Private Investigators, just as law enforcement, investigate a murder by looking at several key factors. First we look for "MOTIVE", we look for people who would benefit by the death of the victim, we look for reasons why someone would committed the crime. We look for people or reasons that may not be so obvious. After we have compiled a list of suspects with a motive we look to see if the suspects had the "MEANS" to commit the crime, for example did the suspect have the strength to do the deed, did they have access to the crime scene, did they have access to the murder weapon and so on. Finally we look to see if the suspects had the "OPPORTUNITY" to commit the crime, i.e., did the suspect have the time to commit the crime, does the suspect's alibi stand up to scrutiny, where was the suspect during the crime, etc. we will trace the victims steps as well as the suspect's. If we develop MOTIVE, MEANS and OPPORTUNITY then we have viable suspects. Now we get to the bones of the investigation. First we will check past histories, criminal and mental, method of operations, character, etc., we also look to see if the forensic evidence fits the suspects, some of the evidence may eliminate some suspects or strengthen others. When the Investigators have narrowed the suspect list they move to the next step... "PROOF", now we have to prove the suspect or suspects committed the crime. We look intensely at all available forensic evidence i.e., fibers, hair, fluids, etc. as well as documentary evidence i.e., paper trails, receipts, letters, bank statements, etc. We study the crime scene, we look for even the smallest piece of evidence for it may be the key to the crime. We follow all the circumstantial evidence. We will do all this and we will redo it if necessary until we have one suspect with the proof we need to convict. TOP
 

  ROBBERY is sometimes a Private Investigators most difficult case because so many of these robberies are random, (the perpetrator does not know the victim) the victim is picked by chance. There may be no motive except for the aquisition of property or money. This eliminates the possibility of making a suspect list from the people at hand, however there is an alternative way to handle the case. Going through case files looking for similar "MO's" (METHOD of OPERATION). You see the way someone commits a crime often remains the same, it becomes like a fingerprint of METHOD. By examining old case files or incident reports from the area you may begin to see a pattern emerge. Sometimes the perpetrator has been caught and identified before and has now started committing robberies again and many times will go about it the same way they did before, hence the "fingerprint" or "MO". This is an effective way of starting a suspect list from known offenders. There is also the possibility that the perpetrator has not been caught before but works the same area again and again. A profile can be put together by examining the incident reports from that area. A pattern is looked for by which you may be able to second guess the perp and be there when he commits his next crime. Sometimes the things the perp steals will tell the story i.e., does he have to sell the items to see his reward and where would he sell them. Robbery often becomes a puzzle that you have to piece together to catch the perp. Finding the pieces of the puzzle is a by the book investigation, if you know where to look you are half way there. Once you find the guilty party you must then connect the suspect to the items stolen to prove your case. If it is money that was stolen you will want to catch the suspect stealing again or if your lucky you may be able to connect the suspect to the money through various means i.e., serial numbers, exact amounts and times, some thieves like to brag and people hear. There are other ways of connecting the suspect to the crime, each case being different.TOP