I love being a private investigator. It is a progressive race and it always catches my attention. That’s why I keep doing it and I plan to have a long research career. I get bored very easily and this always has something new and interesting to teach me. I started doing insurance research. Mainly liability claims and workers compensation monitoring. I did most of my research in Colorado Springs. Once I learned the ropes of the trade I expanded my field and coverage area. I now own my own firm in Colorado Springs and Denver. I conduct surveillance, cheating spouse cases, omission tracking, background checks, child custody cases, corporate investigations and more. I do research in Denver and I do research in Colorado Springs, mostly. But I do cover the entire state of Colorado. I use all sorts of investigative tools in my trade. I have a 4k handheld camera, various hidden and covert cameras from keychain cameras to pen cameras to bluetooth cameras. I also have a dash cam and stationary cameras.

I have my degree in criminal justice from UCCS. I have been slowly growing in business research for the last 9 years and making progress every year. I’ve seen a good number of interesting cases. People claiming to be injured with a broken ankle when I caught them skiing. My favorite types of case investigation are child custody cases. I am blessed to help children get out of an abusive home or reunite children with their parents. Cheating spouse cases can be interesting, but they put our society in perspective on how hurtful we can be to each other.

One of my most interesting cases was locating a homeless person in a big city. This was a huge undertaking as most of the homeless are completely off the grid. Most people can be easily located through social networks or by consulting our databases. It is not the case of trying to find a homeless person. It takes hours of legwork, talking to people doing private investigations the old-fashioned way. I thought it would take me 100 hours to locate this homeless person. However, within 24 hours I reunited him with his mother. This people-watching business really opens your eyes to a different part of the world, one that is both cursed and blessed. I love helping people and hope to be doing research for years to come.

Investigators are used in a variety of situations. My firm has a policy that we only take cases that have a legal standing. Are we going to provide a service that will determine which way that case goes? Can we help bring new information to the case? Background screening of clients is part of the investigative process. There are people out there who want information for not all the right reasons. I have heard of previous investigators who have taken on cases where they could have been held liable for providing confidential information. A great example would be a potential client who wanted to know where his ex-wife was so he could serve her for child custody purposes. After the investigative company did their due diligence, they learned that the ex-husband and potential client had a domestic violence restraining order. They refused to take the case, avoiding what could have been very bad for all parties involved.

The private investigator industry is a big part of our history. One of the earliest research companies was the Pinkerton company in the late 19th century. The company helped resolve cases for high-ranking government officials and large corporations. They also took on some controversial cases. One of the most notorious cases was that of the landlords’ strike. Pinkerton was hired for security at the factories where the strike took place. Shots were fired that killed 7 Pinkerton workers and 9 strikers.

I believe that the field of research will only grow and become a more productive industry as our population grows. It helps hold people accountable and resolve conflict issues. The field of investigation has evolved with the new technologies available, making it easier and more time efficient to conduct certain types of investigations, such as missing person investigations or background checks.