A civil investigation discovers and assembles evidence needed for a civil trial.
Civil investigations focus on the gathering of evidence for legal cases and trials, and typically include domestic surveillance and investigating workers compensation, asset searches, missing persons, and more, usually in preparation for a civil trial. A civil trial is a type of court case involving two individual citizens who disagree on an issue that relates to their rights as citizens. Civil investigators are responsible for gathering the evidence essential to civil trials.
Civil cases are private disputes where individuals or organizations bring forward complaints that another person/entity failed to uphold their legal duty. The accusatory party typically requests completion of the duty and compensation for any harm done. Private investigators are often hired by one or both parties, and seek to gather evidence in a legal manner.
Criminal cases are situations in which a person is charged formally by a government. It isn’t the victim’s responsibility to bring forth a criminal case - sometimes there is no victim. Criminal cases often result in is a sentence that could include a monetary penalty, imprisonment, or supervision in the community. Investigation methods are usually determined by the government in criminal cases.
The most common types of civil investigations are:
- Personal injury investigations look into how an injury occurred in order to determine potential compensation
- Workers' compensation investigations seek to uncover and prevent insurance fraud
- Missing person investigations seek to uncover information about people who are missing
- Child custody and abuse investigations seek to reveals the potential negligence and mistreatment of children
- Marital investigations attempt to uncover information about domestic abuse, a cheating spouse, and more
Civil investigations usually begin with macro analysis. A private investigator will meet with the party initiating the investigation to discuss the goals and budget of the investigation. The investigator will then conduct their investigation utilizing a variety of investigative techniques to gather relevant evidence. Depending on the individual investigation, they may use surveillance, background checks, forensic investigation, asset searches, witness examination, and other methods. The investigator will then discuss their findings with the client and, if needed, create an official report or act as an expert witness.
Civil investigators are often interested in finding:
- Financial documents
- Computer and cell phone activity
- GPS location data
- Statements from friends, family, neighbors, and colleagues
- Business and public records
- Physical evidence