Unfortunately, Hollywood has managed to give private investigators a really bad rap, creating an image of a rogue slouch who’ll do anything to gather evidence, including flouting the law.
This is not a true reflection of the hundreds of dedicated, passionate and professional private investigators in South Africa. These are men who have enough of an understanding of the law to know what they can and can’t do, in order to produce viable evidence that will stand up to scrutiny in court.
As for the question ‘are private investigators cops?’, the answer is no.
Although many private investigators have a background in law enforcement as police detectives, and though it may seem that what they do is closely related, there is, in fact, a clear delineation between private investigators and cops.
Are private investigators cops?
If you’re in the process of hiring a private investigator in South Africa, it’ll help if you understand that there are certain boundaries that cannot be crossed by both the police and private investigators.
While cops are employed by the state, private investigators such as Jacques Botha and his team at King Investigators, are self-employed, meaning that they focus on certain investigations that are very different to those of cops.
Because the team at King Investigators are hired by private individuals, lawyers, insurance companies, corporations and more, they are able to focus on each investigation to the exclusion of all else, which is something cops can’t do.
Private investigators cover a range of investigative services that include cheating spouses, in-depth background checks, business intelligence investigations, fraud, employee theft and more.
On the other hand, cops are tasked with investigating crimes, gathering the evidence necessary build a case that can then be presented to a prosecutor, in order to put criminals behind bars.
Do private investigators work with cops?
Yes, they do. Although their focus is on gathering evidence required by their client, private investigators are sometimes called on to work on cold cases by family members. This is obviously done in a way that is transparent and in no way interferes with a police investigation.
It’s about cooperation between cops and private investigators, and not about undermining the police or hampering them in their investigation.
Sometimes King Investigators is called on by the police to carry out undercover surveillance and delve into the time-consuming effort of searching through records, in order to give cops evidence that will be used in a court case.
What private investigators can’t do
When a crime occurs, cops are able to investigate a crime scene, question any witnesses, canvas the area around the crime scene for evidence, and, if a suspect is identified, effect an arrest.
A private investigator is not privy to crime scenes, nor can they arrest a suspect, unless, in the process of their own investigation, they see a suspect they know is wanted, they are able to make a citizen’s arrest and hand the suspect over to the police.
After that, it’s all up to state law enforcement. It’s important to note that private investigators are not above the law!
Because King Investigators are hired by individuals or businesses, this team of experts has the benefit of being able to devote more time and resources to each investigation, while cops are very limited in terms of how much time they can spend on crimes of a less serious nature.
Contact King Investigators today for results that are delivered with integrity and honesty, as well as with an absolute commitment to service excellence!
No case is off-limits for this team of consummate professionals!