Pursuit Magazine, a free online magazine for professional investigators, has just posted the best list of private investigator license laws I have seen to date.
Today, I surveyed 6 websites in comparison for this information and I found NUMEROUS legal errors, outdated laws and dead links in all of them except for Pursuit's list... this is obviously because Stephanie Mitchell, the Editor, has a background in thorough legal research as a former paralegal.
They point out in their resource that a state P.I. license is not currently required in several states including Alabama, Alaska, Colorado, Idaho, Mississippi, and Wyoming, though some local jurisdictions in each state do require professional licensing at the county or city level. There are changes underway in Missouri and Pennsylvania.
My question is why would someone who cuts my hair or paints my wife's toes need a state license but someone who deals with the public trust not need a license and state mandated continuing education? That seems kind of silly to me, quite frankly!
All of that aside, Pursuit Magazine continues to innovate and push forward the standard of training and freely distributed industry information- great job!
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
One Online Private Investigator Magazine's Approach to Social Networking
Great Editor's update by Scott Harrell at Pursuit Magazine concerning Social Networking with PIs.
I think that it is great that they are embracing the whole media vertical thing rather than being a one dimensional print-based magazine.
I would also point out that I just saw a list of types of private investigator services as well on the Be A Private Eye Blog and thought that also was really good information; especially now that many people are either getting into the private investigation business as a new career or established PIs are branching out with new and improved service and product options.
They discuss various types of services under the categories of Surveillance, Insurance, Corporate Investigations, Civil and Domestic Cases, Skip Tracing and Locating Missing People, Forensic Computer Examination, Criminal Defense Investigations, and Political and Discovery Assignments. The list does a great job at enumerating all of the different choices a new private investigator has when trying to figure out what types of PI assignments in which he or she might want to specialize.
The options are endless and the subject really deserves its own entire article here. The blog lists the most obvious ones. I absolutely recommend that investigators find their niche and specialize in only a few types of investigations! There are several important reasons for this, but it can be summed up this way: when you are the most notable investigator in your region of the country for a specific type of investigation, you will find MANY additional opportunities to make a lot more money than if you advertise yourself as a “jack of all trades.” This has been proven across the country time and time again and was something I learned while working for CompassPoint Investigations.
I think that it is great that they are embracing the whole media vertical thing rather than being a one dimensional print-based magazine.
I would also point out that I just saw a list of types of private investigator services as well on the Be A Private Eye Blog and thought that also was really good information; especially now that many people are either getting into the private investigation business as a new career or established PIs are branching out with new and improved service and product options.
They discuss various types of services under the categories of Surveillance, Insurance, Corporate Investigations, Civil and Domestic Cases, Skip Tracing and Locating Missing People, Forensic Computer Examination, Criminal Defense Investigations, and Political and Discovery Assignments. The list does a great job at enumerating all of the different choices a new private investigator has when trying to figure out what types of PI assignments in which he or she might want to specialize.
The options are endless and the subject really deserves its own entire article here. The blog lists the most obvious ones. I absolutely recommend that investigators find their niche and specialize in only a few types of investigations! There are several important reasons for this, but it can be summed up this way: when you are the most notable investigator in your region of the country for a specific type of investigation, you will find MANY additional opportunities to make a lot more money than if you advertise yourself as a “jack of all trades.” This has been proven across the country time and time again and was something I learned while working for CompassPoint Investigations.
Friday, January 16, 2009
Ruffin Blaylock has Joined Pursuit, the Private Investigator Magazine
I just read Ruffin Blaylock's new article on using assault rifles and shotguns in bail enforcement and it was extremely insightful. Bounty Hunters often wonder if they should be carrying firearms and what types specifically are good for bounty hunting work and Ruffin's article exemplified experience and practical experience.
He'll make a great editor for the new online pi magazine's bail recovery category.
I forgot to mention that Pursuit Magazine, a private investigator magazine, has also set up a new MySpace account separate from the CompassPoint Investigation's account. Be sure to drop by and check out the new layout and add them as a friend. I understand that they are sending out subscriber-only notices and special content /sneak peeks to their MySpace friends so that might be a good resource for PIs.
He'll make a great editor for the new online pi magazine's bail recovery category.
I forgot to mention that Pursuit Magazine, a private investigator magazine, has also set up a new MySpace account separate from the CompassPoint Investigation's account. Be sure to drop by and check out the new layout and add them as a friend. I understand that they are sending out subscriber-only notices and special content /sneak peeks to their MySpace friends so that might be a good resource for PIs.
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