Investigator – Definition: according to government of Alberta:

  Investigator

Any person or organization that provides or supervises any person undertaking to investigate, perform surveillance, or seek or obtain information about crimes, offences, contradictions of enactments or misconduct or allegations of same about:

• An accident, incident, personal injury or damage to property or premises
• The activities, conduct, character or repute of a person or organization
• The whereabouts of an individual
• The location, disposition or recovery of lost, stolen or missing property

Investigator Training

Mandatory training requirements for applicants for investigator licences will come into effect in approximately June 2012. 

Prior to June 1, 2012, applicants for new investigator licences will be required to meet the following qualifications for training to be issued a licence under the Security Services and Investigators Act.

Within 5 years of applying for a licence, the applicant must have:

• Minimum two years full-time experience (or four years part-time experience) as an investigator in any sector
• Minimum two years experience in a police service
• Any combination of experience and education deemed suitable to the Registrar

Or

• Post-secondary certificate, degree or diploma in security, law enforcement or corrections (minimum 2 year program) with a minimum of 2 years experience
• Minimum 2 years experience as a police officer in Canada (other jurisdictions will be considered on a case-by-case basis)

Insufficient Experience?  Applicants for an investigator licence who do not have sufficient experience at the time of application may be issued an investigator licence on condition of supervision.  Applicants must remain under supervision until they reach the required level of experience.  Attach a letter from the employer to the application package stating that the applicant will be under supervision and the name of the licenced investigator that the applicant will be reporting to for supervision or mentoring.

For most people who enter the PI industry, their first step is the understanding and the “mastery” of surveillance techniques.

Here at Prime Investigations Ltd., we are looking for individuals to join our successful surveillance team.  We are prepared to train and offer supervision to the right individual so that they can obtain their Private Investigator’s licence.  New Private Investigators can work their way up to the necessary experience level and excel in the industry.

Below is an EXTENSIVE list of skills and personal traits that a successful Private Investigator should have.  All the skills and traits are important but may not be necessary at the start of the hiring process.

This is an extensive ”wish list”.   Don’t let it discourage you, but you should understand the underlying principles of each point.

Tangible Skills

Strong driving skills

- Strong driving skills means that you can understand traffic flow, can anticipate congestions and delays and be aggressive – yet safe.

- To maneuver around the pitfalls to maintain visual continuity with your subject.

- You need to have a good knowledge of the city to understand and even anticipate where a subject could be traveling to in case you were delayed and visual continuity is lost.

- Having a good sense of direction, knowing major landmarks and knowing road connections will help you get around the city effectively.

Strong driving skills are NOT the same as reckless driving skills!!

Lose your  driver’s licence….lose your PI job.

We might ask to see a copy of your driver’s abstract.

Personal Management Skills

Time management

- This job does not have "typical" work hours.  Some days can be 3-4 hrs, other days 7-8 hrs and a few days 10-12 hrs.

- Weekends are very important in this industry.  Saturdays are active movement days and we need to be there to document activity levels.

- Most new PI’s will be working 6-7 days a week in order to fulfill “full time job” hours.  Refer back to first point.

Stress Management

- Most times, Private Investigators are sitting and waiting for activities to happen so there is no stress, but when the subject is active, the entire job is elevated to an intense period.  Going mobile (the chase), traffic, delays, getting the subject to destinations can be a stressful period of time.

Life Management

- Since this job is not typical in hours or duration, you must not have many “extra” commitments or at least have flexible commitments that can withstand the irregular or unpredictable work schedule.

- You must be able to adjust your “life” when a file finishes earlier than expected or goes longer than anticipated.  Without having flexible commitments, you will be forced to make difficult decisions while on an active investigation.

- Being available on short notice would be a positive aspect as you are learning the industry.  Sometimes, new assignments are given with short notice, or other investigations require adjustments.  Being able to join in at the last minute means that you are prepared for investigative work, and that whatever you had planned to do for the day is postponed or you have made other arrangements.

Business Management

- This is considered a “self-employment” position.  Your weekly work hours will fluctuate from one week to the next.  You have the right to decline an assignment if it conflicts with other commitments.  However, your pay cheques will reflect your availability and they will also reflect the hours you bill from file to file.  Billable hours will dictate your total semi-monthly pay cheque amount.

