The days when you could judge someone by a handshake and by their word have become decidedly rare, despite the fact that most of us still want to see the best in people.

Sadly, there will always be those to whom lying comes easily, and, in this era of digital technology, it’s even easier to hide the truth from anyone who doesn’t have the experience to dig deeper than what’s on the surface.

Businesses and private individuals hire private investigators to assist them to get to the truth in many different situations, from both a personal business perspective.

Let’s first look at why people hire private investigators:

Infidelity

Based on the training and undercover experience on the part of the private investigator, you can expect nothing but unadulterated proof of infidelity, adultery and cheating, evidence of such a quality that it’ll stand up to scrutiny in court.

In-depth background checks

A professional, experienced PI can carry out background checks that will include everything from background checks into potential employees, through to background checks on a planned business investment.

Polygraph tests

Only an experienced professional can provide polygraph test and lie detector tests, whether to root out a culprit in a fraud investigation or a suspect in a murder case.

Internal theft investigations

A private investigator with the right qualifications and experience in undercover surveillance will be able to fit in as an employee in a business without being detected. This is generally the scenario when a company is being plagued by internal theft, fraud or misappropriation of assets.

Business counterintelligence investigations

Counter intelligence is the term used for evidence that’s gathered to provide businesses with in-depth information that’ll bring to light any actions on the part of employees that could be a threat to the company. This type of investigation has become a must if the owner of any business is to have the information they need to protect themselves from anyone seeking to cause the company harm, whether in terms of its reputation or financially.

Due diligence investigations

Private investigators offer business owners and investors in-depth information that they may need before they make important business decisions that could have a negative impact on their company if bad information comes to light after the fact.

This is what you need to know about a PI before hiring him:

Extent of training

You need to, and have every right, to find out more about the training the PI has undergone and what his background is. You also need to make sure that he is up to date with the latest technology, as this is often what shortens the length of time spent on an investigation.

He also needs to have extensive training and on the ground experience in undercover surveillance, so that at no point will your case be put in jeopardy if his presence is detected by the person he is investigating.

Registration & license

It’s essential for you to make sure that the private investigator you’re planning to hire is a licensed PI.  When you hire a team from King Investigators in Johannesburg, Pretoria and Cape Town, you can be confident that because they are also registered with the PSIRA, that you’ll be working with a professional who will adhere to the principles that govern their industry. It’s easy to check these credentials here.

Recommendations

The private investigator you plan to hire has to be able to provide you with references from past clients, especially those with cases similar to yours.  If he isn’t willing to offer you these references, it’ll be better for you to look elsewhere for a bona fide PI.

Experience in the field

You’ll need to make sure that the PI has the relevant experience to tackle a case you bring to him, because if he only specialises in business intelligence investigations he’ll be of no use to you if you’re looking for evidence that your spouse is cheating on you.

The final analysis

There are various ways that a private investigator can gather and present the evidence you require, but this will be done according to your wishes and of course, according to your budget.

A full final report on the investigation should include time-stamped photos and video, as well as a professionally written report supporting the visual evidence, especially if not all the movements of a suspect can be captured in photos or videos.

Hiring the best private investigator in South Africa

There is no better place to start than with King Investigators in South Africa, since you’ll find they meet all the above mentioned criteria fully.  This highly trained and professional team of investigators are headed by Jacques Botha, who has already been in the industry for over ten years to date.

Once you’ve had a confidential chat with Jacques, you’ll find that his company is able to provide an impressive list of investigative services to individuals and to businesses.