Private Investigation and Process Serving

FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin,The, Jan, 2004 by Larry R. Moore

Private Investigation and Process Serving by Raymond P. Siljander, Charles C. Thomas Publisher, Springfield, Illinois, 2001.

Private Investigation and Process Serving contains investigative, protective, and serving concepts; technical information; and investigative recording forms to support operations, all presented in nontechnical language. At the same time, it offers the extensive mental and physical skills required of an effective and competent private investigator and process service representative.

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Section I covers many quality aspects. It contains outstanding peripheral information involving field tips for process servers with the greatest value to the reader being the manner in which the author illustrates a way of thinking "outside the box" that lends itself to the completion of the investigative mission. This section presents the minimum criteria that private investigators and servers must possess, including a list of tools, equipment, and supplies needed to sustain an investigation and meet the evidence needs of attorneys. It also contains examples and applications of "pretext" investigative techniques, such as establishing and using telephone lines and numbers. The author shares comprehensive undercover investigative and interview strategies by private investigators that law enforcement officers can use when interviewing and interrogating subjects. He discusses techniques of determining the signs of innocence or guilt, identifying and responding to suspect and subject resistance, and understanding "roping" methodologies, including eyewitness identification and testimony aspects.

Section II addresses process serving as an officer of the court, ranging from training and licensing requirements, liabilities, and unacceptable investigative behaviors to what constitutes proper and improper server rules and criminal charges for their violation. It also covers types of serves (e.g., complaints, summons, detainers, subpoenas, and protection orders) and fees chargeable to the court (e.g., client and affidavit billing with written examples). This section's major contribution is the identification of 88 field tips for servers, with an excellent caution and important-to-know statement.

The author addresses physical surveillance through the practical application eyes of the private investigator, with extensive experiences ranging from personal and physical qualifications of a surveillant to conducting fixed (e.g., structure, concealed area, and motor vehicle) and mobile (e.g., motor vehicle and foot) surveillance. He also covers other topics from identifying subjects and selecting proper surveillance techniques for case effectiveness to using various locating and tracking systems and aids for visual surveillance extension and enhancement.

The book presents well-documented information on bodyguard service (executive protection), which includes techniques for conducting risk management, vulnerability analysis, and threat assessment and for planning protective programs. It also describes walking and driving defensive and offensive protection methods of executive protection and safety, as well as the functional techniques and methods employed by bodyguards, including report writing requirements, forms, and examples. In the business management portion of the book, the author emphasizes that the private process server must be adept at reading the operational environment, behavior clues, neighborhood dynamics, and the predictable nature of people.

Overall, Private Investigation and Process Serving stands as an excellent work that can assist practicing criminal and defense attorneys and their staff members who should find its contents beneficial in many aspects of case preparation where they need assistance from a private investigator. It also can help the aspiring, as well as the experienced, member of the private investigative service.

Reviewed by

Larry R. Moore

Certified Protection Professional

American Society for Industrial Security

Knoxville, Tennessee