Let me tell you about the TV show Cheaters. It’s a Dallas-based reality show in which jilted lovers hire a private investigation agency to investigate their spouse or so-called soul mate to see whether or not he/she is being unfaithful. However, do PIs deal just with unfaithful lovers? What else does a private detective, or sometimes called a private eye, inquire about? I will attempt to explain the job and the role of a private detective.
The aim of their work is to discover the truth. A private detective can only do his job properly by remaining impartial. In most cases, it is ironic that clients of private detectives do not want the truth, they just want to succeed. Their attitude is not dissimilar to the combative attitude that some of the clients have in the TV programme Cheaters. The job of a PI and his agency is to expose the facts and help their client come through.
For the private investigator, revealing the truth is a double-edged sword. He or she is paid to not only reveal the facts but also revealing those facts can damage their client’s chances of winning, especially a lawsuit. Both the good and the bad news need to be stated to the clients. There is nothing worse for an attorney than to appear in court and be confronted with some vicious statement or fact that he should have been aware of. An attorney needs to gather all the facts in advance and that is why the private detective has been hired. it is the PI’s job to find information and let the case evolve on its own, win or lose.
Say the opposite side of a lawsuit wins in court, that does not suggest that the private detective did not do his best. All it means is that they performed their work to the optimum standards for their profession and to the fullest of their might. A private investigator can not shape the decision of a judge or jury after all.