ROLE OF A PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR

A Private Investigator is hired by the people/clients to assist them or their attorneys in gathering & analyzing evidence for civil and criminal trials. These investigators are typically experienced and trained in both traditional & digital forensic investigative fields in order to support a legal proceeding with accurate evidence. In certain cases clients prefer hiring private investigators to aid their cases owing to confidentiality of the issues. The job responsibility of a private investigator involves the following roles:

Representing Defendants

A private investigator’s primary role is to gather evidence, witnesses and useful information to help the clients defend the case. He collects evidence with the objective to verify facts, reports & statements that can strengthen the case.

Surveillance/ Interview/ Interrogation

Investigators are adept at conducting surveillance through digital cameras, video cameras, CCTV footages or online surveillance techniques in order to determine the credibility of a key player, witness, petitioner or informants involved in the case. He is responsible for identifying and locating individuals and physical evidence that are relevant in strengthening the case.

He is also skilled in cross examining suspects, witnesses and other people involved in the case, which can provide an insight and relevant information. He must be experienced to differentiate between biased opinions, facts and lies.

Testifying During Trials

An Investigator is expected to act as an expert witness and testify during trials. He is to provide detailed accounts of what he did during the surveillance, the persons he interviewed, how evidence/information was identified, collected and preserved. Investigators are generally called in during hearings to recount details of the crime scene investigation, results & reports of computer forensic examination and interpret the complex technical issues in user friendly terms.

Advising the Attorneys

An experienced Private Investigator is an extremely useful aid to the clients that require discreet enquiry and to uphold the reputation of the companies or associations involved. Investigators are skilled in drafting reports in accordance with legal terminologies and rules which help the attorneys represent their case during a trial. The investigators with extensive experience can also provide assistance as well as advice on how to present evidence during trials that will guarantee their success.  They also help the attorneys in accumulating relevant information by making judicious decisions.

In addition to these, the investigator should be a reliable person who functions within the law and has knowledge regarding the implementation & interpretation of law.

If you are looking for a private investigator; who can effectively represent your case and is highly experienced in dealing with both criminal & civil proceedings involving the federal law, Mr Dan James the founder of ICFECI (Institute of Forensic Examination & Criminal Investigations), who is located in the Northern District of Texas, is one of the reputed investigators. He is also the former Chief Investigator for the office of the Federal Public Defender and is thus experienced in handling both civil & criminal litigations.

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FINDING THE BEST DALLAS PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR

Dallas happens to be the ninth largest city in the United States with a population of 1.2 million and a crime rate of 51 per one thousand residents which is more than 92 percent of the communities in Texas. Statistics state, there is a chance of one person in every 20 people to be a victim of White Collar Crimes like Investment, Insurance and Mortgage Frauds & Ponzi Schemes as well as other violent crimes.

While most cases are dealt by law enforcement officials, certain part of the population prefers discreet investigation for which they hire private investigators. The reasons behind this are to scrutinize available facts & reports, hire a private certified fraud examiner and forensic examiner to provide expert witness testimony during trials. In fact, skilled private investigators are the best source of legally procured admissible evidence for the effective representation of defendants.

However, finding a reputed & professional Dallas Private Investigator is risky unless you are aware whom & what to look for. Here are some basic requirements a private investigator should fulfil based on which you can make a decision.

Functions within Legal Boundaries

You need to make sure that the investigator holds a license and is lawfully registered with the state of Texas to perform his job responsibilities without hindrance. He should also be well aware of the laws & rules involving investigation. He must operate within legal boundaries while gathering evidence and hence be an asset to a well built case and the client.

Experience & Professionalism

Prior experience in the field of both traditional & digital forensic investigation accompanied with knowledge to deal with both White Collar crimes like Securities, Insurance Health Care Frauds, Bank Frauds, Bankruptcy Cases and violent sex crimes, child pornography, homicides and aggravated assaults is an advantage in an investigator working in and around Dallas.

Besides being skilled, it is essential that the private investigator is an accomplished professional. He or the team of investigators must possess refined communication & interrogation skills, client & case management skills, discreet in gathering evidence & enquiry and well acquainted with maintaining client confidentiality.

Resources & Equipments

The need to verify physical evidence and collect data/evidence through the use of computers & technology using forensic analysis has become a reliable and essential part of investigations. Private Investigators who are trained in discovery, acquisition and preservation of data/proof through computer forensics and well equipped with a digital forensic lab must be your first choice.

Ensure that they can perform various aspects of data recovery like recovering deleted files/records/books/emails, tracing internet/social media activity, transactions and also extracting information from digital storage & media devices as well as servers. This increases the scope of a case by providing accurate facts.

