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Private Investigation Business: As originally published in PI Magazine, March / April 2011
By: Michael J. West |
Many people complain about the economic downturn adversely affecting their investigative business, but I believe it might also be a result of other contributing factors.
Do you think your down-turn in business activity might be related to lack of quality reports? Do you think there's a possibility that your competition is writing and providing better investigative reports than you? Have they taken some of your business because their reports are better?
Based on recent examples, I think this happens more often than we realize. One PI recently said he doesn't need to write reports because his clients (which are quickly declining in number) are only concerned about the facts and not about reports. Another has told me that as long as they get the major details across, there's no need for detailed written reports. Absurd!
After hearing some of these comments, I addressed the issue with several attorneys. None argued against the point that investigative reports must be comprehensive and detailed. A common theme was that the written report is a representation of what the investigator did on a case. It all goes toward credibility and demonstrating that not only did you accomplish certain steps but also that you recorded all the facts; the good, the bad and the ugly. The report represents you and the quality of your work.
How can you demonstrate to your client that you have accomplished a professional job unless you can articulate everything in a written document? There are exceptions when there won't, or shouldn't, be a report written and those are exceptions agreed upon by all concerned. But I'm talking about the average situation.
A written report should contain all the details, a stand-alone account of your investigative activity. Pay attention to grammar, spelling and word context. Taking too long to get a report to a client is just as bad as not writing one. We deliver a completed report the next workday after completion of an investigation.
Michael J. West is a Certified Fraud Examiner, a Certified Law Enforcement Instructor and an experienced legal investigator in Arkansas, Louisiana and Oklahoma. With 33 years of investigative experience, Mr. West has worked with commercial firms, local, state and federal agencies including the Department of Defense (DoD) Inspector General's Office, the US Attorney, the Air Force Office of Special Investigations and others. He is considered an expert at evaluating the investigative practices of investigative agencies.
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