A Manual of Private Investigation Techniques: Developing Sophisticated Investigative and Business Skills to Meet Modern Challenges - Softcover

William F. Blake

9780398088552: A Manual of Private Investigation Techniques: Developing Sophisticated Investigative and Business Skills to Meet Modern Challenges

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0398088551 ISBN 13: 9780398088552

Publisher: Charles C Thomas Pub Ltd., 2013

This book will help the private investigator reevaluate business opportunities and identify goals for the future. The world of the private investigator is constantly changing due to the introduction of various legal requirements that have restricted or eliminated some of the methods available for obtaining information such as the various privacy protection acts. Additionally, most private investigators have restricted their business activities to a response mode; that is, conducting inquiries after an incident has occurred. Their preventive skills have been ignored to their financial detriment. As restrictions continue to be placed on private investigative activities, private investigators need to reevaluate personal skills and discover how these may relate to expanding their services. This book provides the necessary information for learning about these new skill areas and provides the necessary strategies for their implementation. Some of the topics cover crime and loss prevention strategies, risk assessment, and prevention strategies. Many other topics are also covered such as that of the expert witness. This is not a difficult status to attain but requires unique skill sets and experience and can be highly lucrative. Crises management is another skill set that is explored here. It not only identifies potential risk areas through risk assessment activities but includes development and implementation of preventive measures and shows how the private investigator can assist in restoring business operations to their normal levels. This book will be of enormous help to private investigators who wish to develop these sophisticated investigative business skills and preventive services in order to meet these challenges for surviving and thriving in this modern age industry.

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Review:

While accessible to readers at all experience levels, Basic Private Investigation targets law enforcement retirees and other professionals considering investigations as a second career. Entry-level investigators seeking to identify an investigative specialty will also find this book to be a helpful guide. No reader will find the book to be a sole source of information, but every reader will find something useful.
The first part of the book goes through the process of starting a new career. Among the subjects touched on are regulatory requirements, marketing principles, and fiscal issues as well as psychological readiness and working in the private sector. The concept of conducting investigations without the intent of charging a perpetrator--which is often the case in the corporate environment--is addressed as one of many considerations a former law enforcement professional will want to ponder before deciding to become a private investigator. The second part of the book deals with basic investigative skills presented by experienced contributing authors. Novice investigators will benefit from sections on civil and criminal law, planning an investigation, and formal reporting. It might have been better if the author had provided a more thorough discussion of report writing--often a client's first and most enduring impression of an investigator--and given less attention to international investigations, which would be better reserved for an advanced book. The book concludes with a discussion on using subcontractors, a necessary but frustrating practice.
In the end, readers will gain insight into investigation as a profession, and investigative professionals will benefit from gentle reminders of what makes them successful. Frequently asked questions, checklists, sample reports, and real-world anecdotes underscore and highlight topics presented. The author and his contributors have produced a book worthy of shelf space in every practitioner's library. --Ross D. Bulla, CPP, PSR, a member of ASIS International

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