Course Introduction

MODULE 1 – PRIVATE INVESTIGATION

This module provides you an overview of private investigation, its history, and career prospects, emphasizing essential attributes for success as a private investigator. It explores various investigation types, distinctions between private investigators and law enforcement, and highlights federal information sources, private organizations, and agencies involved. The module concludes with the importance of maintaining a strong ethical foundation in this profession.

MODULE 2 – TOOLS OF INVESTIGATION

In this module, you will learn about the tools and techniques required during the investigative process, interviewing techniques to extract information from individuals involved in the case, and ways to locate and review public records. The module also covers skills investigators need to possess, ways to gather information from various sources like online resources, digital databases, or confidential resources, techniques to effectively photograph visual evidence to support your findings, and polygraph technique usage to assess truthfulness and deception.

MODULE 3 – INVESTIGATOR AND CLIENT RELATIONSHIP AND PRIVACY

This module focuses on building strong investigator-client relationships while addressing privacy concerns, including physical and constructive invasions. It explores ethical and legal aspects of privacy, public disclosure of private facts, and managing sensitive data like medical and genetic records. You will also learn about compliance with regulations, ways to handle sensitive investigations with professionalism, ensuring respect for individual rights, and maintaining trust with clients, including individuals, attorneys, and corporations.

MODULE 4 – PRIVILEGES/CONFIDENTIALITY/IMMUNITIES

This module introduces you to confidentiality, privileges, and immunities, highlighting their This module gives you insight into confidentiality, privileges, and immunities crucial for safeguarding sensitive information and individual rights. It covers attorney-client, marital, doctor-patient, clergy, self-incrimination, and litigation privileges, alongside privilege waivers. Additionally, it explores spousal, parental, and governmental immunities, emphasizing legal protections and exemptions. By mastering these concepts, you can handle complex situations while adhering to legal and ethical standards.

MODULE 5 – INTERVIEWING AND INTERROGATION

In this module, you will get an overview of interview and interrogation techniques, methods to effectively interview the subject, which includes objectives, principles, and types of interviewing. The module further explores the significance of advance preparation and effective questioning techniques, how to handle initial contact with interviewees, and methods to make the interviewee at ease based on their behavior for effective investigation. Further, you will be introduced to the interrogation process, its purpose, attitudes, and approaches; ways to deal with deceptive responses; legal and ethical considerations; and practical methods to polish your skills to extract crucial information.

MODULE 6 – NOTE TAKING AND REPORT WRITING

This module highlights the need to effectively take notes and report writing in investigations. It covers the purpose of note-taking, guidelines for taking accurate notes, types of statements (admissions, confessions, depositions, and written), and note-taking methods for various investigative scenarios. Additionally, it provides tips for creating high-quality reports to support legal proceedings, highlighting the need for clear communication and thorough documentation.

MODULE 7 – LEGAL INVESTIGATION

In this module, you will learn about legal aspects of private investigation, including constitutional principles, habeas corpus, investigator roles and responsibilities, types of licensing, and training requirements for investigators. It highlights ethical practices and addresses legal issues such as aiding and abetting, polygraph restrictions, trespassing, defamation (slander or libel), witness tampering, and private arrests. This module provides a thorough understanding of the legal framework, ensuring investigators operate within ethical and lawful boundaries while maintaining professional standards.

MODULE 8 – INSURANCE AND ARSON INVESTIGATIONS

This module focuses on diverse investigative scenarios, such as fraudulent disability, motor vehicle accidents, hit-and-run cases, railroad crossing incidents, premise accidents, suicides, and fire or explosion investigations. You will also gain understanding about accident reconstruction techniques to assess the validity of crashes in insurance claims, offering critical insights into uncovering the truth behind complex cases.

MODULE 9 – BACKGROUND INVESTIGATIONS

In this module, you will learn about the significance of background checks and how these checks ensure the safety and security of individuals and entities in different scenarios. The module also covers different types of background checks, including assets (like property, financial transactions, vehicles, etc.), business partners (checking the genuineness of partners), pre-employment (checking candidates’ reliability to make the right hiring decisions), mates (checking the history of future partners), self-defence (proving your non-involvement in any illegal activity), and witness and jury (gathering information about individuals who might serve as witnesses during a legal proceeding). 

MODULE 10 – FINDING MISSING PERSONS

This module focuses on the techniques for finding missing persons. It covers the importance of conducting a preliminary interview, gathering essential information, and using skip tracing to locate missing individuals, whether they have voluntarily or involuntarily disappeared. The module also includes tracing adoption histories and performing genealogy searches, utilizing methods like DNA analysis to discover family relationships and the whereabouts of missing persons.

MODULE 11 – SURVEILLANCE

In this module, you get an overview of surveillance techniques, general surveillance principles, types of surveillance methods like foot surveillance, fixed surveillance, common carrier surveillance, vehicle surveillance (both single and two-vehicle surveillance), moving surveillance, and tracking device usage and video surveillance. You will also learn how to enhance the efficacy of surveillance and exemptions from surveillance, including those applicable to the media, spouses, parents, and law enforcement.

MODULE 12 – SETTING UP BUSINESS AND MARKETING

This module covers the essential steps to establishing a successful investigative business, including selecting investigative services, creating a business plan, estimating start-up costs, and hiring staff. It also addresses setting fees, acquiring equipment, managing finances, insurance, and bonding. Additionally, the module emphasizes marketing strategies, including advertising, promotional tactics, and leveraging both print and online media to attract clients, ensuring the business's growth and success in the competitive investigative industry.