The following was written by Maj. L. Caudill USMC (Retired).
Human beings only have two ways to deal with one another: reason and force. If you want me to do something for you, you have a choice of either convincing me via argument, or force me to do your bidding under threat of force. Every human interaction falls into one of those two categories, without exception. Reason or force, that's it.
In a truly moral and civilized society, people exclusively interact through persuasion. Force has no place as a valid method of social interaction, and the only thing that removes force from the menu is the personal firearm, as paradoxical as it may sound to some.
When I carry a gun, you cannot deal with me by force. You have to use reason and try to persuade me, because I have a way to negate your threat or employment of force.
The gun is the only personal weapon that puts a 100-pound woman on equal footing with a 220-pound mugger, a 75-year old retiree on equal footing with a 19-year old gang banger, and a single guy on equal footing with a carload of drunk guys with baseball bats. The gun removes the disparity in physical strength, size, or numbers between a potential attacker and a defender.
There are plenty of people who consider the gun as the source of bad force equations. These are the people who think that we'd be more civilized if all guns were removed from society, because a firearm makes it easier for a [armed] mugger to do his job. That, of course, is only true if the mugger's potential victims are mostly disarmed either by choice or by legislative fiat--it has no validity when most of a mugger's potential marks are armed.
People who argue for the banning of arms ask for automatic rule by the young, the strong, and the many, and that's the exact opposite of a civilized society. A mugger, even an armed one, can only make a successful living in a society where the state has granted him a force monopoly.
Then there's the argument that the gun makes confrontations lethal that otherwise would only result in injury. This argument is fallacious in several ways. Without guns involved, confrontations are won by the physically superior party inflicting overwhelming injury on the loser.
People who think that fists, bats, sticks, or stones don't constitute lethal force watch too much TV, where people take beatings and come out of it with a bloody lip at worst. The fact that the gun makes lethal force easier works solely in favor of the weaker defender, not the stronger attacker. If both are armed, the field is level.
The gun is the only weapon that's as lethal in the hands of an octogenarian as it is in the hands of a weight lifter. It simply wouldn't work as well as a force equalizer if it wasn't both lethal and easily employable.
When I carry a gun, I don't do so because I am looking for a fight, but because I'm looking to be left alone. The gun at my side means that I cannot be forced, only persuaded. I don't carry it because I'm afraid, but because it enables me to be unafraid. It doesn't limit the actions of those who would interact with me through reason, only the actions of those who would do so by force. It removes force from the equation... and that's why carrying a gun is a civilized act.
By Maj. L. Caudill USMC (Ret)
“They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” Benjamin Franklin
“The beauty of the Second Amendment is that it will not be needed until they try to take it.” Thomas Jefferson
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Things You Should Know Before Hiring a Private Eye
The following was adapted from information available on the Arizona Department of Public Safety website: http://www.azdps.gov/.
If you are considering hiring a private investigator and have never done so, you may be making decisions while highly emotional. Regardless, you should give such a decision careful thought and thoroughly consider the circumstances before hiring an investigator. Prior to contacting a PI, you should specifically identify what it is you want to know, what your expectations are, and how much money you can afford to spend. Additionally, you may want to first check on the PI (or agency) using a consumer assistance group such as the Better Business Bureau, researching reports on the internet, or examining other sources of business information. Please note: a company is not necessarily "bad" because it has complaints registered with such sources; sometimes the complaints are not justified. You may also want to check with the Arizona Department of Public Safety Licensing Unit to determine if the PI (or agency) is properly licensed. In Arizona, any advertisement for a PI agency (or PI) must also contain their license number.
Once a PI is selected, talk to the investigator and discuss the case with them, including what you want to know, what your expectations are, and how much you can afford. The PI should readily provide options and inform you if your goals and finances are realistic for the case. If the PI cannot provide this information, you may want to look elsewhere.
