Private Investigator Training - Private Detective Course

Learn the skills you need to become a Private Investigator at home, at your own pace with Penn Foster. As a Private Investigator, you’ll have an exciting and challenging career. Private Investigators conduct investigations involving missing persons, corporate intelligence, or other fascinating areas. Enjoy the special satisfaction that comes with working as a Private Investigator on an important case. Train quickly and conveniently! You will learn about:

• Investigation and reporting techniques
• Sources of information and background investigations
• Surveillance equipment and techniques
• Ethics and professional responsibility for private investigators

And you’ll learn it all at home with no classroom needed! You’ll get valuable information about the private investigator’s role in civil and criminal litigation, corporate intelligence gathering and espionage, and professional development and employment. It’s like having your own personal Private Investigator school.

Start a rewarding career in the growing field of Private Investigation. Why take a Private Investigator training program? With the right credentials, you can:

• Work for a private investigation or security agency, corporate legal department, or government agency.
• Work in insurance fraud investigation, retail security, or corporate security.
• Conduct investigations, prepare reports, and testify in court.

Demand for Private Investigators will rise 25% by 2012.* Private Investigators enjoy exciting, varied assignments, respect and prestige, and the confidence that comes with doing important work and doing it well. We’ll send you FREE information – with absolutely no obligation! Find out more about Penn Foster's Private Investigator training that includes:

• All the books, lessons, equipment, and learning aids you need.
• Employment information and work experience option.
• Toll-Free instructional support.
• Access to student services by website, phone, and mail.

*Growth figures represent a ten-year period ending 2012. Source: ”National Industry-Occupation Employment Matrix,” a publication of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Would you enjoy the adventure of going after lawbreakers or missing persons? Do you want to work on the front lines of criminal justice? If so, Ashworth University’s fascinating home study course will teach you what you need to succeed.

Key topics include:

• The history of investigation and what private investigators do
• The different types of investigations
• How to interview and interrogate including interviewing children and tactics to obtain a confession.
• The use of surveillance and undercover investigations.
• Firearms use and safety – Owning, handling and maintaining guns safely including tactical handgun operation and carrying a concealed handgun.

Distance education lets you study in the comfort of home at your own pace. Frequent course updates assure you’ll learn the latest skills and techniques. Ashworth University courses are very affordable; monthly tuition is interest-free. Ashworth University is an accredited member of the Distance Education and Training Council. The Accrediting Commission of the Distance Education and Training Council is listed by the U.S. Department of Education as a nationally recognized accrediting agency for distance learning schools.

Duties of a P.I.

Private investigators use many methods to determine the facts in a variety of matters. To carry out investigations, they may use various types of surveillance or searches. To verify facts, such as an individual’s place of employment or income, they may make phone calls or visit a subject’s workplace. In other cases, especially those involving missing persons and background checks, investigators often interview people to gather as much information as possible about an individual. In all cases, private detectives and investigators assist attorneys, businesses, and the public with legal, financial, and personal problems.

Private investigators offer many services, including executive, corporate, and celebrity protection; pre-employment verification; and individual background profiles. They investigate computer crimes, such as identity theft, harassing e-mails, and illegal downloading of copyrighted material. They also provide assistance in civil liability and personal injury cases, insurance claims and fraud, child custody and protection cases, missing persons cases, and premarital screening. They are sometimes hired to investigate individuals to prove or disprove infidelity.

Detectives also may perform computer database searches or work with someone who does. Computers allow investigators to quickly obtain massive amounts of information on individuals’ prior arrests, convictions, and civil legal judgments; telephone numbers; motor vehicle registrations; association and club memberships; and other matters.

The duties of private detectives and investigators depend on the needs of their clients. In cases for employers that involve fraudulent workers’ compensation claims, for example, investigators may carry out long-term covert observation of subjects. If an investigator observes a subject performing an activity that contradicts injuries stated in a worker’s compensation claim, the investigator would take video or still photographs to document the activity and report it to the client.

Private detectives and investigators often specialize. Those who focus on intellectual property theft, for example, investigate and document acts of piracy, help clients stop illegal activity, and provide intelligence for prosecution and civil action. Other investigators specialize in developing financial profiles and asset searches. Their reports reflect information gathered through interviews, investigation and surveillance, and research, including review of public documents.

Enter the exciting field of a private investigator. Online course training is available from any of the schools listed above.

Some investigators receive certification from a professional organization to demonstrate competency in a field. For example, the National Association of Legal Investigators (NALI) confers the Certified Legal Investigator designation to licensed investigators who devote a majority of their practice to negligence or criminal defense investigations. To receive the designation, applicants must satisfy experience, educational, and continuing-training requirements and must pass written and oral exams administered by the NALI.