COVER
STORY:
MEET MR. MURDER
An Interview with Vernon Geberth, Author of Practical Homicide
Investigations®
By Warren Sonne, CLI, PI Magazine Associate Editor
An in-depth interview with Vernon Geberth, a former lieutenant commander who
has gone from a legend at the NYPD to an absolute icon. Mr. Geberth sought
to change the self-promoting “Why should I tell anyone else how I do
it?” attitude held by many detectives into an unselfish team concept
where everyone learns from each other.
FEATURES:
PROVIDING INVESTIGATIVE SERVICES TO INSURANCE
COMPANIES
Communication is Key to Avoiding Customer Service Failures
By Daniel W. Draz, CFE
How to avoid negative customer service which could damage long-term client
relationships and cause the client to look elsewhere for investigative assistance.
NINE WAYS:
How to Get a Reluctant or Adversarial Witness to Talk
By Michael Stone
An experienced defense investigator teaches how to get witnesses with strong
emotional or practical reasons for not talking to open up.
DARKSIDE OF THE SEX TRADE
By Clay Renick
The challenging and vital role of the private investigator in the international,
multi-billion dollar industry of human trafficking.
DEPARTMENTS:
ACHIEVING THE FINANCIAL GOALS OF YOUR
FIRM
By Greg George
The philosophy and disciplines that every private investigative agency should
utilize to develop their business.
Excerpt: A few considerations suggested here may
not necessarily apply to investigators having a single person practice,
but the philosophy and discipline hold true for even the smallest
business. Those of us from government or police department backgrounds
never had to worry about sales, invoice turnaround time or business
credit lines. When I was with the government, I managed a several
million dollar budget and didn’t really have to worry too much
about where it came from as long as Congress was in session. The
old edict, “Spend it by October 1st or we have to give it back,” still
holds true with many agencies. It’s our tax dollars hard at
work.
When I left government and entered the private realm of investigations,
I earned my “street MBA” the way many do who have no formal education
or experience in business -- by learning how to reduce $50,000 mistakes to $5,000,
and eventually $500...
INTERNATIONAL INVESTIGATIONS
An Untapped Market
By Jimmie Mesis, Editor-in Chief, PI Magazine
New services available to the private investigator that allow them to offer
international reports to clients that can earn them substantial fees.
Excerpt: The Internet has made globalization a reality
and the world a much smaller marketplace. Companies are discovering
new sources of products and service providers on a daily basis from
far away continents. This opens the door for professional investigators
to assist companies in conducting international due diligence investigations
to help ensure that foreign companies actually exist and that the
individuals associated with them are real and reputable.
Providing new potential clients with international credit reports,
on both individuals and businesses, can quickly reduce the high risk of possible
financial losses. Being able to search and access available records for criminal,
civil and other government records is essential when...
LINGUISTIC STATEMENT ANALYSIS
TECHNIQUE
Examining Verbal and Written Statements
By Bob Shaffer
Introduction to the linguistic statement analysis technique used to examine
verbal and written statements to determine whether it is the product of a person’s
memory or a fabrication.
Excerpt: In the sixth century, Buddha claimed, “The
essence of knowledge is having it to apply it.” He knew that
the benefit of knowing something is the opportunity to share it with
others. He couldn’t have been more right. What’s the
point of having special knowledge if you can’t tell someone?
It’s also the foundation upon which the majority of criminal
cases are successfully investigated. Someone does something illegal,
tells someone else about it, the information gets passed on until
the police catch wind of it, and the bandit gets caught. It is also
the premise upon which the linguistic statement analysis technique
(LSAT) is based.
WORKPLACE DISCRIMINATION INVESTIGATIONS:
A Careful Approach
By Robert Boertien
A sensitive approach is needed when investigating a sexual harassment or other
work-related discrimination claim.
Excerpt: The investigation of sexual harassment
and other workplace related claims requires a specialized and sensitive
approach. There is little room for error and the potential for litigation,
as well as disruptions in the workplace, is high if the investigation
is flawed. While a thorough investigation is essential, the need
to complete the process in a timely manner is of equal importance.
A delay in initiating or completing the investigation likely will
increase the personal toll exacted from the involved parties, and
may serve to increase the polarization among coworkers of the accuser
and
the accused...
WHO ARE THE LEGAL INVESTIGATORS?
By Jane Cracraft, CLI®, CCDI
A look at the various job descriptions of the modern legal investigator.
Excerpt: I believe that I was working as a “legal investigator” for
a year or two before I ever heard the term. I just thought I was a weird PI
who didn’t want to do surveillance. Now I know that the term refers to
private investigators who work for trial lawyers in support of litigation or
in an effort to avoid litigation. The work includes...
THE LEGAL INVESTIGATORS OF NALI
The National Association of Legal Investigators, an association that provides
its members exceptional benefits, including educational opportunities.
Excerpt: The National Association of Legal Investigators
(NALI) has become synonymous with excellence in the profession
of investigation. The term legal investigator signifies one who
works with attorneys in preparation for litigation by obtaining
evidence relevant to the task. NALI members are among the best
known and proven in the profession. Many NALI members are published
authors, with articles in various professional journals, including
NALI’s quarterly journal, The Legal Investigator. Several
NALI members have written books on the many aspects of legal investigations
and are contributing authors to other reference texts used by investigators
and lawyers...
BITING THE HAND THAT FEEDS YOU:
An Undercover Investigation Gone Bad May Result in Evidentiary and Monetary
Sanctions
By Jennifer B. Bechet
How to conduct an investigation in order to
avoid acrimonious proceedings, monetary sanction, and the loss of evidence
acquired during an investigation.
Excerpt: No one had any intention of doing anything
unethical or improper,” assured South Dakota attorney Jerry
L. Pollard in a recent interview for PI Magazine. “Just go
in off the street, ask what’s best, what sells and why prefer
this one over that one.”
Despite the best of intentions, the commonplace activities of Attorney
Pollard’s former client Adrian Mohr, formerly of Adrian Mohr Investigations,
Inc., were at the heart of a federal judge’s decision to throw out tape-recorded
evidence, exclude testimony and even to consider slapping the attorneys and client
with monetary sanctions...
A HELPFUL HAND:
Results While Undercover May Not be What you Expect
By Steven W. Easley
Tips from an actual undercover case that illustrate what an investigator should
focus on.
Excerpt:...The employees did very little socializing
after work and the prospect of finding any drug involvement among
them was getting slim. I’d begun to wonder what about the place
had prompted an investigation. Had I been told everything to watch
for?
GADGETS, GIMMICKS & TRICKS OF THE TRADE
By Julius “Buddy” Bombet, Associate Editor, PI Magazine
New technology, equipment and advice that every PI should know.
BOOK REVIEW
By Jane Cracraft, CLI®, CCDI
A review of Successful Personal Injury Investigation, written by Francis D.
Ritter, CLI, CII
ARE WE DOOMED TO EXTINCTION?
By Jordan Ulery
Privacy legislation, closed government, national security, and general paranoia
is killing off the private investigator.
Excerpt:Private investigation as a profession is threatened
from the right, threatened from the left, and threatened directly by
legislation. With our livelihood touted as “inferior” and
our skills and knowledge disregarded as “second class,” how
can we continue to exist? Many PIs reading this article have been treated
with disrespect, if not revulsion, by clients, lawyers, clerks, cops
and the man on the street because of a lack of understanding or appreciation
of what services we perform in society. There are those in positions
of power, legislators and law enforcers, who see no reason for our
business to exist at all. The confluence of privacy legislation, closed
government, national security and general paranoia that seems to afflict
our society is slowly killing off the private investigator...
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