The credibility of private investigators on UM

[mattc]

Hey everybody. I know that Unsolved Mysteries tends to show a lot of private investigators who are hired by the parents of a victim, usually when they don't like the police findings, etc.

I value the opinions of all the posters here, and enjoy the intelligent discussion about the cases... so, what's your opinion on private investigators? It seems in so many segments (particularly ones involving suicide), the private investigators hired by the parents have a set agenda: Prove the cops wrong, and make the parents happy. I know that some PI's have done great things to reopen cases, but I just wonder if they are credible.

Don't you feel that they usually have a bias in favor of making their employer (the parents or person who hired them) happy, versus necessarily finding out the truth?

Any thoughts?

[MegtheEgg86]

Don't you feel that they usually have a bias in favor of making their employer (the parents or person who hired them) happy, versus necessarily finding out the truth?

Police aren't always interested in finding out the truth, either. I tend to believe any investigating entity is vulnerable to agenda-pushing and outside influence. As far as PIs are concerned, keep in mind that many of them will not take cases unless they can see clear discrepancies with official LE investigation and its conclusions. Do some of them grab for any opportunity for a paycheck they can? Certainly. But that's a single faction of a greater whole, I believe.

[Mastermind]

value the opinions of all the posters here, and enjoy the intelligent discussion about the cases... so, what's your opinion on private investigators? It seems in so many segments (particularly ones involving suicide), the private investigators hired by the parents have a set agenda: Prove the cops wrong, and make the parents happy. I know that some PI's have done great things to reopen cases, but I just wonder if they are credible.

Well technicaly PIs shouldn't be unbiased, just like an attorney shouldn't be unbiased.

A private investigator is hired by a interested party. There loyalty is to that third party. They only are interesting in finding evidence that helps their clients means.

If a PI ever found evidence that a client was guilty, the PI is first going to let the client or his client's attorney know about it first before the police. As far as ethics go, technically he was hired to preserve the clients interests amd he isn;t a police officer, so he could simply not reveal the information unless asked to by a law enforcement officer.

So to answer your question, no I wouldn;t trust a PI's interview any more than I would trust an attorney's interview. They're both biased.

That being said, I certainly wouldn't discourage anyone from hiring a PI. Nothing like having a detective working for you rather than for the law.

If your going to hire a PI, I would suggest these qualifications
1. Only hire a PI from a large corporate style firm than from a small shop. Large firms tend to have standards of practice that they hold they're investigators to. Large firms are always worried about they;re image and getting sued. So everything will be done formally in terms of contracts, pay and disclosures.

2. Don;t hire directly. Ask for a referral from your attorney or CPA. You essentially are shopping blind if you decide to go directly. Hiring a detective is like finding a dentist, chiropractor or neurologist. You find those people by asking your doctor for a referral.

3.. Make sure your detective is an ex-law enforcement officer with at least 7 or more years as a detective. Not only are they more experienced but they also still have law enforcement connections which could help your case. Especially try to find a retired FBI agent. Retired feds tend to be less concerned about money and more in continuing to do the work they love. There are TONS of ex FBI agents doing PI work now!!

[zack007attack]

Hey everybody. I know that Unsolved Mysteries tends to show a lot of private investigators who are hired by the parents of a victim, usually when they don't like the police findings, etc.

I value the opinions of all the posters here, and enjoy the intelligent discussion about the cases... so, what's your opinion on private investigators? It seems in so many segments (particularly ones involving suicide), the private investigators hired by the parents have a set agenda: Prove the cops wrong, and make the parents happy. I know that some PI's have done great things to reopen cases, but I just wonder if they are credible.

Don't you feel that they usually have a bias in favor of making their employer (the parents or person who hired them) happy, versus necessarily finding out the truth?

Any thoughts?

There are some cases profiled on UM that I feel are not what the police make them out to be (suicide, homicide, etc), but there are cases where I feel the police are correct despite family members of victims hiring PIs. I believe sometimes PIs will focus on finding the truth, but with concentration on what their employers think happened.

I believe Danny Williams was murdered, because there is strong evidence contradicting the police's theory that he committed suicide.

As for Don Kemp, his mother claims he was murdered, but I disagree. There is no evidence of foul play. I don't believe the phone calls were legitimate and the bartender was mistaken for someone closely resembling Don. If it was him making the calls, why would he have abandoned his car and posessions for some place up north from where he disappeared? He was found only a short distance from where his car was discovered, so maybe the cold weather in the area preserved his body so well that the police could tell whether he met with foul play or simply died from exposure to the cold.