Once you are in agreement with a PI, a written contract may be drawn up that specifically states what will be done: deadlines, fees, frequency of reports, estimated costs, etc, so that no significant issues are left unknown. While a written contract is not required by law, the lack of such an instrument can prove detrimental for both the PI and the client if problems later arise.
Once the PI has completed the agreed upon work, the client is often required to pay the PI a retainer (or payment as otherwise agreed upon) before the PI is required to provide a case report to the client. The case report may be written or verbal.
The following are common issues between PI's and their clients and are provided for the benefit of both parties. This does not constitute legal advice nor does it interpret law or administrative rules:
1. While most private investigators are competent and manage their affairs in a professional manner, the Arizona Department of Public Safety (AZ DPS) Licensing Unit has received complaints related to misunderstandings about services provided and fees. Many times, consumers believe that their retainer will cover all of the costs for their case. This simply may not be true. You should be aware that a retainer is normally required before a PI will do any work on your case and that payment of a retainer in no way means there will not be further billing for services (unless it is specified in a contract). Initial billing is normally deducted from the retainer, and once that runs out, the client is normally notified. Anyone seeking the services of a PI should consider obtaining a written contract that details what the consumer wants, what the fees will be, time limits, and what the PI can actually perform. If you are hiring a PI to perform work for you and there is a deadline for that work to be completed, ensure that the date is written into a contract. If you are comfortable with the PI, verbal contracts are permitted and common, however, keep in mind that you may have difficulties if problems later occur and there is no written agreement. Either way, it should be your choice, and the PI you are hiring should accomodate you and honor your wishes in regard to a contract. If not, you may want to look elsewhere.
2. Oftentimes, PI's will bill consumers for phone calls, making copies, office consultations and in particular, "stand-by" time. Stand-by time usually occurs when you are directing a PI to wait on your behalf for an event to occur, such as the subject of an investigation to go somewhere. A PI at their office or home on "stand-by" may legally bill you for this time; make sure you and the PI understand what is expected.
3. Generally, every person performing PI services in Arizona must be licensed by the AZ DPS Licensing Unit. PI's are provided an ID card that shows who they are and when their license expires. You may reasonably ask to see their PI ID Card and record the license number and expiration date. Additionally, PI agencies are provided a Private Investigation Business License that must be clearly displayed at their place of business. Report anyone claiming to be a PI who cannot (or will not) produce such licenses or ID to the AZ DPS Licensing Unit at (602) 223-2361.
4. As stated previously, many PI's are competent professionals, however, some are simply inexperienced or unqualified to perform certain services such as lie detection, electronic debugging, and other highly technical and sophisticated specialties. You should speak candidly with the PI (or agency representative) who will be performing such services and establish what the PI's qualifications and experience are. Normally, persons trained in such specialties can provide specific knowledge or evidence from schools, seminars, prior law enforcement and/or military experience, etc. that will demonstrate what their qualifications and experience are. Bottom line: if you are not comfortable with the PI, you may want to find someone else.
5. PI's should provide you with a case report (written or verbal) at the completion of services and once final payment has been made (or some other option that has been agreed upon in a contract.) In some cases, you and the PI may have agreed that your case will be performed in sections and that each section will require payment at its completion. Other variations may be established as well. Regardless, it is in your best interest to know exactly what the terms are before you sign a contract or enter into a verbal agreement. The final report should normally provide a detailed picture of what was done, when it was done, how much time was expended on your case, the results of the investigation, and the cost of each component of the investigation, such as: time expended on surveillance, phone calls, stand-by time, extra investigators, special equipment, etc. If agreed upon by the client and the PI, a basic verbal report is also appropriate.
6. Persons hiring a PI must be aware that cases will not always turn out the way they expect or hope. Surveillance work, criminal background research, and divorce related searches are all classic examples of potentially expensive PI work that may prove fruitless for the client, however, PI's will still legally bill you for their time and efforts and you are obligated to pay them. Inability to obtain desirable or favorable results for a client does not legally justify not paying or disciplining a PI. For example, the Licensing Unit cannot discipline a PI for his/her inability to locate the person he/she was hired to find.
