How To Hire Los Angeles Private Investigator
(without getting burned)
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Private Investigator in Los Angeles Near You
When people search on the web for a “private investigator near me” what they really want is a local private investigator that can provide the investigative service they seek in an efficient manner. We are a local private investigator. When you seek to hire a private investigator, choose local as out of state private investigators are often working for California clients illegally.
When clients come to us after looking for investigation services near their them, they seek Private for our boots on the ground locality. This means we can get anywhere in Los Angeles County quickly and ensure that we are on your private investigation quickly.
Professional Private Investigation Agency
When looking for a Los Angeles private detective, consider that there are scammers who purport to be licensed private investigators, but are not. Make sure you can see the private detective agency license number on the top of their website or in the footer. Take that license number and go to the California Department of Consumer Affairs website for the Bureau of Security and Investigative Services. Search that license number on their site to ensure that the detective is properly and legally licensed.
Some private investigators join trade associations such as California Association of Licensed Investigators (CALI). Although this doesn’t mean they are ethical or qualified in their range of services, it may mean that the detective agency stays abreast of industry changes and legal developments.
Also, bear in mind that a top Los Angeles private investigator will have years of investigative experience. You don’t become the best Los Angeles private investigator overnight, especially when your license is still green. The best private investigators in Los Angeles have 10 or more years of experience in their chosen practice areas. A professional private investigator is seasoned and provides services they are good at conducting and the private investigation services the client needs.
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Hire Private as your Los Angeles Detective.
Is a Private Investigator Licensed?
Yes, it is a violation of California law to work as a private investigator and not hold a private investigator license.
All California private investigators must prove experience, education and take a board exam. You can read more about private investigator licenses by visiting the Bureau of Security and Investigative Services.
Does a Los Angeles Private Investigator Have a Background in Law Enforcement?
Some private investigators have a background in law enforcement. But law enforcement is a very broad term. Did they work in 911 dispatch? Were they a patrol officer? Or were they a robbery and homicide detective? What did they do. Being a police officer or Sheriffs deputy doesn’t make some one instant private investigator.
Consider too, that a former law enforcement officer has no more authority than a private investigator with no law enforcement background. And, private detectives cannot use “connections” to get more information than other private investigators.
Many California private investigators have cumulative law enforcement and private investigative experience. Some come strictly from a background of private investigative services, some have educational plus experience and some have experience in working in some sector of law enforcement.
What really counts is their overall experience. Hiring a Los Angeles private investigator with 10 years of only providing private detective services may be better than a Los Angeles Police Department police patrol officer with 5 years of police experience.
Start With a Free Same-Day Consultation
A professional private investigator will offer you a complimentary consultation. This is your chance to tell the agency what you need help with. It is suggested that you prepare what you want to say in advance. Most investigators are sole practitioners and cannot spend too much time in a consultation.
The P.I. can listen to your concerns and understand the dilemma you may face legally, professionally or personally. Then, that detective can advise you if you should contact a law enforcement agency, a law firm or if they can take your matter on.
How To Prepare For a Private Investigation Free Consultation
Remember, the operative word here is free. The investigative firm will want to know what challenge you face, determine if they can even assist you or if they choose to refer you to someone more appropriate. Not all private investigators provide professional investigative services of every type.
Prepare For The Consultation
If you are truly serious about hiring a L.A. detective, then I encourage you to prepare for the consultation. There are many private detectives in Los Angeles chomping at the bit to get your case, but you want your qualified firm to really understand your matter at the outset.
I encourage you to prepare for the consultation by creating a one-page with your bullet points of issues. Literally, write this all out so you don’t forget anything. Keep your presentation to 5 minutes.
Keep It Concise
Investigators can help you if they understand clearly the task at hand. This is why the aforementioned one-page is so handy. Keep in mind that you are likely only getting 15 minutes of complimentary consultative time. Keep your presentation of your matter to 5 minutes. This allows the detective to quickly assesses your investigative need, reply to your questions and concerns and then determine if this is the right course of action for you and the agency.
