Posted: 7/31/2006 4:13:25 PM EDT
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Needed entity or scum of the earth? Why? |
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The nice thing about a PI is that they do what you ask them to, without excuses. Just pay them and they just F'ing do it. The one I use is likley the most respected non-LEO in the area - and he had a very long and distinguished career in law enforcement at many levels. PI's: Investigators for folks with resources... |
What would you like to know? I had a surveillance job --a matrimonial-- and followed the target to where he parked and did some business. He was supposed to leave there and meet his on the side piece of ass. It was hot as blazes and I was out there for hours, so I drank a lot of Gatorade and had to eventually offload that Gatorade. |
 Been there, my friend.For those of you who know me, I am a (recently) retired LEO who opted out early at 21 years in law enforcement. I've had a PI license for 12 years and have been doing it full-time since my retirement last year. Lots of cops do it part-time because the money beats the hell out of working security over at the junior college in your off-duty time. If you have some skills that are in demand, like ECM (electronic counter measures) then the sky is the limit. We charge $1200 per man per day for de-bug work and our customers include most of the Fortune 500 oil companies in OK. PI's in Oklahoma make anywhere from $50-$75 an hour and up, depending on the situations. A good PI can easily make over $100k per year and that beats the hell out of what I ever made as a LEO. Our "corporate rate" is $60 an hour and all we do is corporate (mostly insurance) work. We do not do divorce or criminal defense work, but I know of a lot of other PI's who do. If you're neighbor is a slug with a bull-shi'ite work comp injury, sitting at home on his/her ass all day watching Oprah while YOU are working your ass off to support their lazy lifestyle, I promise I will do my best to get them indicted for insurance fraud and book them a 5 year reservation at the old Gray-Bar resort hotel. I have never (NEVER) busted anyone who didn't have it coming. It's very difficult to prepare an investigation and prove someone guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. When the AG gets a case from us, they know that it's a prosecutable winner. One of these nights when I'm not doing anything else, I promise to put up a Q&A thread for all your PI questions. |
I'd like to be there for that thread if/when you do. I've thought about getting into that line of work before but haven't put much research into it. |
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Requirements vary from state to state, but I'd start with a call to your state police or state investigation bureau to find out what your state requirements are, if any. In Oklahoma, the Oklahoma Council on Law Enforcement, Education, and Training (CLEET) handles all licensing of Police (commissioned LEO's) and PI's. The requirements here are minimal; some classes at the Vo-Tech that you can complete in 3 months doing it about 3 hours a night/3 nights a week. If you are already a commissioned LEO and have completed an accredited police academy, they usually wave the training requirement (BUT they still want the money for the license, of course) BEST way to do it is to find a REPUTABLE investigation agency, one with a rock solid reputation, and get on with them first to learn the ropes. Do that for a year while you get your license. Oklahoma allows for "conditional" licenses meaning that they will allow you 6 months to complete yor training WHILE you're working under the supervision of a licensed agency. Feel free to Imail me with any questions. |