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The Top Reasons To Hire A Private Investigator

If you are thinking about hiring a private investigator then you may already have some idea, even the slightest, that one could possibly help you. But maybe you're not sure how or why you should hire one. Well, there are many reasons to hire a private investigator, whether you are a private individual, a small business, corporate business, organization, or law firm.

Just so you know, when you use an investigator, you get their knowledge, skill, and experience, same as you would with any lawyer, electrician, or doctor. You may want to take short cuts and perhaps do your own investigation, but you have to remember there are legalities, laws, and standard procedures to follow and take into consideration. Let's look at when you should (and should not) hire a private investigator.

The 3 Fundamental Reasons For Hiring a Private Investigator

There are literally hundreds (if not thousands) of reasons to take on an investigator: think of all the day-to-day problems people face. Essentially, a private investigator's work is based around helping people to solve those problems. Many individuals, companies (small and large), law firms, insurance groups, etc. routinely use them as a matter of course for various reasons, but the most basic reasons for hiring a private investigator are:

To provide accurate and reliable data.
To help protect from potentially troublesome situations from occurring in the first place.
To help prevent what maybe an already difficult situation from becoming worse.

Simply put, the purpose of a private investigator or private detective is to help prevent or resolve troubling situations, by uncovering or finding information that's not necessarily easy to find or in plain view that can prove, disprove, or add additional context to a case.

Don't Delay: When You Should Hire a Private Investigator

Most people don't think ahead or see potential problems, whether personally or in business. The problem only becomes apparent once it hits them. If you don't have the right solution / the right information to resolve the problem, it will have an even greater effect on you or your business. A private investigator can greatly assist in obtaining that information.

DON'T DELAY: Depending on your situation, delay or hesitation in retaining the services of a private investigator can be costly: not just financially. It is common that they are brought into a situation much later than they should have been, unless one has used them before. This delay creates added time to a problem - allowing it to develop with a snow-ball effect. This is why you should hire an investigator immediately. Think of the private investigator as a dentist. They are there to help you extract the problem.

Most Common Reasons Individuals Hire Private Investigators

It's very common for the general public to use private investigators for personal help these days and for a variety of reasons such as:

Matrimonial Problems

Probably the number one reason why someone would hire a private investigator is for a cheating spouse, matrimonial, or relationship problem. Proof of infidelity would probably be the highest reason to hire a PI. They conduct surveillance to uncover cheating, they search for hidden assets in cases of divorce, and assist with providing evidence in court cases and child custody battles.

Missing Persons

A sad fact with broken or troubled families is runaway children. Private investigators are hired to find people. They have been instrumental in finding runaways and returning them to loved ones. Adoption is another reason people hire investigators. Finding one's adopted children or locating one's biological parents can be very sensitive and requires the empathy, passion and skill of an investigator.

Dating / Prenuptial Background Checks

Using a private investigator to find out about your potential husband or wife's background can be a breath of fresh air when you discover who they really are: good or bad. There are romance scam con-artists willing to prey on another's emotion of love. Conducting background investigations on someone you're dating can give you that peace of mind you aren't being misled.

Abuse Cases

Abuse covers many areas such as child abuse, care home abuse of an elderly parent, psychiatric abuse of mental patients, or abuse of a partner. Such cases can involve physical or mental abuse and indeed need to be handled with complete discretion. Private investigators uncover and build evidence against such abusers. This evidence can be used to help with the prosecution of the offender(s).

Stalking and Harassment

There are those out there (who are either mentally challenged or just vindictive) making people's lives hell, through continued stalking or harassment - online or off. The reason for hiring a private investigator in these instances is primarily identifying and building evidence against the stalker. This evidence can be used in court to obtain a subpoena or court order commanding the offender to desist.

Criminal Investigations

Criminal behavior isn't just targeted at businesses but individuals as well. Identity Theft for example: whereby a criminal (with enough information) will take on another's identity, usually with the sole purpose of committing fraud. Drug abuse, theft of property, and criminal damage are but a few more reasons to hire an investigator, who will assist in resolving these problems.

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Reasons For A Business To Hire A Private Investigator

Many companies these days use them, with some employing their own in-house investigators. If you're a business owner or executive here are some of the top reasons a business will hire a private investigator:

Employee Background Checks

If you have a business that handles sensitive information or you just want to employ the right staff, then one reason to hire a PI would be to complete a private investigator background check on all potential employees you want to hire.

Criminal Investigations

You may have a problem with stock-loss, employee theft, fraud, copyright infringement, or other law-breaking activity against your business but don't know how to approach it. An investigator will have been trained in private criminal investigations to deal with such problems.

Finding Debtors

It is a fact that people intentionally go "missing" due to the owing of money. In order to file legal proceedings against someone to recover a debt, you first need to find the debtor. Private investigators are trained in how to locate debtors; a good reason to hire one is to help you recover money owed to your business.

Accidents in the Workplace

It's inevitable as a business to have employees involved in workplace accidents and requiring compensation. There are genuine cases of slips, trips and falls, but, also common is the dishonest employee, faking an injury and costing you money in lost work-time and fraudulent compensation claims. Private investigators use their skills to investigate accident and bogus injury claims.

Prospective Business Partnerships

If you are planning to go into a business partnership with someone, even a friend, it would be wise to use an investigator to do some checks on all other parties involved. If you plan to invest a large sum of money into a new venture, a good reason to hire a private investigator would be to take out some of the risk.

Electronic Surveillance Detection

Corporate espionage is a real threat to companies, particularly those producing top of the market products. A private investigator can be used to uncover listening devices, hidden spy cameras, or computer hacking software designed to pass on trade secrets.

Why You Should NOT Hire a Private Investigator

Not all cases are treated equally, so you have to weigh-up the pros and cons of using an investigator. Some examples of when you shouldn't hire one are:

Police are involved in the case already (although you can still use an investigator).
The cost of hiring one greatly outweighs the seriousness of the problem.
You hire a law firm who has their own in-house legal investigators.
A simpler solution is available.

A Final Word on Why You Should Use a Private Investigator

Above are just some examples of why people are hiring investigators, but there are certainly many more besides. And depending on what area you live in, may depend on the reason for wanting to hire one. It may come as a surprise but each area; town by town, county by county, state by state, country by country, are plagued by different crimes or social problems. For example, based on crime statistics, a private detective in Colorado will primarily be hired for different reasons than say one in Connecticut, due to differing crime trends.

A private investigator is highly trained and experienced to help solve difficult problems. Trying to tackle such volatile or potentially volatile situations yourself can have potentially disastrous effects - retaliation, law suits, murder in fact. Without trying to scare, these possible outcomes can be avoided by using a professional investigator. To get more information or assistance from an investigator, search our private investigator directory.