#2 of 6 Things a PI Won't Tell You

6 Things a PI won’t tell you by Brian Willingham

#2

Brian says “Our job is to collect facts, but sometimes those facts don’t line up with what the client is looking for.  Investigators can certainly make things up or break the law to get what the client is looking for, but that doesn’t really help anyone.”

In 2012 when Brian wrote this stuff times were different.  I doubt a PI these days would admit to breaking the law to get what they need for a case.  Today most states require PI’s to be licensed and the license will be revoked if you are caught breaking the law for any reason whether professionally or personally.  I don’t know any PI, including myself, that would take such a risk especially if they have a lot to lose.  But, it is questionable as to what is considered breaking the law in this industry and to what degree is one breaking it if they are working responsibly in a professional capacity.

 There was a day that PI’s would use whatever that was available to them in order to resolve a case they were working on and it was common, and still is, for law enforcement to depend on the work of a PI to get the work done.  In my career I received more phone calls from Police Officers than college graduates seeking employment at my firm.  I often worked with the Police but never hired them.  I have my reasons.

 When a case goes cold within law enforcement it is common to hand it over to a reliable Private Eye to crack the case.  It is true that we have different resources than that of law enforcement and that are legal.  But, there are times when PI’s rely on the help of police in order to solve a case.  I personally have experienced this more than once and regardless of the circumstances the respect for one another should be mutual.

A few years ago someone came to me with an identity theft case.  An unidentified person stole my clients identity AND personal financial information including credit cards and debit card number.  The thief was able to buy this information off the market and then from a distant location they were able to use the information.  I found out where this information was being used and when I did I immediately contacted the police in that jurisdiction.  I was stunned by their response to me when asking for help.  My request was for them to go to a Walgreens in their area and view a video that should have recorded the face of the thief.  In the beginning they made promise after promise that they would do it but it never happened.  The last time I attempted to get their attention they told me they were too busy working on local cases.  Thanks a lot Orange County!  Needless to say without that video I was unable to identify the thief which could have lead to his capture, taking him off the streets and sparing any future victims.  Fortunately, I was able to resolve a few other issues for my client but what I would have given to catch the scum that took the identity of my client a hard working individual who made an honest living. 

What Brian is talking about when he talks about “facts” to a case that the client may not be expecting I wholeheartedly agree with.  It is often that a client has an idea in his mind how a case will end and the PI surprises their client with unexpected information that could potentially change the course of the case.  The unexpected information can curtail the investigation and is often at the request of the client to not take it any further.  They may not want to know the way it ends or who may have been involved.  It all depends on the circumstances and type of case.

I doubt a seasoned PI would make things up just to satisfy their client’s needs.   The word seasoned indicates the PI has a lengthy career in the field and wouldn’t last very long if they simply made things up as they went along unless they constantly change their name, name of their company, and consider themselves seasoned.  I am getting a little carried away here but you get the point I am sure.   Now these days you have to have a license, at least in my state, and it is a very expensive and lengthy process that takes place every two years.  I highly doubt one person could obtain more than one PI license in their state without getting caught. 

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