Private investigators vs investigators

[Stephen Tashiro]

I suppose the laws governing "licensed private investigators" vary from state to state, but in general, what investigation can private investigators do that ordinary citizens cannot do?

I suppose companies that sell surveilance equipment may have a policy of only selling the equipment to licensed private investigators. That would be a practical advanatage for private investigators.

Some private investigators seem to do most of their work by using online commerical information services. As far as I know these services are for sale to anyone who can afford them.

I suppose anyone who advertises their services as a private investigator would be required to be licensed. However, suppose a company like an insurance company has hired a person to do invetigations just for that company. Is the person at any disadvantage if he is not a licensed private investigator?

[Dan Hintz]

From an individual investigation standpoint, there is little difference, AFAIK... but if you want to do investigations as a business, you must be licensed. And you can typically only work with law enforcement officials on a case if you're licensed.

If you'd like, I could ask a good friend of mine... she's a PI, licensed in NV, CA, and I think CT.

[John Pratt]

There are several things that a licensed investigator has access to that your normal everyday citizen does not have access to on the computer. There are strict rules as to what can be accessed, by whom, and for what purpose when it comes to many types of investigations. Licensing varys frome state to state and the different rules for each state are spelled out in the certification. It is also worth noting that some states allow a PI to carry concealed while making it more dificult for other citizens to do so (some states may define this as a "need" or reason for carry). In this day and age, a tremendous amount of work is done on the computer and not in stakeouts. The reason for calling them Gumshoes is pretty much over.

[Dan Hintz]

There are several things that a licensed investigator has access to that your normal everyday citizen does not have access to on the computer.

Every time I see a list of sites everyday citizens supposedly can't access, I find out access only costs a few bucks. For example, Intelius is always listed as a site only law-enforcement officials (and PIs) can access, but for $20 anyone with a credit card can get in. Do you have any examples otherwise?

[Stephen Cherry]

Every time I see a list of sites everyday citizens supposedly can't access, I find out access only costs a few bucks. For example, Intelius is always listed as a site only law-enforcement officials (and PIs) can access, but for $20 anyone with a credit card can get in. Do you have any examples otherwise?

Itellius will pull people up who are dug in pretty deep. Also the court records for most states are on there. My ex wife was messing around with my sons karate teacher while we were married; I was able to find their bankruptcy, foreclosures, suites involving not paying the credit cards, running away from the suits, small business judgement for big money (about 240k). A little searching helped me to find out that these two were soul mates. They each drive 60k cars, and they each were foreclosed. I'm trying to convince my kids that this is not the normal way to live, but it's all there in black and white. It's amazing how much information is out there.

[David G Baker]

When I worked in broadcasting we subscribed to NEXIS. I was amazed at the information that was available there. It is expensive but if you need it it is worth the expense.