A Good PI Has Referrals Qualifications Affiliations and Insurance

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How to Identify a Good Private Investigator: Referrals, Qualifications, Affiliations, and Insurance

Modern day private investigators provide a broad range of services to ordinary individuals as well as attorneys. They provide specialized computer-based research including the locating of debtors, the location and moved or hidden assets during difficult divorce proceedings, conducting pre-marital and pre-employment checks, and perform criminal background checks on behalf of their clients. OKC Private investigators also routinely work undercover in corporate environments, function as officers of the service process and perform functions such as the serving of subpoenas, trial preparation, and juror profiling. Considering their profound importance in various legal procedures, it is vital that one locate qualified and trustworthy PI services. The following tips will provide a guide on how to identify a good private investigator.

How to Identify a Good Private Investigator

#1-Get a Referral from a Reliable Source

Although a majority of private investigators and investigating companies advertise their services over several avenues, nothing can substitute the power of a positive recommendation. Through referrals, one can quickly figure out which PI services are worth their time and money.

#2-Perform a Qualification Check

The very first step one should take when performing a qualification check is asking for the PI’s license number. A professional private investigator should readily provide this information. Once you have the license number, the second step is verifying it authenticity with your local municipality. Make sure the name belonging to the license number matches that of your PI. Also, find out whether the private investigator’s past clients have filed any complaint against him/her. Always remember that bad PI’s have negative reviews and has complaints filed against them. The Better Business Bureau is a great place to perform these types of searches.

The second step involves the verification of the private investigator’s education and experience. Do not shy away from asking the PI questions regarding their educational background, work experience, and additional professional training. It is worth noting that a PI with a more formal training and education is more likely to provide you with top-notch investigative services. For example, a private investigator that is familiar with the legal service process is more likely to be more methodical with their investigations. Moreover, he/she is less likely to commit tortious acts that may bring about negative repercussions to your case.

Regarding practical experience, it is best to remember that academic credentials do not necessarily imply that a PI will provide exceptional services. A PI with hands-on experience possesses the ability to efficiently and quickly acquire any required information through various conventional and unconventional means. For this reason, it is important that you consider both the academic credentials and practical experience of a PI before procuring their service.

IMPORTANT TIP: In addition to the checks mentioned above, it is imperative to verify whether or not the PI has a physical office from which they run their operations. PI’s who conduct their business over the phone are typically not credible. Should a PI perform subpar investigative work, you need to know where you can quickly locate him/her.

#3- Check the PI’s Affiliations to Legal/ Professional Organizations

Private investigators that have numerous years of experience in the same location clearly have community acceptance, efficient PI services, and high ethical practices. However, exceptional, passionate, and reliable PI’s tend to be affiliated with one or more legal organizations which publicly pledge that all of their members adhere to specific standards and guidelines. The two most important affiliates that you should be on the lookout for are the American Society of Industrial Security and the National Association of Legal Investigators.

Depending on the private investigator’s area of expertise, you may also want to find out whether the PI is affiliated with the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners and the National Council of Investigation and Security Services. Shady or “fly-by-night” investigators are less likely to associate themselves with these organizations for fear of negative exposure. This is because they don’t care about various legislative processes about the investigative community as they typically utilize unorthodox methods to perform their investigations.

#4- Check for Insurance Coverage

Typically, most PI’s have insurance coverage of up to a few million dollars. The main reason why you should check whether or not the PI is covered is that you can be held liable if anything goes wrong during their investigation process and the PI isn’t covered. Request for a valid certificate of insurance and make sure to verify all the policy information recorded. Avoid PI’s that object to these requests as they are probably not covered.

Understanding Voice Recording Laws By State

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Advancements in technology have made it very easy to record conversations nowadays like never before. You can easily record voice on a mobile phone, over a landline, or even in-person conversation using a hidden recording device. The recorded conversations, whether digital or tape, can prove very helpful in a variety of scenarios. You can use them for investigation of employee misconduct, in potential criminal investigations or even in personal or business lawsuits.

State-by-State Recording Laws

Regardless of the US state you come from, recording a conversation to which you are not a party, could not naturally hear or do not have consent is almost always illegal. The federal law, as well as most state laws, have also made the act of disclosing contents of an illegally intercepted communication or call illegal. In some states, there are laws that prevent the torturous or criminal use of recordings regardless of whether you had consent or not. In at least twenty states, there are laws that outlaw certain uses of hidden cameras in places that are considered private.

