What Does A P.I. Do?

Private Investigator | P.I. Description | When To Hire | How To Hire

A private investigator (P.I.) is a person who conducts investigations for private citizens, attorneys, insurance companies and/or employers. Before the advent of no-fault divorce, many PI’s were hired to search out evidence of adultery or other illegal conduct within a marriage to establish grounds for a divorce. Despite the lack of modern legal necessity for such evidence in many jurisdictions, collecting evidence of adultery or other "inappropriate behavior" by spouses and partners is still one of the most requested services provided by investigators, according to media and press reports.

Many states require PI’s to be licensed, and they may or may not be eligible to carry firearms depending on several different factors. Some PI’s are former law enforcement officers, although many are not. They are expected to keep detailed reports on their investigative research and must be prepared to testify in court regarding any of their observations on behalf of their clients. Taking great care to remain within the scope of the law is necessary, as failure to do this may lead to the individual facing civil and/or criminal charges. Additionally, irregular work hours are at times required when conducting covert surveillance.

PI’s also accept a large variety of work that is not usually associated with the investigative industry in the mind of the public. For example, many PI’s are involved in process serving, the personal delivery of summons, subpoenas and other legal documents to parties involved in a legal case. The tracing of absconding debtors can also form a large part of a PI's work load. Many agencies specialize in a particular field of expertise, as a way to differentiate themselves and their services from other investigative firms. For example, some PI agencies deal only in genealogy or performing locate searches. Others may specialize in technical surveillance countermeasures (TSCM), which is the locating of unwanted forms of electronic surveillance (for example, a bugged boardroom for industrial espionage purposes). Other PI’s, also known as Corporate Investigators, specialize in corporate matters, such as fraud investigations, due diligence investigations, computer forensics work and various other forms of employee misconduct and criminal activity in the workplace.

Increasingly, modern PI’s prefer to be known as "professional investigators" rather than "private investigators" or "private detectives". This is a response to the image that is sometimes attributed to the profession, and an effort to establish and demonstrate the industry to be a proper and respectable profession.