Lately, I have noticed that I have become a mentor to several young Private Investigators. The hardest part of this role is conveying that being a good Investigator entails more than secret sources and interrogation techniques.
Where do Private Investigators Come From?
Many people become Private Investigators without a college education, experience, or a clear plan for their new career. They don’t get any meaningful training from their employers. Often, the employer just wants a warm body to do the work and views them as disposable if they don’t measure-up to some arbitrary standard.
At best, the Private Investigator took a Law Enforcement Administration course or Investigation course at a Canadian community college. These new Investigators usually have unrealistic expectations of remuneration and working conditions. At worst, the new Investigator couldn’t cut it as a pizza delivery driver.
The problem most entry level Investigators face is gaining an understanding of the skills and knowledge that they must progressively acquire to have a profitable career. Few employers or colleges provide this information to illustrate what a progressive career would look like. Fewer still, provide training and career guidance.
I recently spoke to a college instructor of investigation related courses who dismissed this lack of career guidance, saying that it was the employee’s own fault for not understanding the industry and that the employer just had to take what was on offer in the labour market for Investigators. Of course, he had never been a Private Investigator or agency owner. Nevertheless, the callousness and sheer stupidity of his remarks forced me to revisit the topic of training the new Private Investigator.
Now that I have climbed onto this soapbox, a series of articles on this topic will follow. The next article will outline what the community college programs don’t teach. Then I will move on to how to learn to be a Professional Private Investigator in Canada.
