Private Investigator Finds Profit in Loss

Uncovering crime was the America dream for Jeffrey-Peter Hauck until the economy turned bad. The former paratrooper and 15-year police veteran even worked his way through college and law school before starting his own investigative business.

“It was a job where I could blend my experience, education and skills,” he said. “I watched many people immigrate to this country and the first thing they’d do was to open small businesses.”

He decided to do that in 2006 and left the police department in Bethlehm Township, PA to open his own shop. His product was a service that more Americans are looking for: security.

According to the US Bureau of Labor and Statistics, 52,000 other investigators work in the field. Many are experts in surveillance, protection, information about missing persons or help in technical areas like digital forensics.

Jeff got some counsel at the start that sounded good.

“Specialize. Find a niche. So he did that—opened an office, started work for several criminal defense attorneys and watched as the economy soured.

His first mistake was expectations. “There’s no support system for me,” he realized. “I have to be accountable for every word that comes out of my mouth and every paper.”

That was a shock. There was always a team to fall back on in the army or on the police department. He also noticed the need in clients when they came to him about business.

“I didn’t come across right,” he realized. “They (clients) want to be made to feel safe and secure when they hire you…. We buy everything on first impressions.”

Private investigators do more than follow cars or fill video cameras. They now have to navigate legal restrictions that apply to privacy. Jeff was able to use his legal background but noticed the economy affecting how much clients were willing to pay. Business changes forced both attorneys to tighten their belts. Jeff lost his office. He’s married with several kids but started working out of his home. He also began to question his approach.

“I decided to embrace the change and open myself to as many types of investigations as possible,” he explained. “Instead of focusing on one type of service I began to expand into all areas of the private investigation spectrum from persons locate (skip tracing) to missing persons (where I rescued a student caught up in a cult).”

In that case, a doctor called from Massachusetts. His son went to college in Pennsylvania but disappeared in a cult. Jeff used research and surveillance to find the boy who got involved with the cult leader after being attracted to the man’s jazz and rap performances. The client was able to get his son back home in New England where he entered counseling. That was a switch from his specialized work with criminal law. Lay-offs around the country left more employers with a surge of job applicants. It also left Human Resource specialists struggling to verify work experience. Jeff helped with that. He’d call former employers and even understood the importance of what the HR people “didn’t say” about former employees. His legal background helped in understanding limitations.

“So many people pad their resume,” Jeff explained. “They’ll embellish and outright lie about credentials.”

He also noticed more potential with “domestic” strife. More spouses suspected their partner of cheating and would need an “objective non-biased person working on their side.”

One woman contacted Jeff about her husband. He owned a chain of businesses in PA and got caught with another woman. The husband was older but hired a younger manager for one of their businesses. That woman, in turn “seduced” the older man and the wife wanted Jeff to investigate. This was a traditional area of the state where the man’s family would have lost business if locals knew about his infidelity. Jeff began to research and collect information about the younger manager who was caught with the older man. Jeff even developed a time line that showed a pattern. The woman used the same approach in all of her work settings: seduce business owners and then blackmail them to keep information from getting out. Jeff’s new approach attracted business that applied to other areas of investigative work.

“I never know what to expect when the phone rings,” he says, “because everyone has a different problem.”

Some people wanted electronic “sweeps” done on their property when they suspected their homes were “bugged”. In those cases, Jeff had to inspect all cables and outlet covers for evidence of hidden cameras. Cams using fiber optics can be the size of a pen head or pencil point. He also learned about marketing and customer service. Clients used to call about domestic problems and Jeff would need a commitment and retainer fee in order to take the case. Now people have less money so he adapted his approach to include “consulting” work on a per-hour basis.

“Found myself working harder and creative,” he said about the changes. “I will take on any case now and I believe I am a better PI for it.”

Other private investigators agree about the drop off in business. One in Georgia claims his income if off by 50% from last year. But Jeff is confident even though the future is unclear.

“The industry will grow and expand,” he tells others.

He still works from home and still loves the job. But he now has an understanding of the process involved in his field since it’s something he’s worked through on his own and has seen first-hand.

“The need for private investigators will be there,” he says. “There’s always going to be strife.”

Clay Renick is a freelance feature writer from Statesboro, GA and has written many articles related to private investigation.