The Essential Guide to Hiring a Private Detective for Effective Private Investigations

Life is messy at the best of times. When things aren’t going well—if you’re in the midst of a messy divorce or a contentious custody battle—it can feel like you’re in over your head, looking for any lifeline you can grasp to get back to solid ground. While a private investigator in Charlotte can help in times like these, there are also times that it’s not necessarily a good time to enlist our services. One of those times is when you think you’re being investigated by a spouse or partner. Let us explain.

A professional investigation is time-consuming, and isn’t cheap. This isn’t like fishing, where you can cast your line and wait to see if anything bites; if we’re going to work on your behalf, it’s because we’re looking for something specific rather than turning over every rock and stone for the sake of it. If there’s a specific harm that you need to redress—you suspect your ex is spending child support money on drugs and alcohol, or that their new significant other is endangering your kids—those are legitimate reasons to open an investigation. Opening one because you think your former partner is investigating you, on the other hand, generally isn’t the best use of your time and money.

Let’s say that your suspicions are well-founded, and that you are in fact under investigation by a private detective. Given the number of cases we handle annually, there’s a good chance that if you are being investigated, we’re the ones doing the investigating. Legally and ethically, we cannot disclose that information to you; confidentiality is key to what we do, after all. 

But let’s say it’s some other Charlotte private detective on your trail. What then? The question to ask yourself is whether there’s anything in your conduct or activities that would raise red flags or suspicions. If there’s not—and more often than not, that’s the case—let things play out. Professional investigators will provide a detailed report on what they find; if there’s nothing there, the truth will win out.

That isn’t to say that investigating a PI is never a good idea. A reputable PI has at least as many constraints as capabilities. There are a number of things we simply won’t do. We won’t break wiretapping laws by bugging phones, computers, or GPS systems. We won’t impersonate someone else to gain information or entrap someone. We’re also limited in the kinds of business and financial information we can legally obtain. Most professional investigators take these obligations very seriously, but the occasional bad apple slips through the cracks. 

So there is an exception to the rules we’ve laid out above. If you have reason to believe someone has broken that code of ethics, it can be a good idea to reach out to a professional investigator. At that point, we can open an investigation and suggest further steps you can take to protect yourself—from having your home or business checked to taking action through the courts or via law enforcement where applicable. 

Cliches take hold because they contain a measure of truth. So the old expression that the best revenge is living well is worth keeping in mind. If you have cause to open an investigation, get in touch with Barefoot Professional Investigations for a confidential consultation. If, on the other hand, you’re on the receiving end, sometimes the best thing to do is ride it out rather than deepening a cycle of mistrust and recriminations.

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