Should you hire a private investigator? If you’re asking yourself that question, there’s probably someone in your life you need to find or some information you really need to know. If you’ve considered how much it would cost to hire a private investigator and mulled over the advantages and disadvantages of getting a private investigator to look into your problem, there are several factors you need to consider when hiring.

Background Check

Firstly, you need to know if they have experience in solving cases similar to yours. Make sure you read their website for customer reviews and ask the investigator about his or her experience. In the private investigation business, where a detective’s reputation is the first thing customers consider, the success rate is very telling.

Ask About Their Trainings

Secondly, you should find out if they, or the agency they’re with, specialize in a field you’re concerned with. For example, if you need to hire a private investigator to find someone, you probably won’t be interested in an enterprise that specializes in personal injury and workplace absence cases. Ask them about the training they received – from this year onwards, in order to become a private investigator, one is obliged obtain a license, and private investigator training is a condition for obtaining it. If they’ve undergone basic training and have other specialized qualifications (e.g. digital forensics), you are likely to end up paying more.

Ethical Policy

Thirdly, you should consider their ethical policy. The information you’d be providing them with would most likely be confidential. Ask the detective if they are a member of any professional body, like Association of British Investigators (“ABI”). All members are bound by the same code of ethics, and confidentiality is a big part of it.

Estimated Time For The Job

Fourthly, you should ask the detective for an estimate of how long the job would take and the methods they’re going to use. This is important because different methods often have different hourly and daily rates, and some are fixed price. For example, if you want to hire a private investigator for an investigation of a cheating spouse, it would certainly involve surveillance which is priced hourly, but most detectives charge extra if surveillance takes place overnight. If you’re hiring a private investigator to find someone, they would sometimes need to travel, and expenses would add up to fixed price or hourly rate.

Hire A Local PI Or A Non-local One?

Fifthly, you need to consider whether you want to hire a local pi or a non-local one. The obvious advantage when hiring a local private investigator is that, unless your case requires traveling, you would save money on expenses. However, depending on your location, the local firm may not have the resources you require, especially if your case is particularly complex.

Finally, you should call up the organization or the freelance pi before making an appointment and explain what you’re looking for. There is a chance they may not be available to take your case, especially if it’s a complex one.