Let me bust a movie and T.V. myth…

Cops don’t tip Private Investigators information.

In most places this is illegal anyway, but here’s a better reason…

No smart police officer wants to leave a “digital footprint” that he (or she) has run a search in a database. That footprint never goes away.

Internal Affairs (or any investigator or IT person assigned to look into a given search) will always be able to tell who’s log-in was used to run a search.

Okay, sneaky guy, I know what you’re thinking…

What if they use someone else’s log-in to run the search. Two big problems…

1.The searcher would be jamming up the guy who’s log-in he used! What a cowardly thing to do!

2.That log-in is not the only clue as to who ran the search. A good investigator will look at who was “on the clock” when the search was run, who’s key card was being used in the building at the time, who’s on video in the building at the time, etc., etc., etc.!

So, cops don’t tip info to Private Detectives.

But, here is the truly interesting thing. Cop’s HIRE Private Investigators when they need information covertly! Why? Because any digital footprint traces back to the P.I. And not to the cop.

Now, I’m not talking about doing anything against the law here. Quite the opposite! Think about it…

If a police officer runs a license plate through one of his databases and it’s for his personal use – that’s at least a violation of department policy and maybe even a crime. But if a P.I. runs the same license plate check legally then everyone is in the clear and the client (officer) remains confidential and protected.

Of course this applies to all kinds of checks, not just license plates. For example: criminal histories, addresses, phone numbers, known associates, etc.

Check back often for more real-world information like this.