Going Against Federal and State Recording Laws

What would happen if you record a phone conversation or in-person conversation even when the federal or state laws do not allow it? Doing that may very well open you to civil suits or criminal charges. It is very unlikely that you will be legally authorized to use the recordings for the original purpose that you had in mind when recording them. So before you go ahead and use a voice-activated recorder to record conversations or record phone calls, make sure that you take a look at the applicable laws.

Where To Find Voice Recording Laws

You can start by checking out the federal wiretapping statute, which is also referred to as the Electronic Communications Privacy Act. What you will learn from this statue is that federal laws allow phone calls, whether cellular traditional or cordless and other forms of electronic communication to be recorded as long as there is consent of at least one individual who is party to the conversation.

However, you cannot stop after considering the federal laws and assume that you can go about recording people any way you want. In each state and territory, there are statutes regarding voice recording. In most states, wiretapping and eavesdropping laws are usually based on the federal laws. They allow recording so long as one individual that it party to the conversation provides consent.

One Party Consent States

A total of 37 states allow one party consent recording of oral communications, including Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, Utah, Oklahoma, just to mention a few. The District of Columbia also allows recording of conversations with the consent of one individual that it party to the conversation. In Nevada, there is a one part consent statute even though there is some question regarding how the law needs to be interpreted by the courts.

All Party Consent States

12 states in the US require all parties that are involved in a conversation to provide consent before it can be recorded, including California, Maryland, Illinois, Florida, Washington, just to mention a few. California has an exception that allows you to record the conversation with the consent of only one party if criminal activity such as bribery, extortion, kidnapping or violent felony is involved.

It is illegal to record communications or conversations that you are not participating in. To make a voice recording of a discussion or conversation, you need to have the consent of at least one or all of the participants.

The Two Party Recording States Of The US

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Before you record conversations or communication using your phone, a camera or hidden recording device in the US, it is imperative that you understand the legalities of recording with these devices. It is legal to record using a hidden camera inside your home. You can do this without getting consent from the person that is being recorded for the most part. However, you need to keep in mind that audio recording and video recording are entirely different entities.

What to Do Before Using Spy Cameras and Nanny Cams

Before you go ahead and install spy cameras and nanny cans in your home, make sure that you understand what your state laws say about that. You need to make sure that your particular state laws allow you to make this kind of recording. Just to be safe and avoid any potential lawsuit, it will be a good idea to speak with an attorney about how you plan to use your camera. In most of the states, it is not legal to record in any area, including inside your home, that is considered private or has a reasonable expectation of privacy, for instance, your bedroom, other people’s bedrooms and so on.

Two Party Consent States

Two party consent just means that all people that are part of a conversation must agree before the conversation can be recorded. While they are known as two-party consent laws, it is important to understand that consent should be obtained from everyone that is part of a conversion or call if it involves many people. The 12 states where the two party consent law applies include California, Delaware, Connecticut, Florida, Maryland, Illinois, Massachusetts, Montana, Michigan, New Hampshire, Washington and Pennsylvania. In many of these states, the fact everyone that is participating in a conversation or a call knows that you are recording and carry on with the conversation anyway may be enough, regardless of whether they provide explicit voice consent or not.

Recording With A Hidden Camera In Public

Usage of a hidden camera in public has some legal particulars that you need to know. When in an open space where there is no reasonable expectation of privacy, for instance, a park, restaurant or shopping mall, you may covertly record using a hidden camera. But if you happen to be in a public place with an expectation of privacy such as a bathroom, locker room, change room, hotel room and soon, it may be illegal to covertly record. You also need to keep in mind that it is illegal in any state in the US to record with a hidden camera for malicious intent such as blackmail. If you record under these circumstances, all rights will be waived even if you followed the law to the letter when making the recordings.

Laws surrounding audio recording tend to be clearer compared to laws regarding hidden cameras in most states. Both federal and state laws require one of the individuals that are participating in a conversation to consent when recording an in-person conversation or a phone call. Most states insist on two-part consent in situations where the recording device is being used in a private area.