Fundamentals of Civil and Private Investigation, Third Edition

• NCJ Number: 246578
• Author(s): Raymond P. Siljander, M.Ed., ALCM; Darin D. Fredrickson, M.Ed., CPP
• Date Published: 2014
• Length: 317 pages
• Sale Source: Charles C. Thomas
• Publication Format: Book (Softbound)
• Publication Type: Overview Text; Instructional Material
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This third edition of the "Fundamentals of Civil and Private Investigation" updates the investigative techniques in this field, with attention to computer access to diverse information sources as well as recent communication and photographic technologies that facilitate investigations.

Abstract

The first of 11 chapters presents an overview of the private-investigation (PI) profession. Topics addressed include PI job tasks, history, attributes of an effective private investigator, training options, and employment opportunities. The second chapter, "Investigative Types, Methods, and Procedures," reviews the common areas of private investigations, including organized retail crime, verifying or disproving marital infidelity, bail enforcement/bounty hunting, insurance fraud, and process serving. Some investigative methods discussed are the neighborhood canvas, the use of personal disguises, "pretexting," and monitoring the trash of a targeted person. Chapter 3 "Sources of Information, Skip Tracing, and Locating Assets," discusses sources of information for education purposes. It identifies information that can be legally accessed, in what manner, and under what circumstances. Chapter 4 discusses the methods of commercial undercover investigations. In these investigations, a PI obscures his/her real identity and purpose in the course of infiltrating the workforce of a client company in order to detect various types of employee misconduct that is harming the company. Chapter 5 addresses the purpose and techniques of physical surveillance, followed by two chapters on the visual aids that facilitate such surveillance and surveillance photography and videography. Chapter 8 discusses how to conduct interviews, take statement, write reports, and testify in court. The remaining three chapters address VIP protection, the legal environment of private investigations, and the management of a private investigation agency. Photographic illustrations, 73 references, and a subject index