Private Investigation

 

GENERAL P.I. INFORMATION

Be a PI
http://beaprivateeye.com/
Online private eye course.

CrimeLynx
http://www.crimelynx.com/investigation.html
Links to investigative resources, directories, record searches

Crime Time
http://www.crimetime.com/
Books and information for private investigators

Diligentia Group
http://www.diligentiagroup.com/blog/
Articles and info from a New York Private Investigation Company

Freedom of Information Act
http://www.usdoj.gov/oip/04_1.html
Information on the FOIA and how to file a request

Frequently-Asked Questions About Private Investigators
http://www.pimagazine.com/private_investigator_faq.htm#investigator
Lots of questions and answers such as How can I become a private investigator?, What kinds of cases do PI’s work on? and more

Investigateway
http://investigateway.com.au/
This site from Australia has “thousands of resources,” news and articles in abundance and a PI index. It is operated by Michael Hessenthaler who carried out around 10,000 investigations in Australia during his more than 30 years in the business, mainly in the area of common law and statutory liability.

PI Buzz
http://pibuzz.com/

PI Engine
http://www.piengine.com/
This site has a searchable directory for private investigators worldwide, as well as links to further PI tools and resources, and a public forum.

PI Magazine
http://www.pimagazine.com/
The web site presence of the print publication, it includes news and resource links and an “Ask the PI’ section

PI Mall
http://www.pimall.com/
Pi Mall bills itself as the “most extensive resource for private investigators around the globe,” and includes a PI directory, info on catalogs, books, training, and gear, and daily PI-related news.

PINow.com
http://investigator-pi.blogspot.com/
PInow.com is a worldwide directory of local, qualified private investigators. PInow.com provides a one-of-a-kind resource for locating professional investigators anywhere in the U.S. or Worldwide for FREE. The private investigators listed on PInow.com cover everything from general investigations to domestic/infidelity, background checks, fraud, surveillance, and much more.

PI Store
http://www.pistore.com/
Gear and goodies

PI Stories
http://pistories.com/
News, Stories, Other Private Investigator Interests, & More

Private Investigators Directory
http://www.infoguys.com/
A directory of PI’s, articles on investigation, PI gear

Private Investigator State Licensing
http://howtoinvestigate.com
Links to state PI associations and licensing requirements

Tape Recording Laws in the U.S.
http://www.rcfp.org/reporters-recording-guide/state-state-guide

Writing PIs Favorite Investigator Websites
https://writingpis.wordpress.com/2012/12/12/best-of-2012-our-7-favorite-private-investigator-sites/
From the Guns, Gams and Gumshoes blog, a list of great links.


GOVERNMENT DOCUMENTS

Census Bureau
http://www.census.gov/
U.S. census information, broken into categories like People & Households, Business & Industry and  Geography; the American Fact Finder can provide fact sheets for any community.

Free Public Records Directory
http://publicrecords.onlinesearches.com/
This free public records directory provides a geographically-oriented directory of public record resources for criminal court records, civil court records, marriage records, divorce records, real and personal property records, deeds, mortgages, liens and other recorded documents, jail and inmate records, sex offender records, wanted persons records, and more. Use the Find Public Records utilities to locate public records by City and State, by Zip Code, or just select a state and then a county.
 
GPO Access
http://www.gpoaccess.gov/index.html
GPO Access is a service of the U.S. Government Printing Office that provides free electronic access to a wealth of important information products produced by the Federal Government.

Open CRS Network
http://www.opencrs.com/
American taxpayers spend nearly $100 million a year to fund the Congressional Research Service, a "think tank" that provides reports to members of Congress on a variety of topics relevant to current political events. Yet, these reports are not made available to the public in a way that they can be easily obtained. A project of the Center for Democracy & Technology, Open CRS provides citizens access to CRS Reports that are already in the public domain and encourages Congress to provide public access to all CRS Reports.
 
University of Michigan Documents Center
http://www.lib.umich.edu/govdocs/
The Documents Center is a central reference and referral point for links to government information, whether local, state, federal, foreign or international. Its web pages are a reference and instructional tool for government, political science, statistical data, and news.


MAGAZINES

Evidence Magazine
http://www.evidencemagazine.com/

Fraud Magazine
http://www.fraud-magazine.com

PI Magazine
http://www.pimagazine.com/

Pursuit Magazine
http://pursuitmag.com/


PUBLIC RECORDS

Free Public Records Finder
http://www.freeprf.com/
Various public records links by state (statewide and by county) and many other resource links, such as aviation, vehicle, and vessel records, sex offenders, adoption registries and reunions, bank and asset locator, etc.

Law & Technology Resources for Legal Professionals
http://www.llrx.com/features/crime.htm
A nice overview on navigating the maze of criminal records retrieval

Net Detective
http://netdetective.com/
A subscription service (for a nominal fee) that allows you to search through their large database of public-record information on millions of US citizens

Snoop Station
http://www.snoopstation.com/
Snoop Station is a free, self-service background check search site which uses a series of brief questions to guide you through a public records search. Although the search is free, some of the results returned do have a charge, so be aware of that.

US Vital Records Information
http://www.vitalrec.com/
Links to public records agencies in the US

Virtual Gumshoe
https://www.virtualgumshoe.com/resources/
Links to a wide variety of public records, from adoption resources to inmate searches, to warrant databases

The Virtual Chase
http://www.virtualchase.com/
Links and articles on Finding and Researching Experts and Their Testimony, Searching Dirty to Find What's Hidden, Cell Phone Database, New Copyright Search Engine, and more


TECHNIQUES

Background Check Directory
http://backgroundcheckdirectory.blogspot.com/
http://www.backgroundcheckdirectory.com/
BackgroundCheckDirectory.com was established to cover all of the diverse areas concerning background checks, such as, fingerprint, DMV, character references, personal acquaintances, education records, criminal records, court records, credit records and much more.
Capitol Murder Defense Investigation Checklist
http://www.pimall.com/nais/n.murder.html

How to Investigate
http://www.howtoinvestigate.com/
Lots of articles on how to conduct a variety of background checks

NAIS Newsletter Archives
http://www.pimall.com/nais/n.index.html
These are sample articles from the National Association of Investigative Specialists’ newsletter; to obtain all articles, you have to be a member.

Private Eye 101:  Master the Fine Points of Conducting Investigatory Interviews
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3495/is_7_49/ai_n6135027

Private Investigation and Process Serving
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2194/is_1_73/ai_113525581
Private Investigation and Process Serving contains investigative, protective, and serving concepts; technical information; and investigative recording forms to support operations, all presented in nontechnical language.

Private Investigation Related Articles, News and Training
http://www.beaprivateeye.com/articles.htm
Includes Terms and Definitions, Types of Assignments, Taping and Recording Telephone Calls:  Is it Legal? and a few more

Private Investigator Surveillance Techniques:  Top 10
http://ezinearticles.com/?Private-Investigator-Surveillance-Techniques:-Top-10-Tips&id=93653

Surveillance & Communications Articles
http://www.swssec.com/white_paper.html
A series of articles from a monthly column in the trade magazine Police and Security News of questions on surveillance hardware and operational techniques asked by law enforcement technical surveillance officers