master’s degree in business administration or a law degree, while others are CPAs. Corporate investigators hired by large companies may receive formal training from their employers on business practices, management structure, and various finance-related topics. The screening process for potential employees typically includes a background check for a criminal history.

Some investigators receive certification from a professional organization to demonstrate competency in a field. For example, the National Association of Legal Investigators (NALI) confers the Certified Legal Investigator designation to licensed investigators who devote a majority of their practice to negligence or criminal defense investigations. To receive the designation, applicants must satisfy experience, educational, and continuing-training requirements and must pass written and oral exams administered by the NALI.

Most private-detective agencies are small, with little room for advancement. Usually, there are no defined ranks or steps, so advancement takes the form of increases in salary and assignment status. Many detectives and investigators work for detective agencies at the beginning of their careers and, after a few years, start their own firms. Corporate and legal investigators may rise to supervisor or manager of the security or investigations department.

Private Investigator Career Future Job Outlook

Employment in this area is expected to grow faster than average in the next 10 years, but competition is fierce because of the number of talented people who want to move into this field as their next career. Even entry-level positions draw highly-qualified applicants

FINAL COMMENT********************

CONFIDENTIALITY:

“Private investigator may not do anything to breach the trust reposed in him or her by the client. The private investigator client relationship must be in good standing and without any disputes in order for the following to apply.”

“Business and Professions Codes requires a Private investigator to "preserve the secrets of his client." The term "secrets" is defined as "information gained in the professional relationships. The consent of the client is necessary in order to discuss the merits or any part of a case.”

“Private investigator also owe a duty of candor to the court. "It is the duty of a Private investigator to employ such means only as are consistent with truth, and never to seek to mislead the judge or any judicial officer by an artifice or false statement of fact or law. A Private investigator must maintain the respect due the courts of justice and judicial officers. Further, a private investigator will not intentionally deceive a judge the court.”

“Private investigator is not bound by fidelity to the client to tell the court what he knows to be an untruth, and should ask the court to excuse him from answering the question.”

“The dissent emphasized the duty of candor, stating that the Private investigator is not obligated to inform the court of the prior record. We believe the majority opinion is more persuasive. A Private investigator may never intentionally mislead or deceive a judge. A Private investigator must also maintain the confidence of the client. A Private investigator should not reveal the client's prior criminal record to the court and should not intentionally deceive or mislead the court. The Private investigator should remain silent.”

“If the Private investigator’s silence appears to be relied upon by the court as an affirmation that there is no prior record, the Private investigator is obligated by the duty of candor to inform the court that the silence is not intended as an affirmation, and that it is not appropriate for the Private investigator to comment further.”

“It is the Committee's opinion that if the Private investigator is expressly asked by the court whether the client has a prior record, the record still should not be disclosed, but the Private investigator should suggest to the court that other sources would be more appropriate to determine such information. The question, for example, might be deflected to the prosecution. Other responses which do not reveal the record and are not intended to deceive or mislead the court may also be proper.”

            The world of the Private Investigator is a far cry from what you see in the media.  It is an occupation of challenges that are met every day by highly trained men and women.  Though it may not be a glamorous profession at time, Private Investigators give the private citizen an alternative rout to for finding solutions to their inquires they may come across.  Job functions include surveillance, court research, security of private property, finding missing persons, and the very important role of doing background checks.

            The significance of doing a background check is that it can give a citizen a chance to make a more informed choice in the people they employ, date/marry or get into a business relationship with.  During a background check, an investigator may be able to find out about a person’s assets, criminal background, and any prior legations or marriages.  Knowing this information, an individual can make a better decision to, for example, inter a business deal or hire a nanny to watch your children.

            I feel that my background and certificate in Criminal Investigations/Evidence Technology makes me an excellent candidate for becoming an assistant in your firm.  My training has included how to conduct investigations and interviews, evidence collection, research, arson investigations, report writing, public speaking and California Criminal and Constitutional Law.  I am also proficient in photography and using computers in making inquiries for an investigation.

            But, I have to think that one of my biggest assets to a job like Private Investigations, are my customer service skills.  I have spent many years learning first hand on how to handle clients in a verity of situations.  I have managed and supervised employees, and have found many creative solutions to the plight of numerous customers.  In short, I work well with and enjoy working with people, wither they are clients, teammates or co-workers.

