HOW I BECAME A COP

I’m a big believer in Divine intervention.  What I mean is that oftentimes we try to plan and calculate our important life decisions, but what usually happens it’s the chance encounter or the ‘lucky’ incident that dramatically affect our lives.  Take my life, for instance.  I became a Los Angeles police officer by what I think was divine intervention.  I was still in the Marines and had returned from my first overseas deployment.  I was stationed at a large naval base on the east coast.  I had decided to leave the Marine Corps and go into law enforcement.  I was due to be separated from the Corps in one week.  I was late for chow and took a shortcut to get to the mess hall.  Just by chance I ran into my old battalion Sergeant Major who I had served with overseas.  Neither of us had known the other had been stationed at this base.  After I advised him I was getting out of the Marine Corps, he asked me what I was going to do.  I told him I wanted to go into law enforcement, and I was going to apply to either Philadelphia PD or NYPD.  I also mentioned that they, like most police departments on the East Coast, had a one year residency requirement.  The Sergeant Major then asked me if I had ever thought about the Los Angeles Police Department.  He might as well have asked me if I had thought about a police department on the moon.  When I brought up the fact that not only did I not know anyone in Los Angeles, I thought I might have a tough time finding a job there while I waited for the one year residency to kick in.  He then floored me with the fact that not only did they not have a residency requirement; he had a high ranking contact on the department.  One week later, I was an honorably discharged Marine and flying across the country to Los Angeles.  I spent 22 years working as a police officer and later as a detective, and as they say, the rest is history.

GETTING STARTED IN THE PRIVATE INVESTIGATIONS BUSINESS

If you're ’re a newly licensed PI, and now you’re looking for clients.  Of course you get nice business cards and letterhead done (Hint:  Use good bonded paper and have it done by a professional printer).  Start reading books and articles about running a small business.  Read up on marketing and advertising.  Join one of your state’s professional investigative associations.  Start networking with experienced investigators.  Most are only too willing to help out a new person in the field.  Join the association’s List Serve.  It’s an invaluable way to gain knowledge and also to ask questions about issues that com up in your work.  When starting out and things are slow, try to gain sub-contract work from a reputable, experienced PI.   Once you’ve established your work with them, ask them if they wouldn’t mind helping you learn the business end of the work.  I was fortunate after I retired to have two PIs mentor me.  One was flamboyant, colorful, larger than life, and the best business mind I know in this field.  He is also a very under rated investigator.  The other runs a large firm and has an extremely professional operation.  Both were very generous of their time in teaching me the business end of private investigations.  Lastly, have ethics in this business.  When someone helps you as a mentor, don’t be a dog and then turn around and try to steal their clients.