Private investigation has grown considerably in recent decades, taking cues and drawing from disciplines such as molecular biology, forensic science, and behavioral science. There are more tools that private investigators can use when dealing with their subjects, and these tools can make investigation easier, not to mention faster.

Surveillance systems used to be bulky, and private investigators often needed large vans to hold their machines together. Today, some private investors will use large vans, but others can rely on microchip-sized spying equipment. With the advent of Internet technology, private investigators will not even need a bug – they can use the Internet to gather phone records, and to go through archives of chats, message board posts, and even forum posts in order to find out more about their clients. Because messaging and information dissemination are so much faster and less reliant on old machines, private investigators can have an easier time tracking their subjects down.

Moreover, because of networking technology, private investigators can see PC’s from afar: when their subjects turn on their computers, private investigators can spy and know what the subjects are doing, what they are accessing online, and what files they are downloading. Such technology can be useful for tracking the activities of cheating spouses, or for cracking down on pornography rings, which start online. However, private investigators have to always be one step ahead of their subjects, as evolving technology also enables people to find ways to cover their tracks skillfully.

But what happens when you cannot track what a person is doing? Thankfully, we always leave something behind, and this time, private investigators can make use of DNA technology in order to identify cells that their subjects might leave behind at a certain location – this can point to a person being in that location, and, coupled with circumstantial plus eyewitness evidence, can be useful in the courts of law. DNA identification can be carried out on skin cells, hair (through the hair follicles), semen (especially in rape cases), and even sputum, which carries buccal, or inner cheek cells.

Private investigators can use these new techniques in order to track down people, get a clearer view of their subjects’ habits, and, in general, support law enforcement officers in bringing people to justice. As the Internet becomes all the more pervasive, and as more and more people find ways to elude the force of the law, private investigators will need to have better tools of their trade in order to do their job and keep up with the changing times.

image credits to Travis Gray

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