About 3,700 openings for private detectives and investigators are projected each year, on average, over the decade. Many of those openings are expected to result from the need to replace workers who transfer to different occupations or exit the labor force, such as to retire.
Detectives and investigators must be mindful of the law when conducting investigations. Because they lack police authority, their work must be done with the same authority as a private citizen. As a result, detectives and investigators must have a good understanding of federal, state, and local laws, such as privacy laws, and other legal issues affecting their work. Otherwise, evidence they collect may not be useable in court and they could face prosecution.
Private detectives and investigators work in many environments, depending on the case. Some spend more time in offices, researching cases on computers and making phone calls. Others spend more time in the field, conducting interviews or performing surveillance. In addition, private detectives and investigators may have to work outdoors or from a vehicle, in all kinds of weather, in order to obtain the information their client needs.
Private detectives and investigators typically need several years of work experience and a high school diploma. In addition, the vast majority of states require private detectives and investigators to have a license.
Private detectives and investigators must typically have previous work experience, usually in law enforcement, the military, or federal intelligence. Those in such jobs, who are frequently able to retire after 20 or 25 years of service, may become private detectives or investigators in a second career.
The median annual wage for private detectives and investigators was $59,380 in May 2021. The median wage is the wage at which half the workers in an occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $32,130, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $98,070.
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Private Detectives and Investigators,
at -service/private-detectives-and-investigators.htm (visited March 16, 2023).
The Training and Testing Regulation made under the PSISA came into force on April 15, 2010. All private investigators must fulfill the mandatory requirements of the Training and Testing regulation in order to be eligible to apply for a licence.
In addition to the PSISA, there are several regulations which govern private investigators. Many of these regulations apply strictly to employers. However, individual licensees should be familiar with the regulations, particularly those that affect them directly:
Individuals found guilty of an offence under the PSISA could face a fine of up to $25,000, imprisonment for up to one year, or both. As such, it is crucial that private investigators comply with all aspects of the PSISA and its regulations to avoid the possibility of being named in a complaint or facing charges.
Private investigators should know about filing access requests for records that are subject to the above-noted acts. Also, private investigators working for institutions that are subject to FIPPA or MFIPPA may be governed by one of these acts, and may be limited in terms of what personal information they can collect, use or disclose.
Private investigators are expected to work in accordance with a wide range of criminal and civil legislative and procedural requirements while balancing their own organizational requirements. They should be familiar with the key legal and procedural principles of criminal and civil law as it applies to private investigation.
Similarly, private investigators should familiarize themselves with sections of the Criminal Code pertaining to commonly encountered offences such as Kidnapping (section 279), Theft (section 322), False Pretence (section 361) or Fraud (section 380).
Private investigators should have a thorough knowledge of research techniques, surveillance techniques, interviewing techniques, industry specific equipment and how to collect and preserve evidence. It is also imperative that private investigators understand how to take proper and complete notes. This section represents generally accepted practices throughout the private investigation industry.
Generally speaking, private investigators must comply with all federal, provincial and municipal laws when conducting surveillance. For example, a private investigator who is following a subject in their vehicle should abide by the Highway Traffic Act at all times, even if the subject commits a violation (such as speeding or running a red light).
Typically, private investigators will go undercover when they are required to investigate workplace-related issues. For example, a client may ask the investigator to pose as an employee in order to investigate possible theft being committed by another employee.
Generally speaking, any individual can serve documents. For this purpose, there is no requirement to be licensed as a private investigator. However, private investigators are often called upon by law firms, companies or individual citizens to assist with the service of documents. This may occur as part of an investigation where the intention is to locate the residence of individuals or subjects. Therefore, private investigators should be familiar with the Rules of Civil Procedure.
Legally, private investigators must comply with the Code of Conduct Regulation under the PSISA as well as the Ontario Human Rights Code (OHRC), and are therefore obliged to treat all persons equally and without discrimination.
Private investigators encounter a wide range of situations and are required to act professionally under all circumstances. Effective communication is an essential skill for private investigators in order to adapt to different scenarios and diffuse situations when required.
Private investigators must be able to communicate with a wide array of individuals both orally and in writing to obtain information. Information provided by a private investigator, presented orally or in writing, should always be clear and concise, and use appropriate language. Information should be conveyed accurately and without personal bias or opinion.
It is important to adjust a communication style to accommodate a situation or an audience. Private investigators should be able to adjust their behaviour and demeanour accordingly. Communicating tactically, for example, ensures that private investigators can be assertive without being confrontational.
Though private investigators may sometimes work in isolation, they must always interact with others, whether it is their employers, peers, clients, or the public. Being courteous and professional are always essential and help to establish rapports and build trusting relationships.
This handbook is intended to provide an accessible overview of the requirements of PIPEDA as it may apply to lawyers and law firms in private practice and some corporate counsel. It is designed to help lawyers maintain best practices in managing their collection, use and disclosure of personal information, and access thereto, in compliance with PIPEDA standards. This handbook also addresses the potential application of PIPEDA in the civil litigation context.
The focus of this handbook is on PIPEDA. It does not address the privacy requirements that may apply to crown counsel and public sector lawyers. Nor does this handbook address other provincial private sector privacy laws that may apply to some lawyers or their clients.
Private investigators can only access publicly available information through public records searches. Any investigation that a private investigator performs must be in compliance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act and the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act.
Skiptracing is the process of locating a person's whereabouts. Skip tracing tactics may be employed by a skip tracer, contact tracer (in a public health context), debt collector, process server, bail bondsman or bail agency enforcer (bounty hunter), repossession agent, bail enforcement agent, private investigator, lawyer, police detective, journalist, stalker or by any person attempting to locate a subject whose contact information is not immediately known. Similar techniques have also been used by investigators to locate witnesses in criminal trials.[1]
Records or Information that "skiptracers" use may include phone number databases, credit reports (including information provided on a loan application, credit card application, and in other debt collector databases), job application information, criminal background checks, utility bills (electricity, gas, water, sewage, phone, internet, and cable), social security, disability, and public tax information.[5] While some of these records may be publicly available, some cannot be accessed without an appropriate search warrant, or a specific permissible purpose, which is generally only available to financial institutions, their contracted third-party vendors, law enforcement or licensed private investigators.[citation needed][6]
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