How to hire a private detective / investigator?

May 20, 2015 10:59 PM

I need to hire a private a PI to do a criminal investigation and background check. I have no experience with this and don't know how.

I have seen some PI sites for my area but I have no way of knowing if those are even legit or not. How do I go about this?

posted by ksaklingon to Law & Government (9 answers total)

Are you looking for someone to do records research on someone's background, or are you looking for someone to follow someone around and do surveillance? I think it would help to know what you're trying to figure out.
posted by AppleTurnover at 11:04 PM on May 20, 2015

Response by poster: I need both a background check and records search in addition to surveillance.
posted by ksaklingon at 11:06 PM on May 20, 2015

It would be helful to know what state you're in. Oregon, for instance, licenses private investigators and the organization that provides training to police officers performs oversight for PIs.
posted by Happydaz at 12:34 AM on May 21, 2015

The only time I've done this, I dropped into my county sheriff's department and a division chief was able to give me a referral. If you have a local police department, someone there might be able to similarly help you.
posted by DarlingBri at 3:15 AM on May 21, 2015 [3 favorites]

My closest city is the county seat, so the courthouse is there in the square, ringed with law offices. There are also a few shingles hanging out for private investigations firms. If you've got a critical mass of lawyers and judges like that closeby, I'd try there as well.
posted by jquinby at 4:48 AM on May 21, 2015 [1 favorite]

If you've got a critical mass of lawyers and judges like that closeby, I'd try there as well.

Yes, lawyers (especially family and criminal law) often use PIs, as well as knowing what they can legally do in your jurisdiction; if you have any legal contacts that is a good referral source.
posted by TedW at 5:56 AM on May 21, 2015 [1 favorite]

If you know an attorney, they most likely know (or through coworkers with criminal / divorce law experience) can get you a referral.
posted by nickggully at 5:58 AM on May 21, 2015

You should be able to purchase a criminal/financial/litigation/etc. background check through any number of internet companies. Different costs will be associated with different depths and kinds of checking. But there is no need to hire a private investigator for this. Even if you do need some surveillance, there is no need to pay that guy to do the background check.
posted by slkinsey at 8:05 AM on May 21, 2015

To help avoid internet scams, you can contact local law firms to ask for referrals to reputable private investigators. Information about how to find an attorney is available at the MeFi Wiki Get a lawyer page.
posted by Little Dawn at 8:14 AM on May 21, 2015