7. You may reasonably ask for evidence of work performed by a PI. This evidence could include photographs or videotape of a certain location or event, an audio recording, copies of documents, receipts, etc, to name a few. For example, let's assume you want to know if a certain car is parked at a hotel in a city 100 miles away. The PI travels to the hotel, locates the car and photographs or videotapes the car while parked at the hotel. This would constitute reasonable evidence that the PI performed the work. As another example, you may want a PI to watch a house to determine if any cars pull into the driveway and then videotape the cars and occupants. But what happens if the PI is watching the house and no cars arrive so the PI doesn't record any video? There is nothing wrong with this if the client is comfortable with it, however, many PI's will use a video or digital camera to record short (5-20 second) time and date stamped videos (or photos) of the location and offer them to the client as evidence they performed the work. You should be wary of PI's that refuse to show evidence of work performed or at least explain what they have done. Bottom line: Get this requirement in writing if it is important to you.
8. Generally, it is illegal under federal law (The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act [GLBA] also known as The Financial Services Modernization Act of 1999) for a person (or PI) to obtain account information from financial institutions (such as banks) unless the account owner gives their consent. Oftentimes in the past, the person (or PI) would perform an act called "pretexting" and fraudulently obtain personal information on the subject of an investigation by pretending to be the account holder. This tactic is now used for identity theft, and is illegal when performed in conjunction with obtaining confidential and protected personal information. Pretexting to obtain personal information used to be common in divorce cases and law suits, but since this tactic is now considered criminal and unethical, an honest PI should not engage in such procedures, nor should he/she be advertising to perform such services. However, keep in mind that some information about you or the subject of an investigation may be a matter of public record, such as whether you own a home, pay your real estate taxes, or have ever filed for bankruptcy. It is not illegal for a PI to collect this kind of information.
9. Generally, it is illegal under federal law (The Telephone Records and Privacy Protection Act [TRPPA] of 2006) for a person (or PI) to obtain personal phone records from a telephone company or internet phone provider service without the consent of the account holder. The means of obtaining such information are similar to those used in obtaining account information from financial institutions.
10. Generally, it is illegal under federal law (The Fair Credit Reporting Act [FCRA] as amended May 22, 2009) for a person (or PI) to obtain credit reports without the consent of the credit holder or some other legitimate purpose. As previously stated, the means of obtaining such information oftentimes are similar to those used in obtaining account information from financial institutions.
If you are considering hiring a private investigator and have never done so, you may be making decisions while highly emotional. Regardless, you should give such a decision careful thought and thoroughly consider the circumstances before hiring an investigator. Prior to contacting a PI, you should specifically identify what it is you want to know, what your expectations are, and how much money you can afford to spend. Additionally, you may want to first check on the PI (or agency) using a consumer assistance group such as the Better Business Bureau, researching reports on the internet, or examining other sources of business information. Please note: a company is not necessarily "bad" because it has complaints registered with such sources; sometimes the complaints are not justified. You may also want to check with the Arizona Department of Public Safety Licensing Unit to determine if the PI (or agency) is properly licensed. In Arizona, any advertisement for a PI agency (or PI) must also contain their license number.
Once a PI is selected, talk to the investigator and discuss the case with them, including what you want to know, what your expectations are, and how much you can afford. The PI should readily provide options and inform you if your goals and finances are realistic for the case. If the PI cannot provide this information, you may want to look elsewhere.
Once you are in agreement with a PI, a written contract may be drawn up that specifically states what will be done: deadlines, fees, frequency of reports, estimated costs, etc, so that no significant issues are left unknown. While a written contract is not required by law, the lack of such an instrument can prove detrimental for both the PI and the client if problems later arise.
