Archives

10 Tips for Asking Effective Investigative Interview Questions

When communicating with others, asking questions seems to be the least often used skill.  This happens for many reasons; we do not want to appear uninformed, overbearing or overly challenging in our quest for the truth.  Quite simply, asking questions and pairing them with effective listening skills prevents us from “jumping the gun” or filling [...]

Surveillance by Private Investigators and the Law

The laws pertaining to surveillance can definitely be a legal minefield for private investigators. Our licensing does not bestow any type of extra powers and we are bound by the very same rules relevant to criminal laws as any other private citizen. Before you conduct physical or electronic surveillance you should be competent and well [...]

[Video] Tactical Moment, Episode 1: “Proper Handgun Grip”

Pursuit Magazine readers: You’ve asked for more practical advice and articles related to firearms and we’re delivering! “Guns and Tactics magazine and InSights Training Center give some easy to remember and practical pistol shooting advice while showcasing our newest shooting bay!” In this brand new series and very first episode of “Tactical Moment” featuring John Holschen from [...]

American Private Investigator May 2012 Podcast is Live

The May 2012 podcast of The American Private Investigator with your host, Paul Jaeb of Heartland Investigative Group, features Mike McIntee and Paul Jaeb with the API news segment. Hear about how Lake County officials near Chicago hired a private investigator to look into two deaths in the county jail, how a private investigator is [...]

New EEOC Guidelines on the Consideration of Arrest and Conviction Records in Employment Decisions

Consideration of Arrest and Conviction Records in Employment Decisions I. Summary An employer’s use of an individual’s criminal history in making employment decisions may, in some instances, violate the prohibition against employment discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended. The Guidance builds on longstanding court decisions and existing guidance [...]

Review: “Forensic Testimonial Evidence Recovery – The FTER Method” by Brandon Perron

Interviewing is one of the fundamental skills required of almost every public and private sector investigator.  Brandon Perron, CCDI, is a General in our profession.  He is known to many of us as a devoted criminal defense investigator, founder of the Criminal Defense Investigation Training Council and the coveted Certified Criminal Defense Investigator professional designation.  [...]

Online Presence and Branding for Private Investigation Corporations

Creating a strong online presence is important to distinguish yourself as a local private investigator from the competition and one of the easiest ways to create a strong impact for your brand is with your logo (http://www.netplaces.com/private-investigation/marketing-and-money-matters/marketing-and-promotion.htm). Your logo is the first thing that people see when they reach your corporate web site and it [...]

6 Simple Online Investigation Techniques for Private Investigators

Following article is going to cover certain basic investigative techniques such as discovering a person’s online aliases, digging deeper into leads (such as profile images), leveraging Google to uncover files and setting up a system to get real time notifications about your target’s online activity. 1)  Dictionary mining This method is used by spam bots [...]

What You Need to Know When an Investigation Leads You to France

By Emmanuelle Welch – Once in a while, cases with exotic-sounding names land on your desk or in your inbox: a divorce case involving a French spouse suspected of hiding assets. A job candidate with credentials from a French institution or workplace that needs to be verified. A missing person believed to be living across [...]

Advanced Professional Video System Designed To Be Worn or Mounted

The Digital Ally FirstVu™ is a compact, lightweight, weather resistant digital video/audio recorder and photographic camera that is designed to capture hands-free evidence anywhere the job requires. An advanced clip system allows secure locking or quick transfer between a variety of locations, such as from a shirt pocket to the windshield of a vehicle. This [...]