What Hours Do Private Investigators Work?

Private investigators’ hours can vary from 0 hours a week to well over 40 hours a week depending on how busy the business they work for is and the investigator’s abilities.  The hours of a private investigator can be very unpredictable regardless of what a private investigator specializes in. To understand how many hours a private investigator works or what hours do private investigators work, I will share the reasons for the unpredictability in the hours.

Schedule Working Business Hour Assignments

There are some things a private investigator has to do during normal business hours. For a field investigator to physically pull records, it must be conducted during business hours (or courthouse hours).  Assignments that require a private investigator to pull records provide some normality for an investigator and some predictability of billable hours.

When tasked to interview employees of a company, most times it will be scheduled during normal business hours when the employees to be interviewed are working.  

The investigator is nearly certain that they will work a certain amount billable of hours and they will likely return home at a decent hour.  Why is this important?  It is not uncommon for someone to commit to conducting an interview with a private investigator and then not show up for the interview.  This situation can affect billable hours.

Not all investigators work assignments like this but however, but generally speaking, these assignments are preferred as it resembles normality in the life of an investigator.

Private Investigator Billable Hours Aren’t Dependable

While I just shared how it can be a benefit for a private investigator to work on specific files during business hours, some types of assignments aren’t dependable due to things within the control of the investigator and of course things outside of the control of a private investigator.  

I discuss this and other pros and cons of being a private investigator if you would like to read more about that here.

Interviewees Don’t Show for a Scheduled Interviews

In the insurance investigation realm, investigators set up interview appointments with claimants, insured individuals, individuals applying for life insurance, and witnesses.  The investigator counts on those interviews to take place. Investigators get paid for the interview time, travel time to get to the interview location(usually not a lot), travel time home, and then the time to write the report. 

Some investigators travel several hours to meet an individual only to find out that the person did not show up to the interview, won’t return phone calls, and has no intention of meeting with the investigator.  The investigator loses several billable hours and has no other investigative work on that day to make up for the hours lost. 

Surveillance Investigators and Problems During Surveillance Assignments

Private investigators who conduct surveillance can have it tough when it comes to billable hours as well. If a private investigator arrives at a subject’s residence and begins surveillance at 6 a.m. and the investigator loses the subject at 8 a.m. after the subject leaves the house, the investigator may have to discontinue the surveillance for that day.  

This means that the investigator might only get 3 billable hours total for that day.  In some cases, the investigator will be able to break off the assignment for a couple of hours and return for a couple of hours to see if the individual returns but that is not always the case.  

There are instances when an investigator loses an individual during a surveillance assignment. This can be due to outside interference or it could be to poor mobile surveillance skills.

The aforementioned example isn’t the only reason a surveillance investigator may have a short day.  On occasion during the course of a surveillance assignment, a private investigator can get burned (found out by the subject they are conducting surveillance on).  In cases where this occurs, the investigator is to discontinue surveillance efforts immediately.  Regardless of how much time the investigator worked that day, the day is over for the investigator. 

A private investigator that gets burned on surveillance essentially prevents the surveillance from resuming for approximately 2 weeks (generally speaking that is the minimum standard more investigation companies have) for the assignment to cool off.  This means that hopefully, the subject of the investigation will not be on high alert after a certain amount of time has passed.

The Hours a Private Investigator Works Can Be Long

We have mostly discussed how many things can happen that prevent an investigator from billing out time and earning money. There are also occasions when the investigator doesn’t know when their day will be over.

Field Investigators Find More Leads and Extend the Day

Sometimes during an investigation, something will be learned through a witness or a formal interview that will lead to another person or location that needs to be investigated.

The investigator might start by interviewing one witness only to determine that four other individuals witnessed an event that need to be interviewed.  A 4-hour assignment turns into a full 8-hour assignment.  In regards to billable hours, this is a good thing for an investigator. If the investigator made plans with family or had an appointment outside of investigation work, that appointment gets canceled.  

A Surveillance Investigators Day May Seem To Never End

In some cases, a surveillance investigator is on top of their game and the person they are conducting surveillance on is out and about shopping, meeting friends, eating out, and full of activity.  A private investigator (as a general rule) usually doesn’t stop conducting surveillance on the subject until they return home after the 8-hour mark, and stays within the home for about 30 minutes after they return.

Generally speaking, many insurance-related surveillance assignments start at 6 a.m. and will end at 2 p.m. if there is no further activity at the 8-hour mark. 

If the subject of the surveillance hasn’t returned home by the 8-hour mark, the investigator will continue to follow and document the subject’s activities unless the client asks the investigator to stop surveillance efforts. Surveillance can go for 14 to 16 hours in some cases depending on how active the person they are following is.

This situation is great for billable hours. It is not so great for an investigator who made an appointment at a time when they thought the surveillance day would be over or if they missed out on a family event.

Uncommon Hours of a Surveillance Investigator

There are some surveillance assignments that begin at night.  Some investigators work on cheating spouse surveillance assignments that are last-minute requests from a client.  Investigators have to drop what they are doing in an attempt to catch a spouse involved in infidelity.

Insurance investigators that conduct surveillance also work surveillance assignments at uncommon hours.  

Can a Private Investigator Have a Reliable Schedule?

A private investigator that conducts surveillance will likely never have a dependable reliable schedule. There are just too many variables involved to live a predictable life in an investigative role.

An investigator who interviews witnesses, conducts recorded statements, investigates claims, and works more “business hour times” is likely to have a more predictable schedule but as previously stated, there are no guarantees.

There are some investigation companies that work on government contracts. Investigators may find some stability in those roles however the work may not be consistent.

One More Variable in The Hours a Private Investigator Works

With everything that has been mentioned above which includes, no-show interviews, compromised surveillance assignments, losing subjects on surveillance, and unexpected long investigation days there is another variable about the hours worked by a private investigator. 

The variable that also plays a role in the amount of work the investigation company you work for brings in.  Some investigation companies don’t have enough investigative assignments to employ the investigators they have which adds additional stress on the investigator.

There are private investigation companies that have too much work and not enough investigators. In these cases, an investigator might be asked or voluntold to work 7 days a week until the work slows down.  Either way, there is potential stress on the investigator and their family whether it be financial or the time spent with the family.

Generally speaking, there is no standard work schedule for a private investigator. In the investigator world, it always appears to be feast or famine.  If you are ok with that lifestyle, being a private investigator might be right up your alley.  You can read about how to become a private investigator here.