Once the PI has completed the agreed upon work, the client is often required to pay the PI a retainer (or payment as otherwise agreed upon) before the PI is required to provide a case report to the client. The case report may be written or verbal.
The following are common issues between PI's and their clients and are provided for the benefit of both parties. This does not constitute legal advice nor does it interpret law or administrative rules:
1. While most private investigators are competent and manage their affairs in a professional manner, the Arizona Department of Public Safety (AZ DPS) Licensing Unit has received complaints related to misunderstandings about services provided and fees. Many times, consumers believe that their retainer will cover all of the costs for their case. This simply may not be true. You should be aware that a retainer is normally required before a PI will do any work on your case and that payment of a retainer in no way means there will not be further billing for services (unless it is specified in a contract). Initial billing is normally deducted from the retainer, and once that runs out, the client is normally notified. Anyone seeking the services of a PI should consider obtaining a written contract that details what the consumer wants, what the fees will be, time limits, and what the PI can actually perform. If you are hiring a PI to perform work for you and there is a deadline for that work to be completed, ensure that the date is written into a contract. If you are comfortable with the PI, verbal contracts are permitted and common, however, keep in mind that you may have difficulties if problems later occur and there is no written agreement. Either way, it should be your choice, and the PI you are hiring should accomodate you and honor your wishes in regard to a contract. If not, you may want to look elsewhere.
2. Oftentimes, PI's will bill consumers for phone calls, making copies, office consultations and in particular, "stand-by" time. Stand-by time usually occurs when you are directing a PI to wait on your behalf for an event to occur, such as the subject of an investigation to go somewhere. A PI at their office or home on "stand-by" may legally bill you for this time; make sure you and the PI understand what is expected.
3. Generally, every person performing PI services in Arizona must be licensed by the AZ DPS Licensing Unit. PI's are provided an ID card that shows who they are and when their license expires. You may reasonably ask to see their PI ID Card and record the license number and expiration date. Additionally, PI agencies are provided a Private Investigation Business License that must be clearly displayed at their place of business. Report anyone claiming to be a PI who cannot (or will not) produce such licenses or ID to the AZ DPS Licensing Unit at (602) 223-2361.
4. As stated previously, many PI's are competent professionals, however, some are simply inexperienced or unqualified to perform certain services such as lie detection, electronic debugging, and other highly technical and sophisticated specialties. You should speak candidly with the PI (or agency representative) who will be performing such services and establish what the PI's qualifications and experience are. Normally, persons trained in such specialties can provide specific knowledge or evidence from schools, seminars, prior law enforcement and/or military experience, etc. that will demonstrate what their qualifications and experience are. Bottom line: if you are not comfortable with the PI, you may want to find someone else.
5. PI's should provide you with a case report (written or verbal) at the completion of services and once final payment has been made (or some other option that has been agreed upon in a contract.) In some cases, you and the PI may have agreed that your case will be performed in sections and that each section will require payment at its completion. Other variations may be established as well. Regardless, it is in your best interest to know exactly what the terms are before you sign a contract or enter into a verbal agreement. The final report should normally provide a detailed picture of what was done, when it was done, how much time was expended on your case, the results of the investigation, and the cost of each component of the investigation, such as: time expended on surveillance, phone calls, stand-by time, extra investigators, special equipment, etc. If agreed upon by the client and the PI, a basic verbal report is also appropriate.
6. Persons hiring a PI must be aware that cases will not always turn out the way they expect or hope. Surveillance work, criminal background research, and divorce related searches are all classic examples of potentially expensive PI work that may prove fruitless for the client, however, PI's will still legally bill you for their time and efforts and you are obligated to pay them. Inability to obtain desirable or favorable results for a client does not legally justify not paying or disciplining a PI. For example, the Licensing Unit cannot discipline a PI for his/her inability to locate the person he/she was hired to find.