Expertise in Representing Defendants

The most important factor while deciding on a private investigator is to make sure that he is experienced as an expert witness. For this he must have the required skill to scrutinize and write detailed reports which is understood by judges & juries. The investigator should also hold certifications like being a Certified Fraud Examiner or a Certified Forensic Examiner in order for the court to acknowledge his statement.

One such private investigation firm, the Institute of Forensic Examination & Criminal Investigations (ICFECI) located in the Northern District of Texas and aided by its high profile forensic lab is among the reputed forms which has all the characteristics required to provide a client with satisfactory resolution to all types of legal proceedings. It is headed by Mr. Dan James, the former Chief Investigator, Certified Fraud Examiner & Computer Forensic Examiner for the office of the Federal Public Defender, Northern District of Texas.

Effective Role of Computer Forensics in Investigations

The field of Criminal & Civil investigation has taken a turn towards precision with the advent of Forensic sciences. The authenticity of untainted forensically procured evidence has made it an essential element of investigation in recent times.

Blending in traditional investigative methodologies with forensic analysis and technology has proved to be a concrete scheme for gathering accurate evidence and drawing the perfect conclusion. Of all forensic sciences, Computer Forensics has proved to be the universal method aiding the study of all types of cases globally.

Computer forensics is a branch of digital forensic science which serves as a source of legal evidence found on computers and digital storage media. It aids the investigation of both criminal & civil proceedings by helping obtain vital information and gathering proofs & evidence. Key information found on computers, laptops, tablets, hard drives, flash drives, servers and other digital storage media are identified, recovered & organized to be presented as veritable evidence in a court of Law with the help of digital forensic examination.

Although this branch of forensic science has been generalized as a method of evidence recovery, it serves diverse purposes. The computer forensic experts better known as forensic analysts are specialized in electronics recovery, data recovery & analysis, tracing & monitoring online activity, tracing online transactions, investigating data theft, expertise in recognizing Steganography, determining unauthorized access (Hacking),  dealing with serious cyber crimes and generating detailed reports acceptable in a court of Law.

Some of the major services offered by computer forensic analysis can be outlined here:

Evidence/ Data Recovery

Finding tangible evidence through traditional investigative techniques has become limited to crime scene discoveries and certain paperwork. However most of the data, be it corporate secrets, illegal/ illicit files, deleted emails, chats, internet usage, work documents, encrypted data or vital information, all find their way into computer hard drives or digital storage media devices like mp3 players, USB sticks, SD cards etc. The discovery, acquisition, recovery and preservation of evidence are the basic use of digital forensics.

Tracking Online/ Digital Activity

Authenticating & tracking emails, online transactions, social media activities, web-mails, email metadata and making sure that the messages or the transactions have not been tampered with or forged is an important achievement in the field of computer forensics. It helps map the activities and correlate events so as to verify or nullify statements.

Recovering data from online servers has also proved to be an efficient technique for accurate presentation of facts. Tracking recent computer activities like – web history, recently opened windows in operating systems, insertion of external storage & media like flash & hard drives are services which have improved the chances of accuracy & faster analysis in the investigation process.

Correlation of Evidence & Data

Regarding digital forensic analysis simply as a source of evidence is a common error. The extent of the services offered by this field includes correlation of events by finding dates of recent activities & data manipulations, discovering recipient & sender of messages and thus facilitates in tracing a map of events, movements, entities & flow of data. It helps integrate a large amount of database and draw relevant conclusions.

Catering to Wide Variety of Cases

Computer forensic analysis finds application in a wide range of complicated cases concerning both criminal & civil proceedings. It helps in amassing vital information, sketch fraudulent transactions, discover  data theft related to White Collar Crimes like Insurance, Tax, Bank, Health Care Frauds, Securities Fraud, Intellectual Property Theft, Patent Infringement, Public Corruption and Bribery. It also aids in uncovering facts & truth related to serious criminal offense like child pornography, homicide & sex crimes.

Because of the insight provided by digital forensic analysis, it is not only considered as an aid to investigations but also assists in effective representation of defendants through expert witness testimony.

Since this field is both an art & science, even with latest tools & high end technology it requires the expertise of forensic analysts who are experienced in handling wide range of tools, hardware & software and also are efficient in drawing relevant conclusions from gathered facts.

Only the unique art of treating each case differently, experience in a wide range of cases combined with analytical skill in digital forensic sciences will yield the best results. One such organization known to provide perfect resolution to each legal proceeding is ICFECI (Institute of Forensic Examination & Criminal Investigations). It operates within the principles of professional specialization and has achieved a vast experience in digital forensic analysis. It diligently works on both criminal & civil investigations and also helps in effective representation of defendants.

ICFECI is identified for researching in this field and developing new techniques to procure forensic evidence in a state of the art lab, housed in Northern District of Texas and thus provides perfect resolution to a variety of cases.