What is a Private Investigator (PI)?
Today, Private Investigation is a booming industry that includes digital security, digital forensics, and Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) investigations.
Here is a list of services a PI agency would provide: Love/Money Scams, Pre-Marital Checks, Infidelity Investigations, Background Checks, Child/Family Custody, Covert Surveillance, TSCM (Debugging Services), Embezzlement Investigations, Tracking of Missing Persons, and General Investigations.
If you’d like to read more about these services, you can click on this link here.
How To Hire A Private Investigator?
You may or may not have heard of PIs in Singapore who solved many high-profile cases like Mr. Vincent Tan. But what you need to know is how to actually go about finding a reliable PI agency that you can trust with your cases. Additionally, we’ve also laid out the process of getting to know your PI and the hiring process.
Many of us can do simple investigations such as stalking someone on Facebook or Instagram. But for the few of us caught in a situation that requires the services of a professional Private Investigator, chances are it’s your first engaging one.
Is It Worth It To Hire A Private Investigator?
The training a hired professional has completed usually provides him or her with the skill and talent to use the services acquired for a variety of fields. When the individual must investigate the medical, financial, relationship, and even legal areas, they often have the knowledge and skills to ensure the correct information has been obtained.
The quality of service far outweighs the costs when a professional is needed to investigate a subject for someone. This means to hire a quality private investigator, the client usually pays more for services. A greater amount of experience usually means that the PI commits to providing results to his or her client.
Do I Really Need A Professional Private Investigator?
It is vital that a private investigator be hired for experience and the quality of his or her skills. This translates to testifying in court with abundance so that he or she is equipped to deal with these situations better than someone that charges less for his or her services. He or she will appear professional, have a clean and groomed appearance, and be clear and concise when detailing the information he or she provides.
Singapore Police Force Licensed Private Investigators and tested to ensure they have a valid certification. When the individual is of a higher caliber than another with less experience or knowledge, he or she is better at informing the client of information, complications, and issues that may arise.
This also means that the PI is able to inform the person that hired him or her about any legal issues that may be entangled with the investigation such as violations due to surveillance laws, invasion of privacy, illegal recordings, and similar concerns.
It is best to hire a private investigator when a search or research is necessary and video recording someone or an entity is better left with the professional that has performed the action for hundreds if not thousands of hours.
How Much Does It Cost To Hire A Singapore Private Investigator?
In order to understand how the Singapore Private Investigation industry charges we have to understand these basics. In Singapore, most private investigation agencies that are advertised need to have a private investigation agency license issued by Singapore Police Force.
If you searched for “private investigators” on Google there are some foreign private investigation agencies that claim they are licensed to conduct investigations in Singapore and operate with an overseas address and phone number.
Those foreign private investigations might not have the license to operate in Singapore. To be on the safe side ask for the private investigation license number issued by The Singapore Police Force.
Next, there are licensed private investigation agencies that charge by package. Be sure to understand more as some might charge for written reports and end of the day you will find that it cost more.
A private investigator is unlike a spa, beauty, or foot reflexology business in which you buy a packet and you will know how much you spend after each visit.
To conduct a private investigation you need skill and advanced equipment to gather the evidence you need. For example, if a private investigator conducts surveillance on your target and does a lousy job you might lose the chance to gather the evidence you need.
Worst still you might end up paying for the package and will not be able to gather further evidence.
Generally, Singapore private investigators charge between $100 to $200 an hour for conducting surveillance. To conduct a basic investigation starts from $600 onwards.
Before you engage a private investigator spend some time reading through their website and accessing them by giving them a call. If possible, arrange a meeting with them personally in their office.
Here are examples of packages private investigator charges to attract potential clients:
– 20 hours package $2200 to $3000 for surveillance.
*After you have committed most of the time you need to top up and by the end of the Investigation you will end up paying more. Some even charge additional for the report. To a potential client, the most important thing is to get the evidence they need.
Be careful as some private investigators will just deploy 1 part-time or 2 private investigators by paying them $7 to $14 an hour. These part-time investigators are mostly new in the industry and if they fail or begin to discover while conducting the surveillance it will be even more difficult to get the evidence again.
Checking The Credibility of The Private Investigator
Hiring an experienced private investigator to conduct investigations is important, especially in surveillance. Those trained surveillance operatives are invaluable when conducting surveillance to gather evidence and reveal the truth to clients.
There are some private investigation agencies that rely on “floating” or freelance private investigators to conduct surveillance. Private investigators specializing in surveillance skill is usually far superior to those freelancer private investigators.
A skilled surveillance operative requires years of surveillance experience and training. If surveillance is not conducted correctly, it can jeopardize the whole case. Surveillance techniques used by private investigators range from physical observation to audio monitoring of conversations. The audio surveillance technique is a more sophisticated type of surveillance, used by most private investigators.
The fees of a skilled surveillance operative are only slightly above the market rate. Private Investigator Steven Tan with 20 years of surveillance experience in conducting local and oversea surveillance. Steven Tan has trained more than 60 private investigators in the art of surveillance.
Private investigator Steven Tan explains that surveillance operatives must be able to follow the subject and have the ability to capture video evidence of the subject and work within legal compliance. They are also trained to handle complicated matters that may arise while conducting surveillance. Private Investigator Steven Tan says this quality of the surveillance operative’s skills far outweighs the cost. Private Investigator Steven Tan gives an example of when a female surveillance operative conducting a surveillance operation must be able to disguise herself as a pregnant woman in 10 seconds.
All surveillance operatives must be trained in handling the evidence-gathering equipment and must be able to capture critical evidence even if the subject is next to him/her.
If you’re looking for an experienced PI to help solve your case or if you need some advice on an ongoing case, you may contact Asia Top Investigation at vt@asiatopinvestigation.com or WhatsApp us at +65 8820 0007.
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