7. You may reasonably ask for evidence of work performed by a PI. This evidence could include photographs or videotape of a certain location or event, an audio recording, copies of documents, receipts, etc, to name a few. For example, let's assume you want to know if a certain car is parked at a hotel in a city 100 miles away. The PI travels to the hotel, locates the car and photographs or videotapes the car while parked at the hotel. This would constitute reasonable evidence that the PI performed the work. As another example, you may want a PI to watch a house to determine if any cars pull into the driveway and then videotape the cars and occupants. But what happens if the PI is watching the house and no cars arrive so the PI doesn't record any video? There is nothing wrong with this if the client is comfortable with it, however, many PI's will use a video or digital camera to record short (5-20 second) time and date stamped videos (or photos) of the location and offer them to the client as evidence they performed the work. You should be wary of PI's that refuse to show evidence of work performed or at least explain what they have done. Bottom line: Get this requirement in writing if it is important to you.
8. Generally, it is illegal under federal law (The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act [GLBA] also known as The Financial Services Modernization Act of 1999) for a person (or PI) to obtain account information from financial institutions (such as banks) unless the account owner gives their consent. Oftentimes in the past, the person (or PI) would perform an act called "pretexting" and fraudulently obtain personal information on the subject of an investigation by pretending to be the account holder. This tactic is now used for identity theft, and is illegal when performed in conjunction with obtaining confidential and protected personal information. Pretexting to obtain personal information used to be common in divorce cases and law suits, but since this tactic is now considered criminal and unethical, an honest PI should not engage in such procedures, nor should he/she be advertising to perform such services. However, keep in mind that some information about you or the subject of an investigation may be a matter of public record, such as whether you own a home, pay your real estate taxes, or have ever filed for bankruptcy. It is not illegal for a PI to collect this kind of information.
9. Generally, it is illegal under federal law (The Telephone Records and Privacy Protection Act [TRPPA] of 2006) for a person (or PI) to obtain personal phone records from a telephone company or internet phone provider service without the consent of the account holder. The means of obtaining such information are similar to those used in obtaining account information from financial institutions.
10. Generally, it is illegal under federal law (The Fair Credit Reporting Act [FCRA] as amended May 22, 2009) for a person (or PI) to obtain credit reports without the consent of the credit holder or some other legitimate purpose. As previously stated, the means of obtaining such information oftentimes are similar to those used in obtaining account information from financial institutions.
Complaints
If you have a complaint against a Private Investigator or Private Investigative Agency in Arizona, you should first try to resolve it directly by contacting a supervisor of the agency. If for some reason you are unable to resolve the problem, you may wish to contact senior management or the agencies consumer affairs representative for further assistance. Dealing directly with the agency is usually the fastest, simplest and most effective approach. Most agencies value their customers and will usually be responsive to their concerns. If you are unable to resolve your complaint directly with the PI agency, you may file a complaint with the Arizona Department of Public Safety Licensing Bureau, which is responsible for ensuring that the agencies we regulate comply with applicable state laws. (See address, phone and website information below.) If an investigation of your complaint finds a violation of law or rule, you will be informed of the violation and the corrective action to be taken. However, the AZ DPS does not have authority to resolve contractual disputes or undocumented factual disputes between a customer and an agency. They also do not have the authority to resolve disagreements pertaining to the agencies policies and procedures that are a matter of management discretion and not addressed by specific laws. In such cases, if the agency does not make a voluntary adjustment, AZ DPS will usually advise you to consider obtaining legal counsel regarding your rights to resolve the situation. While the AZ DPS Licensing Bureau endeavors to intercede on behalf of complainants, the transactions at issue are not always within their authority as regulators. The Department's regulatory authority is limited to the laws passed in the legislature that relate to security guards and private investigators.
AZDPS Licensing Unit
PO Box 6328 MD 1160
Phoenix, AZ 85005
Phone: (602) 223-2361
Fax: (602) 223-2938
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