Should you and the agency do business together, it is then that the private investigator will gather all the relevant information to begin your case, so save all the details for later.
Be Ready To Act
When you have a complimentary consultation, you should be ready to take action. Sure, at times some clients are not ready as they are just exploring investigative possibilities. That is why we offer a free 15 minute consultation so as to not waste your time nor ours. If you think the cost of the investigation is within your wheelhouse and you are confident with the investigators skill set, go ahead and get started. Likely, you have questions that need answering and there is not time like the present to get started.
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Getting Started With a Los Angeles Private Investigator
Hiring an experience, personal L.A. detective agency is not hard. Usually the firm only has a couple streamlined steps to getting started in order to make the process as easy as possible on the client. Let’s take a look at the 3 steps to hiring a Los Angeles private investigation firm.
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Step 1 to Hiring Private
Private engages with our private clientele with their initial payment. This is done on your website by going to our start an investigation page. On this page you will provide us with the information you know about the subject of investigation, what they may drive, social media handles and other identifiers. The more information you can share, the better off we are in identifying the correct subject and conducting any searches we may need.
Step 2 to Hiring Private L.A.
At the bottom of the form where we request information, you will make the agreed upon payment. The information and payment are sent at the same time. That way we have everything we need to know to get you set up in our case management system and begin the case details.
Step 3 to Engaging With Private
You will receive an email to log-in on our case management system. There you may have an additional contract to electronically sign and further instructions so that we can begin your case. Our start form does not apply to all cases, so we may need additional details, photos, etc and will request them from your case file portal.
Los Angeles Private Investigation Services
What services does a private investigator offer in the greater Los Angeles region? Although we can’t speak for everyone, but most offer general services. Some of those services include asset searches, people locates, serving due process, conducting a background check, catching cheating partners and investigating workers compensation fraud. These are some of the basic things a lot of firms do.
What does Private investigate?
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Infidelity and Adultery Investigations
Do you suspect your partner is cheating or being unfaithful? We provide investigation into the integrity of your partner should you suspect they are being unfaithful. We can provide you with services that support your assumptions such as surveillance (watching your partner) of the subject to determine if they really are a cheater.
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Child Custody and Child Support Investigations
Child custody and child support cases are important to the well-being of your children. Is the other parent lying about their income, where they work or their time with the child. We help build solid cases that help parents get the support they deserve and monitor custody time of children with the other parent.
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Hidden Assets Investigations
Our detective agency in Los Angeles conducts asset search investigations. We find assets such as cars, collections, watercraft, aircraft, insurance policies, bank accounts, brokerages, real property and more. When you are serious about finding assets prior to a legal action, then contact Private to assist you quickly get the answers.
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People Locate - Find a Person
Different than locating missing persons, our people locate services find people that may have skipped out on a debt, or you need to serve legal papers to, or a long lost loved one. We locate people that you need to find with any reasonable and ethical reason.
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Family Law Cases
There are many forms of family law cases that Private can assist you with. Sometimes people come to us over Trust disputes, living will disputes, locating property left to them but harbored by other family, etc.
We also help in family law cases such as child custody, divorce preparation and locating errant runaways.
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Background Investigations
Highly regarded for our bespoke background investigations, Private can assist you in learning more about people you are in relationships with—romantically or in business.
Our background checks and background investigations dive deep into the character of a person, or we can customize the approach to your particular situation and desire for information.
Sometimes families hire us to conduct background investigations on someone their son or daughter intends to marry. Saving the family from embarrassment ment and future problems is a smart move, and a background check can provide you with that extra peace-of-mind.
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Civil Investigations
Our world revolves around a global economy. Sometimes disputes happen while doing business across borders. Our world wide intelligence network can help solve complex civil litigation issues locally or abroad.
We work on any type of civil investigation where our client is engaging Private before, during or after legal actions.
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Video Surveillance
We use 8k cameras in a two to three person surveillance team to conduct surveillance of your subject. It is a fallacy that you can hire just one investigator in one vehicle to conduct any type of surveillance.
