How A Private Investigator Washington Gathers Facts

According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, private detectives and investigators have a median annual earning of $32,110 in 2004. Annual income from investigative practice varies by employer, specialty or geographic area. Despite the growth evident in the private investigation industry, stiff competition is expected since more and more qualified people have become interested in this profession. A private investigator Washington usually has irregular work hours because of the nature of the profession. Depending on the market niche that he serves and the field of specialty that he has chosen, he employs different strategies to gather and verify facts pertaining to the case he is handling.

A private investigator Washington is paid by private citizens and business organizations to gather facts pertaining to the case he is handling. Unlike a police detective and a crime-scene investigator, his job is limited to collecting facts and does not include arresting and prosecuting criminals. There are many sources of information for a private investigator Washington. The most common source of information is a surveillance operation which requires him to follow a target and take note of the places where the latter goes to and the people that he meets. When doing this, it is important that an investigator does not lose his target and at the same time, the target should not be able to notice that he is being followed. This process can take hours and may involve an element of danger. Another source of information for a private investigator Washington is an interview with a suspect or a witness. The person being interviewed is not legally obliged to speak to an investigator. This is the reason why the latter should be skilled enough to know how to make the other person comfortable and should be able to build rapport with the other person. Some investigators use pretexts and ruses in order to be able to get the information that they need. However, using false pretenses has legal and ethical implications. In the United States, it is considered a Federal law violation to use pretexting to be able to have access to the telephone and financial records of a person. Trespassing or breaking and entering in a private property is also not allowed in many countries. This is why a private investigator Washington should conduct his surveillance operations in public properties to avoid legal entanglements. Private phone surveillance through wiretapping and recording devices is also considered illegal. Many sectors in society consider the work of investigators as violation to the privacy of people. Many laws and constitutional amendments have been enacted to make sure that the privacy of people is protected. Generally, when undertaking his job, a private investigator Washington should make sure that everything he does is within legal and ethical bounds. Another source of information for investigative works is public records. These include tax records, real estate transactions, birth and death records, court records, voter registrations, business licenses, vital statistics records and Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) records. The information that has been gathered should be carefully analyzed so that they can be presented or shown to the client.

In order to obtain a license, a private investigator Washington should at least be 18 years old and should be a US citizen or resident alien. He should also be employed by or is offered employment by a licensed private investigation company. He should have a clean criminal record and should have complied with all pre-assignment training requirements.