The (Not So) Exotic Life of a PI

Do you know what a private investigator does? Over the years, television and the movies have exaggerated the role just a bit. Some people think an investigator is similar to a police officer with the same police powers of arrest.

Although a PI can make a citizen's arrest when allowed by law, he or she has no more authority for making an arrest than any other citizen. If you're looking to become a PI, then you might want to get the lowdown on a PI's life before committing yourself.

Because private investigators are sometimes hired by public law enforcement agencies, PI's are often former law enforcement officers themselves. If not, it makes it much more difficult to build a reputation and earn the trust of local law enforcement.

For the most part there is little glamour or intrigue. One of the most common duties is surveillance. This often entails long, boring hours of waiting for something to happen. Other duties might be background investigations, internal business investigations and even some security work.

Many times, the surveillance done is family related. A person may want to learn if a spouse is seeing a member of the opposite gender on the sly. A private investigator may be hired by parents to tail their children to see where they are going and who they are seeing.

You might also be hired to help locate a runaway or missing teenager. You might be asked to watch a store or a storage locker overnight if something especially valuable is kept inside, or if a lock is broken and can't be fixed until the next day. There are any of a number of other tasks you could be asked to perform as well.

Family related problems are not the only cases one might handle. Businesses may use a private investigator for any number of reasons such as background investigations for new or potential employees. Employees suspected of theft or embezzlement are potential targets of private investigators, especially if there is insufficient evidence to take sanctions against the employee or to file a criminal complaint with the police.

Insurance companies often hire private investigators to survey people suspected of insurance fraud. Some people claim to be victims of permanent catastrophic injury when the injury is not really as serious as alleged. Private investigators are hired to tail these frauds and photograph them performing activities they say they are incapable of doing.