Because you often get one chance to get it right Private does not provide single operative surveillance. The risks are too big to our client to conduct shoddy work. No matter how good a P.I. says they are, it is irresponsible to conduct one-operative surveillance cases. For this reason, not everyone hires Private for surveillance, but when we do the job—we do it right!
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Criminal Defense
We work to help our clients during criminal defense cases. We have helped clients wrongly convicted and spending time in prison. We have also helped clients who are currently dealing with serious criminal prosecution in concert with their lawyers to help them get the fairest possible outcome.
Don’t allow your criminal investigation to just be handled by the cheapest investigator. Our team has law enforcement and military backgrounds and we can provide the evidence you need.
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Stalking and Harassment
Experts in stalking cases, you will get top-rated stalking and harassment investigation services. Read more about how we help our clients get peace and clarity.
Break free from the mental and emotional bonds of a psychotic and obsessed individual. We aggressively use all our tools to identify and help to bring prosecution to stalkers. We can also provide you with bodyguard services during such an event, should your case warrant that. We handle stalking cases throughout California and can help you here locally in Los Angeles County.
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Missing Persons
We find people that unexpectedly go missing. This may be the case with the developmentally challenged, Alzheimers patients, children and even spouses that just up and leave. We also looking for missing children that have wandered away or have been abducted using state-of-the-art cyber investigations.
Social Media Investigations
We dive deep into social media with our own in-house cyber investigator whose sole responsibility is all things related to cyber investigations and intelligence. We can find things no one else can find on social media that aids our clients in winning law suits and proving other matters.
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Custom Services
We provide many other bespoke services that are tailored to your exact matter. We can create a strategy with our without your legal representation that will help you legally obtain the information you need to help you make serious decisions. If you do not see a service listed here, then reach out to us by calling 1-888-867-6788 for a complimentary consultation.
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Our thoughtful approaches to your investigation help reduce overall costs.
Not sure which investigation is right for you? We can help. Free Consultation
Los Angeles Private Investigator Locations
San Diego
We provide our services not only in Los Angeles, but all over Southern California. San Diego is certainly within our capability. When you need a San Diego private investigator, please contact us to discuss your matter.
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San Fernando Valley
We provide services to all the cities in San Fernando Valley. We offer our services to all the cities in San Fernando Valley such as Reseda, Northridge, Van Nuys and Woodland Hills.
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Downtown Los Angeles Private Investigator
We serve the companies and law firms in DTLA with comprehensive and responsive investigative services quickly from our Beverly Hills location.
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Anaheim
Of course, Anaheim and the whole of Orange County is welcome as clients to Private. We have been serving Orange County clients since 1999.
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Deliver Results
Top rated L.A. private investigators deliver stellar client relations and are driven to help their client obtain the best possible results within the framework the client wants to work in. Results-oriented private investigators obtain information that can be useful in any dispute or concern.
Get the results you need. Don’t leave your civil and criminal matter to inexperienced firms.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Much is It to Hire a Private Investigator In California?
This will depend on the firm. Private starts at $400 and $950 for flat rate prices. Then we offer hourly services that start at $150 per hour, per investigator.
Are Private Investigators Still a Thing?
This question is funny in it’s own way. Of course! Private investigators are an important part of the legal community. We provide valuable services that far outweigh the costs.
Los Angeles Private Investigator Rates?
When someone asks the rate of a private investigator, it is a good question as many are not transparent on the cost of hiring a private investigator near them. The answer to this question is most in Los Angeles are around $150 plus per hour. In other parts of the country it is less and some L.A. slueths just cutting their teeth may be less as well.
Do You Look For a Missing Person Such as a Birth Parent, a Family Member, or Even a Long-Lost Friend?
Yes, we look for people for various reasons. We know it is especially important for family members to right wrongs and reunite after long periods apart. Each case is handled differently, but we will ensure it is managed sensitively for both parties.
Ready To Speak With An Investigator About Your Case?
Contact Private for a free consultation at 1-888-867-6788 to discuss your matter and see how we can help you gain greater clarity, leverage and answers.