Have you ever wondered what a private investigator does? This is a career which does seem to be shrouded in mystery and if the television were to be believed then private investigators are those who move around in the shadows. The reality however is very different from TV shows and to find out more we caught up with private investigator Jennifer Mellon to find out a little more. Jennifer and her partner Danny Boice work as private investigators for Trustify, an excellent service which seeks to offer an affordable and efficient service that provides clients with the best private investigators in the business. Jennifer talked to us about the different jobs that they carry out.
Surveillance
Surveillance is what takes up the majority of a private investigator’s time and they are regularly asked by their clients to watch over someone. There are two main reasons behind this, the first is that a number of spouses and partners hire a private investigator to see if there partner is being unfaithful. The second reason why private investigators often have to carry our surveillance is in the case of divorces when one parent suspects the other of not being fit to look after the kids. Occasionally private investigators can be asked by the courts or by police to keep an eye on a person of interest too.
Research
Information is like a currency to private investigators and that is why a large amount of their job involves carrying out research and obtaining information based on the case that they are working on. Most experienced professionals such as Danny Boice and Jennifer Mellon have large databases which they have access to in order to obtain information and they will also have a number of contacts in key positions who are able to help them to get the information that they need.
Interviewing
In their search for information and facts a private investigator also needs to have interview skills as they will often need to sit down with people who have information for them. Let’s say for example that someone has had an accident which wasn’t there fault and they are pursuing a claim. In these situations witnesses don’t readily come forward so a private investigator may need to speak with someone that witnessed the event in order to back up the story of their client.
Analyzing
Finally private investigators will spend much of their time analyzing the information that they have managed to obtained, in order to see whether or not it supports what their client is asking for. In some cases private investigators must pore over huge amounts of documents in order to find what they are looking for which is why they must have an analytical way of doing things.
As you can see this job really isn’t as obscure as the TV would have you believe and in fact the role of a private investigator is far more interesting that.