WHAT IS A CRIMINAL DEFENSE INVESTIGATOR?
A Criminal Defense Investigator (also called a CI) is a specialized private investigator who gathers evidence for a defense attorney. The CI plays an invaluable role within the criminal justice system. While diligently assisting defense counsel in uncovering reasonable doubt on behalf of the accused, the CI’s main objective is to seek and uncover the truth. The defense attorney will then use this evidence while representing a defendant in a trial.
WHAT DOES A CRIMINAL DEFENSE INVESTIGATOR DO?
There are a number of strategies that a Criminal Defense Investigator might use to collect evidence during an investigation. They might interview witnesses, conduct background checks on those that are involved in the case (including witnesses and the alleged victim), check the facts stated in police reports, prepare legal documents, or gather witnesses that would be willing to testify in court.
WHY SHOULD I USE A CRIMINAL INVESTIGATOR?
- Criminal investigators operate within the law to find evidence
- Criminal defense investigators can gather evidence of wrongful conviction or accusation
- Law enforcement investigators are often busy with other tasks
- Criminal investigation divisions can be too short on resources to conduct a proper investigation
- Exclusively dedicated criminal investigators are more persistent than law enforcement so they can provide better results
- Criminal investigators are not limited by jurisdiction
WHAT KINDS OF CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS EXIST?
- Fraud Investigations
- Crime Scene Investigations
- Sexual Crimes Investigations
- Theft Investigations
- Kidnapping Investigations
- Assault Investigations
- Criminal Defense Investigations
- Witness Interviews
- Interrogation
- Crime Scene Photography
- Surveillance
- Background Checks
- Document Searches
WHAT KIND OF EVIDENCE WILL THEY FIND?
- If police only collect enough evidence to support their assumptions, they may miss critical information that could exonerate you as a suspect. For example, a criminal defense investigator might:
- 1. Speak with witnesses other than the victim to verify the details of an event
- 2. Revisit a crime scene to see if the evidence police gathered supports their version of events
- 3. Talk to your friends, family, and coworkers to see if they have information or evidence that could exonerate you or back up your claims
- 4. Collect physical, digital, and other forms of evidence that the police may have missed or ignored It’s not uncommon for law enforcement officials to stop collecting evidence or interviewing witnesses once they have what they think is enough to make an arrest. This is why it’s so important to have a criminal defense investigator working on your case. Their job is to make sure all the evidence is collected and analyzed. Not just the evidence against you.
