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First read this:

https://www.amazon.com/How-Write-Dick-Fictional-ebook/dp/B00595K1UK

I'd also consider watching the TV series, Nowhere to Hide - Steve Rambam is as real as it gets.

>About that creepy database company - what kinds of things can you look up? And what category of information do you find yourself searching most frequently?

The creepiest database company - that's Facebook, or Twitter, or Foursquare, or Instagram. The one you voluntarily use to broadcast everything about your life, many times publicly.

The databases that PI's use are painful to gain access to. All of them require proof of licensing, and a due diligence investigation. The best require someone to come physically inspect your premises to make sure that you have proper controls in place. Even then, your use of the databases is audited, and misuse will get you cut off in a heartbeat.

If you're really serious, consider authorizing a private investigator to pull your own records from some of the databases and reviewing them with you. You'll obviously have to sign a consent form, and prove your identity, but it should dispel a lot of the myths that people have; it's really not as invasive as you probably think. Social media really is far more telling 90% of the time.

>Bonus question: Do you ever use their service on a mobile phone?

Some databases support this. I have used them on occasion from my phone - but it is a lot of hoops to jump through (2FA, which sometimes isn't the device you want to access on, etc)

>What are some of the most important laws (I'm more interested in US but EU can give me ideas, too) that I should know? When can a private detective do something that would usually be illegal for them or for citizens (for example, getting some kind of permit to investigate, etc). What things can a private detective *never* do?

From a data standpoint, GLBA, DPPA, ECPA are the biggest pieces of federal legislation.

Really all a private investigator license gives you is that you are effectively a 'known good guy' who has gone through some checking, and thus might be given access to things like license plate lookups. The exception to this is that many states have exemptions for PIs from being charged with stalking or harassment.

>On that note, surely lots of detectives in movies do painfully illegal things that they can't do, what do you see the most? I'm looking for the Dos and Don'ts (the more, the better, big big thank yous for these)

The rule that I and all of my employees follow is we don't do anything that puts us in prison, or damages our ethical standing.

>What's it like to bring a fingerprint sample to a lab? Do you give the sample to a receptionist? Does the receptionist pair you up with some other employee? Do they take an envelope containing the sample or do you give them the film straight from the kit?

Almost certainly never happen. Even with a criminal defense investigator. For those occurrences when we do handle evidence, we have to think about the chain of custody - and that's a decent subject to read up on.

>What kinds of evidence is mandatory to report to the police. For that matter, when do you find yourselves working with cops? Are they friendly with you/do they come to you at all?

Missing kids, missing elderly cases and collaborate with LE occasionally. Occasionally you'll come across child porn working on mobile or computer forensics and that's an automatic report. The reality is that you almost NEVER work with law enforcement. Most of the work that private investigators do (99.99% of the time) is civil in nature, or on the defense side of a criminal investigation.

During inadvertent contact, most of the time they are completely professional, in fact many see that as a career path post-retirement. Very rarely will you have a bad interaction with them.

>How often do you get cases and how many do you juggle at a time?

It depends. Sometimes we'll have multiple cases come in each week. But it also depends on the type of cases you work - and there's a ton of variation in that type of work.

Sometimes we'll be juggling as many as a dozen cases(I have a small office, myself plus another investigator and a dedicated process server.)

>What's some criminal justice knowledge that you learned in school that you think is super important in detective work? Sadly I cannot afford to take the courses myself, hahaha.

I have no idea; while I have a LE background, I was a public accounting major in college not criminal justice.

>Case management software! What is your preferred choice of software? What other softwares do you use in addition to this?

I use Crosstrax, but it's a tool. We use a ton of software, but the most important is the word processor, because invariably our work product always takes the form of a written report. If you're looking for flashy software: Maltego, iAnalyst notebook, are some fun analytical tools.

>Are there requirements to becoming an *assistant* to a private detective? Is it necessary to study criminal justice in order to become a private detective?

No, and there are some that suggest a LE background can be more of a hindrance than help, though the field is clearly divided. In most states you are going to have to have a clean record, and you are going to have to be willing to sit in a hot or cold car for long hours.

>What are some sources that you turn to for further research? For example, newspapers, surely they get archived on websites/databases a lot.

Sure, I have a newspapers.com subscription - it's a resource just like any other.

>What else do you recommend for me to look into to learn more about detectives?

See my two recommendations above. and: https://www.amazon.com/Private-Eye-Confidential-Stories-Real-ebook/dp/B076RMHQTV

>And, of course, your favorite case, which hopefully you won't mind if it brings about some inspiration? Seriously, imagine it, a series of best-of cases from real private investigators. I wonder if THAT software is on mobile, too, actually.

So there are many that I can't talk about - and I suspect that's true for many folks in this profession.

No, this is not me but I know Frank Ahearn. Out of our "Industry", if you will, he is the most vocal about the process and has written several books over the years, including How to Disappear. It is a little old at this point but still a lot of great information along with some really great stories. The Manatee Story is one of my favorites. :-)

Not sure I will ever write a book myself, since I feel the information should be easily obtained by anyone who wants it for nothing. We will see.

I have recommended this book to any new PI that I meet. He draws diagrams for mobile and static surveillance techniques that will be awesome for you in workers comp.

amazon link