HOW DO INVESTIGATORS FIND WITNESSES

You’ve been hired to investigate an incident that took place 3 months prior.  Let’s say it’s a traffic accident.  It occurred on a specific day at a specific time.  How do you go about finding any witnesses to the accident, particularly if it happened some time ago.  In a case like this, you go back to the tried and true old fashion way, you conduct a canvass of the area.

Time permitting, it’s very important that you conduct your witness canvass on the same day of the week and at the same time that the incident happened.  Let me give an example of what I mean.  An attorney hired me to investigate a traffic accident.  The accident took place on a weekend night shortly after midnight.  It occurred on Sunset Blvd in West Hollywood.  I went there on the same day of the week and began my canvass about a half hour before the accident occurred.  There were a few stores still open, and I happened to find an employee at one of the businesses who happened to be looking out the window and saw the accident.  Because he was a night time employee, I never would have found him if I had gone out in the daytime to canvass. 

Another reason you want to go out at the same time as the incident is that you can see what the lighting in the area was like at the time of the incident along with the pedestrian and vehicle traffic.  This gives you a much better feel for the incident scene similar to when it occurred. You also may find a witness on a delivery truck or other work related vehicle that happens to stop by around the time of your incident.  As I’ve stated before on this blog, you only need to find one witness to break a case wide open. 

DEALING WITH THE POLICE

How do you deal with the police when you’re a PI?  What do you do if you’ve never been a police officer, yet you need to work with them or get information from them on one of your cases.  Here’s what I suggest.  First try to contact a police officer or detective that you know who works the same department as the detective handling your case.  Ask him/her for an introduction to the police officer your trying to contact.  If you don’t know it already, cops are very clannish.  It always helps to have a gatekeeper.  Once you have a contact person on your case, try to go in person.  I always find that it’s a lot harder for someone to blow me off in person then it is on the phone. Here’s another helpful hint.  The best time to contact a police detective is between 7/8:00 AM.  They usually try to get a jump on their paperwork and case load at that time before they head out to court or the field.  Once you actually get to speak with the detective, don’t be intimidated.  Most detectives will be helpful, especially if you have something to give them that will help them in a case.  Once they’ve warmed up to you in person, they’ll often tell you things they normally wouldn’t tell you over the phone.  Here’s another tip.  Every detective bureau has its share of slugs and does nothings.  But they also have their one or two hard working street detectives who know all the bad guys, the crime patterns in their area, and will work their tails off with any information you can provide them.  The trick here is you have to find that one.  If you don’t know anyone in that department and/or division, try to find a veteran uniformed officer, identify yourself, and ask him point blank, “Who’s the best street cop in the detective bureau.”  That’s the guy you want to deal with.