When you are at a point in your life that you need to hire a Private Investigator in Brooklyn, it is most likely because there is something difficult that you are going through. Sometimes it is a spouse acting suspiciously. Sometimes it is an employee that claims to be injured (but you are hearing they may not be as injured as they claim), or perhaps you just want to reconnect with an old friend from high school. There are many reasons why you would call a PI. When that time comes, you want to make sure that you do not settle for the first one that answers the phone. You want to make sure you hire the best person possible for your case. All too often we have clients tell us that they went with someone else first and were very disappointed – both in the service and the result and now they need to spend more money and time starting all over again. We hope that this “checklist” will help you make the right decision the first time and hire the best Private Investigator for your needs.
- Tenacity – Part of the definition of Tenacious* is “persistent in maintaining, adhering to, or seeking something valued or desired”. About 16 years ago, I was working with a lawyer in Flatbush. He had dealt with another Private Investigator in Brooklyn for several years, but came to me because he was unhappy. I remember after my first “test case” for him – he said he liked me because I was tenacious. At the time I didn’t know if that was a compliment or a dig, but once I had a chance to get back to my office and look it up, I took it as a compliment. You see, you don’t want to hire someone that takes the easy way out on your case. Granted, yours is not their only case, however, you deserve to hire someone that will go the extra mile and keep looking for that proof. You need someone that does not give up easily.
- Experienced – You need to make sure that the person you hire not only has a great deal of experience in Brooklyn (or wherever your case may be) but also has experience with the type of case that you have. In other words, if you suspect that your husband is cheating in Crown Heights, then you need a person with experience in both Cheating Surveillance and also in working in the Crown Heights area. You don’t want to go with someone whose expertise is in Background Checks trying to follow someone that is cheating and most likely aware of their surroundings. You need that Private Detective that can disappear into the crowd and catch them when they least expect it when they lean in for that kiss.
- Skilled – This often goes hand in hand with experience, but not always. A detective may have excellent experience in say, Missing Person Searches, but how are they with Child Support Surveillance? How are their driving skills through Prospect Heights during rush hour? Do they know how to blend in and “hide in plain sight”? They need to be skilled enough to anticipate the subject’s next move when you have to follow for what could be a long period of time. Make sure that they have the skills for the job required.
- Connections and Resources – A quality Private Investigator should subscribe to several different data resource companies, a variety of other resources and different connections within the Investigative Community. No person can do everything alone. They need to have the right tools for the job, and sometimes that requires going to someone else to brainstorm on a difficult case. Networking can make a big difference and going with someone that has a large, quality network to work with is critical. This is especially true when doing background checks on someone. You should never go with someone that only has one subscribed database to work from. While many of the top sites are very good, each has its own strengths and weaknesses. And don’t go with someone that only has access to sites that the general public can also purchase. Not only are these not nearly as accurate as what a licensed investigator can subscribe to, you could easily do that yourself. We subscribe to many exclusive data resource bases that are not available to the public, as well as a network of other Private Investigators that reaches all over the United States. Some of these connections also have connections all over the world, which are an email away for us to use when needed.
- Motivation – This may be the most important quality in a good PI. When you hire someone to handle a case for you, you need to make a decision based on your impressions of them. After speaking with them about your case, do you feel that they are the type that will put their all into your case? Or do you feel more that they are only in it for a quick sale and mediocre results? One of my favorite sayings is from a client who owned a store in Ocean Hill. He needed help with a Child Custody Case that took place in Brownsville. He said, “Adam, hard work makes luck.” Those words are very true. If you are not motivated to work hard, you will not succeed. As any business owner will tell you, nothing worthwhile comes easy. The same goes for quality investigations. You need to make sure that the person you hire is going to go that extra mile when the need arises. Get out there and knock on doors when they have to. Keep going over their notes and check their resources. Talk it over with other PI’s in their network. Just printing out the information from one database and emailing it to a client is not enough. That information is just a starting point for most cases. At the very least, a Detective needs to get out from behind their desk and confirm that the information is accurate.
A good Private Investigator looks at his line of work as helping others. When you need to hire a Private Detective, you need someone who “has a purpose greater than themselves.” Someone that will give your case the attention it deserves, has the experience and skill to do it well, and the tenaciousness to not walk away if it gets hard. Someone with the resources to take it to the next level if necessary. They need the right connections to get faster results. When you find someone that has all of these boxes checked off, then the final step is to make sure that you feel in your gut that they are who you want to handle your case. Once you do that, you will be in good hands.
Investigreat, LLC is a recognized full service Private Investigation Agency that is fully licensed, insured and bonded in Jamaica, Long Island City and Connecticut, handling cases in Queens NY, Brooklyn NY, the Bronx, Manhattan, Long Island NY and all of Connecticut. Terri Dornfeld, along with her husband Adam, have been working cases from missing persons and surveillance to worker’s compensation and all general investigation services, together since 1992.
Investigreat LLC | Private Investigators serving Jamaica NY, Long Island City NY, Brooklyn NY, Queens NY, Bronx NY, Westchester County NY, Long Island NY and all of Connecticut.
Connecticut Office: 860-899-1710 | New York Office: 718-412-1845 | Text: 718-309-1269
*Definition taken from the Merriam Webster Dictionary