Why Private Investigators Are Needed in Criminal Cases

• February 03, 2020
• by Haywood Hunt & Associates Inc
• Articles

Editor's note: This article was written by Haywood Hunt & Associates Inc. The opinions expressed here belong to Haywood Hunt & Associates.

Most people think that private investigators spend most of their time tracking down cheating spouses or hunkered down in a car somewhere with a telephoto lens. But the fact is today’s private investigators often play crucial roles in serious legal matters including solving criminal cases.

Private Investigators and Law Enforcement

Law enforcement has been working with private investigators for decades. Oftentimes, overworked or understaffed police departments call on trusted private investigators to help uncover evidence for unsolved cases and fast-track the delivery of justice. More so, having a new set of trained eyes to look over existing data can prove useful in seeing patterns that weren’t obvious to the police officers who originally gathered them.

Perhaps one of the most positive merits of hiring a private investigator for a criminal case is that, unlike police officers, a private eye can choose to work on only a single case at a time. Another benefit is that private investigators are not limited by jurisdictions of duty and can pursue leads without the need to turn over investigations to someone else.

There is a misconception that police officers are reluctant to work with private eyes and that they perhaps see the investigator as a competitor or don’t trust their qualifications. There are also places that do not have strict requirements for someone to work in private investigations which can add to this hesitation. These days, however, police departments are finding it a lot more beneficial to have a few trusted private investigators working with them especially for solving cases that are hard to crack.

Note that a large percentage of current private investigators were once working in law enforcement. Sometimes this is a huge factor as to why it is easier for police officers and private investigators to work together these days.

Private Investigators and Law Offices

Private eyes have long been partners with attorneys. Law offices perceive private investigators as assets especially for uncovering information for serious criminal cases. Private eyes can conduct witness interviews for law offices as well as find key persons who can help with a case. Attorneys may be great at building cases and formulating defenses, but they often do not have the time to perform the necessary legwork to gather the information they need for building cases and formulating defenses. A private eye can do the research, investigation of data, as well as review details to help with a criminal case.

Private Investigators and the Public

Individuals often seek the help of private investigation services in order to breathe life into cold cases that have been forgotten by law enforcement. It isn’t uncommon for a professional private investigator to uncover new information years or decades after a case has gone cold. In some cases, relatives or friends of a victim in a criminal case sought the help of private eyes to find a missing witness or supplement an ongoing investigation for a case.

Although, the role of a private investigator has many facets, one of the most important is their ability to assist in criminal investigations. With many private investigators being ex-law enforcement, former police detectives, and even ex-military intelligence, their ability to help in these cases can often be crucial to successful outcomes.