One of the biggest problems that can face a private investigator is when their services are misused, and there is no greater example of this than when a stalker attempts to gain information about someone’s whereabouts by hiring a private investigator. Commonly, stalkers can be ex-husbands or ex-boyfriends, and once they have located the person they seek, the result can be violent. It is for this reason that all investigators have a great responsibility to know why their services are being used and by whom.
Just like banks are required to do, private investigators need to know who their customers are. Banks are responsible for the source of the deposits that are made by their customers. Under no circumstances are they allowed to turn a blind eye to criminals using their banks to conduct illegal activity. There are a variety of laws regulating this area of banking. One example is that banks report any deposits made that exceed $10,000. In the private investigation industry, there are few regulations that govern the clients that can be served, so it is imperative that we conduct ourselves according to the highest ethical standards. The key to this is in knowing who we take on as a client.
Following Industry Best Practices
Our private investigation services adhere to the recommendations of the National Association of Investigators and their official position on locating people. This position is one that is followed and adhered to by all professional private investigators. In short, it is the responsibility of each PI to make sure that a client has a legitimate interest in obtaining the information they are looking for.
Most of the issues surrounding privacy and security for people involve those who are missing and someone may be trying to locate; therefore, a private investigator can usually focus on these types of cases. More care is given in discerning the motivations of a client. For example, if a man is looking for his ex-wife, there needs to be a verifiable reason for this search being done. If a man simply wants to see how she is doing, this likely isn’t going to be a sufficient reason. If certain legal documents need to be signed, we will need to see these documents, and even in this case, it may be possible to locate someone and have the documents signed without providing the location of the missing person.
Anyone looking to locate a missing person for the purpose of harming them or harassing them in any way is a client that no professional private investigator or firm wants, including ours. There are many reasons that missing persons may need to be located, and if you have a legitimate need to find someone, our private investigators can get the job done for you. However, keep in mind that we always have a concern for the safety of those persons we are searching for, so stalkers will always be prevented from locating those they may be trying to harass or harm.
Bruce Robertson
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