Private Investigator Jon Hargrove

Today we’re lucky enough to have Jon Hargrove as a guest blogger. He’s a licensed Private Investigator in the State of California and in addition to being a kick butt P.I., Jon has also written numerous mystery/adventure books. You can check out his latest book, Ararat, about the search for Noah’s Ark, here, and he’s currently shopping a football themed mystery series. And all of his books feature characters who are – what else? – private investigators.
Jon’s agreed to answer some question throughout the day, so feel free to ask away. (Warning: He’s a bit of a flirt, ladies, so watch out!)

Gemma: Thanks for coming to chat with us on Killer Fiction, Jon. Can you tell us a little about how you became a private investigator?

Jon: In the state of California you can apply for a private investigator's license if you meet one of the following criteria: 1) Three years of military police experience 2) Three years of civilian police experience 3) Three years apprenticing with a licensed private investigator 4) A four year degree in criminal justice (plus two years apprenticing with a P.I.) 5) Three years claims investigation experience. I came into private investigations (California license no.: 24885) under the fifth category: I had over nine years of auto claims experience.

G: What are some of the main difference in what a private investigator can do versus a police detective?

J: Good question. One of the reasons so many private eyes are ex-cops is because a lot of the work is similar. In fact, all investigative work is the same, be it police investigations, private investigations or claims investigations. The goal in any investigation is to gather enough evidence to make a strong enough case to stand up in any court of law. Private detectives ask the same questions police detectives ask. But remember, the same people who are nervous around a police investigator might be more talkative around a private eye. To answer your question, the police have more resources than a private dick: more access to records and criminal records and access even to FBI networks. However, police detectives have less time and are often overworked (okay always overworked). Which is why you will often hear about a private investigator being hired to look into cases concurrent with the police. Why? Private investigators can devote much more time to individual cases. Hey, remember the Wendy's chili/finger incident? Wendy's ultimately hired a slew of private eyes to get to the bottom of that mystery, and it was a P.I. who broke that case.

G: Cool, I didn’t know that! Okay, as a writer yourself I have to ask - are there any common mistakes you've seen writers make when depicting P.I.'s in their books?

J: Oh yeah. Most books have P.I.'s working out of their cars. I actually fell into that same trap with my first novel. It's just not very sexy having your P.I. driving around in a clunky nondescript van. And, as you may or may not know, I'm all about sexy. Moving on...in modern private eye novels the police often give the private investigator way more respect than they get in real life. In real life, we are a serious nuisance to cops. We get in their way, question everything they do and often make them look bad when we find something they overlooked. Oh, and the reality of the private eye business is that the majority of our work is done through the internet, with only a handful of field jobs a week. The fun cases are few and far between. And often the field work consists of following cheating spouses.

G: I'm sure you've seen a lot of strange stuff working as P.I. in Los Angeles. Care to share any stories with us?

J: Every now and then something interesting does cross your desk. Last year I was hired to investigate a string of thefts at a furniture warehouse in L.A. The trouble was, nearly every worker seemed to be involved in the theft ring. In the end, I was unable to provide a satisfactory report to help the owners. Last I heard, they shut everything down and moved to another state. Probably a good idea. Recently, a woman thought her phone calls were being bugged by her boyfriend. She was right, I found the phone tapping equipment outside. I was once following a cheating wife (yes, wifes cheat too!), and she tagged me. I hate when that happens. She pulled off the freeway and into a parking lot where she was waiting for me. As I pulled in, looking for her, she came running from around a corner spitting furious, demanding to know if her husband had hired. PI's never, ever admit to being hired by a spouse if we are caught following. So I told her I had no idea what she was talking about and I got the hell out of there. I called the husband that night and ended the assignment. A tagged P.I. is not a good thing.

Final P.I. facts: the only three things that a private investigator can do that a private citizen can't are these: 1) Access proprietary personal databases 2) Photograph someone without their permission 3) Follow someone without their permission. Yes, P.I.'s can legally stalk!

Nice talking with you. Hope this helps!