Private Investigation Principles and Practices
Practice questions test whether you can take a client's request, turn it into a lawful and evidence-based plan, and keep the file defensible. The emphasis is on scoping, planning, legal boundaries, client management and knowing when to refuse a job.
The mandate
Every file starts with the retainer: who the client is, what question must be answered, deadlines, budget, reporting format and who may see the report. Write the objective narrowly. 'Find out everything about Mr. X' is not a mandate; 'determine whether Mr. X is employed while receiving disability benefits' is.
Planning
A work plan converts objectives into steps: records and database searches, canvassing, surveillance, interviews and background checks. For each step set the legal authority (public place? consent? client's property?), the resources, the time window and the documentation required. Institutional sources in Ontario include court records, the Land Registry, the PPSA registry, corporate profiles and CanLII.
Legal and ethical boundaries
An investigator cannot trespass, detain, search, intercept communications, access computer systems without authority, or obtain personal records (phone, bank, medical, driving) through pretext or a contact. Refusing such requests is a professional obligation, not lost business.
Client management
Report delays and dead ends early. Never guarantee an outcome. Keep interim updates factual. Confirm in writing any instruction that narrows or widens the mandate.
Worked example
A retail client suspects an employee of passing stock to a competitor. The plan: review internal records the client lawfully holds, observe the loading area from public ground, record times and descriptions, and interview the supervisor as a witness. Steps rejected: accessing the employee's personal email, following them into a private residence, or posing as a police officer to a supplier. Once observation shows a pattern, the report is delivered with logs, and the client decides on discipline or referral to police.
Traps
Promising results; accepting 'just get me the phone records'; mixing opinion with observation; letting the client dictate method rather than objective; and failing to record what was ruled out and why, which is often the best evidence of a competent investigation.