News Headlines

The Florida Association of Private Investigators, Inc. (FAPI) 2009 Annual Litigation and Investigators Conference

Title: The Florida Association of Private Investigators, Inc. (FAPI) 2009 Annual Litigation and Investigators Conference
Location: Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay, FL
Link out: Click here
Description: The Florida Association of Private Investigators, Inc. (FAPI) 2009 Annual Litigation and Investigators Conference
August 20, 2009 through August 23, 2009

Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay
290 Bayport Drive
Tampa, Florida 33607
Telephone: (813) 874-1234
www.grandtampabay.hyatt.com

Nationally Recognized Speakers include…

Posted June 22, 2009 by Scott Harrell

Private Investigation

Private Investigators: How to Win Working on a Flat Rate

Since many insurance companies and large law firms are requiring investigators to work on a Flat Rate basis more today than in the past, it occurred to me that there must be a way for investigators to work Flat Rate assignments and make a better profit.

The concept of keeping control of costs is not new. Your clients want a baseline to work with and thus, the Flat Rate seems the most reasonable course of action to them; this is understood.

Hopefully, what you find out in your investigation will give you the power to use your, “Stop Limit Flat Rate” and continue (if appropriate), the investigation while billing at your standard rate(s)! You’ve heard the expression, “take it one day at a time.” You can apply that concept by remembering to, “Take each Flat Rate assignment one step at a time.”

When you receive that first contact from a prospective client who requests that you to work on a Flat rate basis,

Posted June 22, 2009 by Susie Wright

Bail Enforcement

Body Armor for Fugitive Recovery Agents

I’ve had a few questions regarding concealable body armor lately, especially what type and what level of protection. So I thought it would be best to discuss it here. I firmly believe that going home to my family every night is a GOOD THING and body armor has saved many lives in the field.

Body armor is classified by the NIJ (National Institute of Justice) as Levels I, IIA, II, IIIA, III, and IV. Each level has been tested and certified by the NIJ to stop the penetration of a particular ammunition caliber and mass, traveling at various muzzle velocities at an industry standard 5 meters (for types I thru IIIA) and 15 meters for III and IV. (I’m not going to go into angle of penetration of fired test rounds, backing material or construction.) Some materials are also submitted for stab resistance (using the “California Ice Pick Method”)

Here is a basic outline for the minimum standards for each:

Posted June 12, 2009 by Scott Harrell

Skip Trace Techniques

The Liability of Skip Tracing Assignments

In recent years private investigators have come under increasing scrutiny and pressure from zealous privacy advocates, national and state lawmakers and perhaps most importantly attorneys and civil courts. Numerous courts have recently held that information brokers and private investigators can be liable for the harms caused by selling personal information without just cause or permissible reason. There have been several awards being meted out against private investigators who have unwittingly assisted a stalker in the location of his prey. In some instances clients have murdered the person the investigator was hired to find.

Take the case of Amy Lynn Boyer of New Hampshire; a man obsessed with this young lady since high school, Liam Youens, hired a private investigator to find Ms. Boyer and obtain here date of birth and place of employment. A credit header search and a pretext call later and the investigator was successful. Youens subsequently shot and killed Ms. Boyer.

Posted June 29, 2009 by Scott Harrell

Process Server Corner

Phony Subpoena Pretext - How To Obtain The Real Identity Of A Subject At An Address

To obtain the real identity of a subject at an address, or verify the name of a person at an address in order to serve papers, I created a pretext years ago and filed it under my “When all else fails, go to Plan B” category, along with forensic garbology etc.

I have utilized it many times over the past 35 years. This works every time for service of process, or when you need to learn the name of an unknown that is at a particular address.

First I obtain the name of the last person that resided at that address, prior to the target, from data bases, assessor’s office, old phone disc directories, land records etc.

Posted June 29, 2009 by Bernie Soldate

Marketing Tips

Using Price as a Marketing Tool within your Private Investigations Agency

There are four classic “P’s” to marketing: product, price, place, and promotion. You can find them in any marketing book, or even on Wikipedia; each has a critical role to play in any marketing success story.

Let’s focus for a bit on price.

There has been a lot of discussion lately on one of the private investigator newsgroups about price, how some private investigators are undercutting or underbidding others just to land some jobs and that such efforts are hurting the professionalism of the profession. Some rallied around the concept promoted by one PI who wrote:

Posted June 29, 2009 by Bob Mackowiak