Private investigators are governed by a licensing board that forbids them from giving the information that they gather to anybody but the client it was intended for. Fortunately, this means that there’s no need to worry about a private investigator’s information getting into the wrong hands. According to API Professional Investigations‘ Paul Wood, a fully licensed and insured private detective in Boston, MA, it would go against a private investigator’s code of ethics to divulge sensitive information to third parties in any situation.
Of course, this can change somewhat when a private detective is working together with local police and federal investigators on criminal matters. Situations like this are actually common, says Wood, when clients want answers as to what happened to a loved one or spouse following a murder or unexplained death. Even when police and other officials are investigating the situation, Wood says, it still gives family members comfort to know that they have a detective working on their behalf to find answers as well.
Depending on the circumstances of the criminal investigation, a private detective in Boston may share the information he gathers with police and other local officials investigating the circumstances. This is most likely in cases where Wood is helping out with a murder investigation or following up on an unexplained death. In cases like this, he may need to get in touch with law enforcement officers who are also working on the case. Thus, Wood and the officials may need to work together and pool their information somewhat to get to the bottom of what happened.
Once enough information is gathered and Wood has all the facts necessary to solve the mystery at hand, he will get in touch with his client and schedule a meeting. Depending on what the client wants or needs, he may put together a formal report documenting all of the evidence in the case. In situations where there is video evidence documenting a particular deal, Wood says that he will make a copy of the video and give it to the client during this final meeting.
If a client needs a formal report for court or a copy of an incriminating video to show his or her lawyer, then according to Wood, that is never a problem. The need for formal reports comes up most often in child support or child custody cases, where one parent needs to show the court some type of evidence of abuse or neglect to support a change in custody agreements.
What is most important, says Wood, is that clients in Boston trust the private detectives they hire for their jobs. Clients need to know that a private detective will not divulge sensitive information to anyone other than the hiring party, given that doing so would violate Massachusetts licensing laws. At API Professional Investigations, Wood prides himself on being able to get his clients whatever information they need while upholding the code of ethics inherent in his profession.