- Being self-employed means being self-motivated.  Get out there and track down your subject!  It can be tough to get out of bed on a cold morning and spend the day in the vehicle when everyone else is outside enjoying the weather, but that is the sacrifice of self-employment.  There are also many perks and advantaged to self-employment.

This job is essentially with you 24/7 and having a boy scout "can-do" attitude will help you take advantage of any unexpected surprises as you go about in your personal life.

Abstract traits

Being a PI requires you to be able to multi task your responsibilities while conducting a successful investigation.  You will need to observe, document, conduct the required mobile surveillance or foot surveillance and be able to accurately document your investigative results. 

During the course of the investigation, you might not have the opportunity to write down all of your observations, so a successful PI will have an excellent short term memory in order to retain details until such time as they can be documented in a report.  

Many times during an investigation, you will be conducting the investigation by yourself.  You will need to be able to be alone but yet not feel lonely.  Feeling lonely will make you anxious to leave an investigation early or cause you to lose focus (day dream).   You will need to be patient and remain focused and observant even when there are long stretches of no activities. 

Successful PIs are fast decision makers and are usually “quick on their feet”. You will need to be able to assess your situation and surroundings, determine an appropriate course of action and make that decision within a short time frame.  To be successful, you need to be prepared for unplanned events and adjust those events to either fit in with the scenario or continue with your investigation. 

Personality and Appearance

It’s hard to explain what makes a great PI. Definitely, the “right” personality will help with various situations.  A PI will be someone that has an “average” look but can turn up the charms and have a big personality when needed.  Such a person will be unmemorable in appearance but yet can be outgoing enough to strike up a conversation with strangers and maintain that conversation to preserve an undercover presence.

You need to look approachable to others and you need to have a suitable vocabulary to effectively communicate with clients and the general public.  Yes, we can all talk, but some people can communicate in a professional manner and with an effective vocabulary.

Having a “common sense” approach to the world is a valuable trait.  Many times, quick decisions are needed and being able to draw from that common sense will help with making the most appropriate decision for the situation.

Being a PI can be stressful.  When investigations are not going right or heavy traffic during mobile surveillance causes you to lose your subject, there is a great amount of stress to deal with.  A PI should have a healthy outlet for stress relief and have emotional stability in their life.  Anyone with a lot of “drama” at home will come to work distracted and will not necessarily be able to focus on the job. 

Having a personal commitment to giving your best effort to the investigation and thus to the client will show in your results and further yourself in this industry.   Anyone who had experience in the Customer Service industry will understand what is needed to provide results to clients.  Your personal work ethics and integrity will push you to give 110% to all of your investigations. This will turn you from being an average PI to a great PI.

Work experience

Having any kind of work experience can be helpful to a PI.  Any jobs that called for independent thinking or were mostly result oriented or were deadline driven or had an autonomous work environment have the same kind of characteristics as a PI job.

A PI is a “jack of all trades” and if you can understand little aspects of everything, then along with some life experience, you will be able to fit into various situations and maintain a discreet presence while you continue with your investigation.

Equipment

For most people who want to be a PI, the biggest hurdle is the initial monetary investment needed to obtain suitable equipment and tools for the job.  The majority of PI agencies will require PI’s to have their own equipment.  Most PI agencies will hire you on as an independent contractor, so you will be a self-employed person, and as such you will need to provide your own equipment.

All PI’s here are required to provide their own equipment.  A reliable and non-descript vehicle, preferably a minivan or SUV, is very important.  A great surveillance vehicle will help you with mobile surveillance and will definitely assist you with getting great video.  Your vehicle will need to be tinted up ($$) and you must put up some curtains in the vehicle ($$).  This is where some of the initial monetary investment comes in. 

The other critical equipment is having the right video camera and a covert camera.  The cameras are your way of documenting your investigative results for the client.  Your consistent results will elevate you from being an average PI to a great PI.

Having a data phone (iphone or similar), along with a computer laptop will help you to communicate with the office and receive information more timely and fluidly.  

Beyond the vehicle and cameras, you will also need to get a tripod, a vehicle power inverter and a pair of binoculars.