The Private Investigator is a widely known profession that’s had its share of publicity and exposure.  I could go on and on about the television shows and movies, where P.I.’s are portrayed as covert “gumshoes” and sometimes risky individuals.  Most P.I.’s don’t act like the Humphrey Bogart character portrayed in films from the 1940’s.   I know that the Private Investigator Industry isn’t all about conducting surveillance on unfaithful husbands and wives or doing missing person reports.  I do know that many Private Investigator cases come from attorneys or insurance companies, considering the thousands of false claims and civil lawsuits reported each year.  A Private Investigator can be the determining factor between whether or not an insurance company will cover a person’s claim, and sometimes their investigation results in a court conviction.  I know that as a Private Investigator, you’re forced to take very accurate notes and pay attention to the most minimal things, those might end up being the most important parts in a case.  I’m sure the jurisdictional rights of a P.I. differ from state to state; a Private Investigator is not law enforcement official, even though there’s a fair share of Investigators who were former Police Officers or Detectives.  Saying this, it’s important that as a Private Investigator, you need to fully understand and continue to follow the rules and regulations of the laws governing a state, in case your investigation leads to arrests and you’re forced to testify in court. 

            Background checks, in my opinion, are very important to any hiring organization because they have shown to provide a safeguard for the people who run and work there.  Without background checks, a convicted felon who’s filed for bankruptcy has just as good of a chance getting hired for the same position, as a person with a clean record and great credit would get.  Background checks provide an employer a look into the person’s past events, including their credit score, which can show whether or not a person is considered financially responsible; education, which can show if the person is qualified to perform the tasks that would be required; past employment, which shows if they’ve had any other work related experience; and criminal history, which would show whether or not they have had a run-in with the police.  A background check can also include personal references, which are great because it allows an employer to find out firsthand, how the person applying for the job performed their previous tasks assigned and what type of person they are.  Background checks are also a primary way in preventing or lowering the possibilities of a work related incident/liability. 

I can tell you that in my three and a half years as a Military Policeman, I’ve done my fair share of investigating and conducting surveillance on individuals who might be committing an unlawful or dangerous act.  Although it’s difficult to follow a vehicle without notice when I’m driving in a marked patrol car, I have a solid understanding about how to properly conduct safe following distance without being obvious.  As a patrolman, when we were dispatched to a location for an incident, we were usually always the first responders on scene.  This being said, we had to immediately take charge of the scene and begin conducting on scene investigations.  Our job details included separating hostile suspects from victims and witnesses, and sometimes discovering who’s who could be a little difficult.  Coming from a law enforcement background, I feel that my best role in support of the Private Investigation Industry would be as an on duty P.I., in charge of conducting surveillance and helping people solve incidents.  There is nothing that I’m hesitant about doing, I am more than willing to take charge and provide as much help as is needed.  I am fully capable of writing full reports concerning my investigation, as well as openly discussing my finding with law enforcement officials or court officials if needed to. 

 Private Investigator and Detective work would be great for me considering my previous work experience and the fact that I have a strong passion for performing investigative missions.  I know that as a Private Investigator, I would be able to provide a great service to individuals, and they would have my total devotion to whatever job they needed.  You need a Private Investigator, we will be there!

The knowledge I have obtained regarding the Private Investigation Industry is based on what I have learned from my father, a former Special Agent in the FBI for 12 years and over 27 years of investigative experience. The Private Investigation Industry conducts numerous types of investigations and some of those include: White-collar crime fraud, background, asset, terrorism, kidnapping, bank robbery, extortion, infidelity, and theft.

Background checks are extremely vital for many reasons. First, companies invest millions of dollars into their businesses. Unfortunately, within our society there are untrustworthy individuals who could potentially harm a company’s success. Therefore, it’s crucial for employers to complete thorough investigations to ensure they are not jeopardizing their company or employees. As I’ve read in many sources, individuals applying for jobs are providing employers with references. However, those references are clearly in favor of the potential candidate securing the position. This is a very important reason why background checks are essential in the hiring process. It is during background checks that you discover additional information that would otherwise be deliberately concealed. Conducting background checks during a hiring process is only one example of many. Some additional background checks include: Sex offenders, marriage, neighbors, educational records, and criminal reports.

I find the Private Investigation Industry extremely fascinating and I’m confident that my background and skills qualify me for such a position in the field. As a Communication graduate, I possess exceptional observation, listening, critical thinking, verbal, non-verbal, and written communication skills.  These qualities have contributed to my success in the sales and marketing positions I have held, and I believe that they would also apply to promoting background check services to potential clients/customers. During college and at all of my jobs, I have been able to constantly develop my research skills. This is quite possibly one of my strongest abilities due to the fact that I find satisfaction in being given a challenge and exhausting all my resources until I’m able to draw a conclusion.  In addition, my proven ability to develop and maintain positive working relationships with both co-workers and outside agencies would contribute to my success in conducting background investigations.  In sum, I am confident that I could sell the concept of background investigations and perform the required research as well.  I am currently enrolled in two Criminal Law courses in order to broaden my knowledge of law.

I value the area of Private Investigation for a few reasons. First, I respect that Private Investigators are working to protect individual safety as well as national security. Private Investigators must have patience, but also the drive and determination to solve an investigation. The purpose of a Private Investigator is to seek answers to unknown questions. And while at times the work can be dangerous, it’s rewarding in the end to discover the truth.