Do Private Investigators Work Alone?

Private investigators more often than not work alone as it relates to conducting surveillance or conducting investigative tasks. There are occasions when investigators will work with additional investigators when conducting surveillance or when needing assistance in areas out of their local reach.  

Investigators can be a part of a larger team generally speaking as it relates to management, marketing, and administration. With that being said, let’s get into why private investigators work alone.

More Than One Investigator Usually Isn’t Needed

One private investigator generally speaking is more than enough to conduct a standard surveillance investigation.  I personally conducted 99 percent of surveillance investigations alone and was quite successful. Private investigators that work alone on surveillance assignments are an investigative norm.

In 99 percent of surveillance investigation scenarios, one private investigator working alone can establish a surveillance position with a view of the subject of the investigation’s residence, identify the subject, follow the individual to various locations and obtain video documentation of these activities. 

If you are an investigator working alone and struggling to accomplish these objectives on a daily basis, I have written some tips for private investigators that will help you with these tasks.

Two Investigators Don’t Automatically Provide More Value During a Surveillance

There are many good reasons for two investigators to be on the same surveillance assignment but generally speaking, if there isn’t a good reason, a client is wasting their money.  

When I speak of value when two investigators are working on the same surveillance assignment for no legitimate reasons, they will likely be obtaining redundant video documentation, not adding value when following the subject, and potentially making the surveillance assignment more complicated than it really needs to be.

When two investigators work on a surveillance assignment together there is a lot of communication taking place especially when the subject of the investigation departs their residence.  Sometimes an investigator will be too passive when following a subject and the burden will be heavier on the second investigator. If communication isn’t sufficient or the second investigator is out of position, the subject may be lost during mobile surveillance.

Two Investigators Cost Twice as Much (in most cases)

Depending on how the two-investigator assignment is sold to the client, the price of the two-person surveillance can cost twice as much as one investigator (naturally).

There are companies that expressly sell two investigator surveillance assignments to the client however they charge two different rates for each investigator on the assignment. One investigator would be sold at a standard rate of something like $65 an hour.  The second investigator might be sold at the rate of $45 an hour. 

How can the investigation company propose something like this? The investigation company is still making at least $20 an hour profit per hour on the second investigator.  

In some cases, the owner of the investigation company will act as the second investigator on the surveillance assignment and it will be pure profit for what they bill for themselves.

In cases like this, I have observed the owner of the company play a completely inactive role in the surveillance assignment which in reality made it one surveillance investigator working on the file. The owner still charged for his presence on site even though he had no impact on the assignment.

One Investigator is More Than Enough For Field Investigations

Field Investigators are the investigators that will photograph locations, take measurements, document an area, conduct interviews, pull records, and conduct research just to name a few duties.

More than one investigator is not needed to interview a claimant, insured individual, or witnesses related to an insurance claim. 

One investigator is more than capable of photographing, measuring, searching for witnesses, and other field investigation tasks. 

Small Private Investigation Business Owners Work All The Investigation Files

From a financial point of view, many small private investigation companies have just the owner doing all the investigation work. This can likely be due to not having the workload to justify additional investigators to be on the payroll or the owner simply prefers to be a one-investigator operation.

A one-investigator operation may only seek an additional investigator to work with them in times when a second investigator is needed for a surveillance assignment or perhaps a private investigator that specializes in something outside of the owner’s expertise is needed.

When Do Private Investigators Work With Other Investigators?

When Two Investigator Surveillances Are Actually Needed

While I spent a great deal explaining why two investigators are not needed for various types of investigative assignments sometimes two investigators are needed like with difficult surveillance assignments.

I have written in detail about why two or more surveillance investigators are needed for surveillance assignments here.

Some of those reasons are because of difficult surveillance setups, compromised surveillance cases, and needing investigators at multiple locations at the same time to name a few.

When Might Two Investigators Be Used for Field Assignments?

Two investigators might be used in field assignments when one of the investigators is in training.  When learning how to conduct different types of investigations, seeing interviews firsthand or how an investigator conducts an investigation is incredibly helpful in teaching a new investigator. I have written about private investigator mentorship here if you would like to learn more about it.

Two investigators might be used if one is used as a translator but maybe doesn’t have the experience to conduct the investigations on their own.

Two investigators might be used on an investigative assignment to cover more ground faster when looking for witnesses or information in an area.

Two investigators might be used out of safety concerns when working in an area that is dangerous or when speaking with individuals the investigator doesn’t feel safe being around.

Two different investigators might be used on a field assignment if one investigator is closer to a location than the other investigator. This would save the client money when completing the assignment.  

Things of Note Regarding Private Investigators Working Alone

It should be noted that just because investigators primarily work alone when investigating, it does not mean that they don’t seek advice or counsel when working on assignments. 

Sometimes investigators will reach out to members of their Private Investigator Association for general input on how to seek out certain information. 

Sometimes investigators will ask other investigators within the company to see if they missed anything to cover any blind spots the investigator may have missed.  Good private investigators are those that are open to feedback.

Sometimes working alone as a private investigator has its perks. Sometimes working alone as a private investigator can feel overwhelming. Working alone as a private investigator will test you in many ways, especially as a business owner that you might not have expected.  There are many pros and cons of being a private investigator that you can read more about here.