Private investigation is an engagement of a private detective by persons or organizations. It deals with civil or criminal situations that need Surveillance, Documentation, Research, or Interviews to gather evidence for use in legal, illegal, or commercial proceedings.

A private investigator, otherwise known as a private detective, digs deep into things, uncovers facts, analyzes material about legal, financial, and personal concerns, among other things. In addition, they provide a wide range of services, which include Running background checks, locating missing persons, investigating computer crimes, working with celebrities and other individuals who need and can afford their assistance.

What is the role of a private investigator in Uganda?

The majority of individuals are perplexed and wonder why they should employ a private investigator from a private investigation business. Here are reasons why a private investigator should be hired:

1.     To Gather information

One of the commonest reasons people use the services of a private investigator is to obtain information on a particular person, event, or organization, among other things. They may also conduct interviews with friends, family members, acquaintances, and neighbors to discover more about the individual or determine where they could be hiding.

Anything they learn may be utilized to create a case against them. It could also be used to learn all they can about the topic on which they’re keeping an eye. Over time, they may eventually gather all of the necessary information and then provide feedback to the client who hired them with the facts they have uncovered.

2.     Surveillance

Private investigators might perform stakeouts and follow persons to get additional information about their movements, interests, and daily routines.

3.     Skip tracing

Skip tracing involves locating and tracking down people of interest, such as witnesses or other sources of information. Skip tracing often entails more than just locating a person’s location and obtaining contact information. The contact details include a phone number or email address.

4.     Carry out background investigation

It is possible to search through a lot of different databases online to find criminal histories, marriages and divorces, mortgage records, voter registrations etc. Private investigators can search through the garbage if it is legal in that location and not on private property to access any information that may be of help to their investigation. For privately owned property, they ought to obtain a court order to authorize them to proceed with the search.

Therefore, the role private investigators play in Uganda cannot be underestimated given the weakness and poorly facilitated public investigations in Uganda.

By Aciro Brenda, Police Officer & Private Investigator.

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