Do Retired Law Enforcement Personnel Make Better Private Investigators? You Might Be Surprised At The Answer…

There is a common belief among the general public that because someone is a retired police officer, a retired sheriff’s officer or a former FBI agent that they will immediately be a great licensed private investigator. Because most people perceive this to be true, it is a very good marketing tool used by many retired law enforcement personnel who decide to hang up their shingle as a private investigator upon retirement. However, it is a myth and while some former law enforcement personnel do become very good private investigators, it has very little to do with their law enforcement experience.


What the general public does not realize is that many of the resources available to law enforcement personnel are no longer available to them upon retirement. They have to abide by and follow the same laws, regulations, rules and guidelines that licensed private investigators must abide by and follow. They do not have any special privileges and can NOT do any more than any other licensed private investigator can do. Because they can NOT obtain information that is only available to law enforcement personnel or use law enforcement institutions for information gathering, information sources that they have always had at their fingertips are suddenly no longer accessible to them. On the other hand, an experienced private investigator, unable to rely on the same sources that are available to law enforcement, has had years to hone his skills in such a way that he is able to find the information he needs and legally obtain evidence to assist his clients. Advantage here definitely goes to the experienced licensed private investigator.

Law enforcement personnel are able to rely on their uniform, their badge and their authority, to help them obtain information from individuals. Not so after retirement. Because they now have to approach people in a manner they are unfamiliar with, they need to learn “people skills” that they didn’t need before in order to get people to talk to them. Whereas an experienced private investigator that has always had to rely on his “people skills” to get people to talk to him, has likely perfected the art of it. Advantage – experienced licensed private investigator.

Consider conducting a mobile surveillance and obtaining video documentation of the subject’s activity without the subject knowing about it. With all the uncontrollable variables involved, it is challenging to say the least. There is an art to mobile surveillance and only through consistent experience does one become really good at it. Experienced private investigators routinely conduct mobile surveillance and are used to having to blend in with their environment. On the other hand, many law enforcement personnel did not routinely conduct mobile surveillances during their career; following people usually consisted of chasing them down the road while in their marked police cruiser with their lights on and their siren going! Advantage here – the experienced licensed private investigator.

So while there are licensed private investigators with a law enforcement background that are good private investigators, a law enforcement background is NOT a prerequisite to being a great one.

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