SSP 457 - Private Investigation

1.5 Continuing Education Units (CEU). This course is not for Credit(s).

This class is designed to introduce the student to the ﬁeld of private investigation and its relationship to the criminal justice system. Emphasis is placed on local and national licensing regulations, scope of operations, legal considerations, civil law, and professional ethics. Topics to be covered include: qualities and skills of a private investigator, licensing requirements for private investigators, public records research, still and video photography, surveillance, interviewing witnesses and suspects, criminal law and procedure, civil law and procedure, case management, court testimony, and ethics.

Course Objectives

Upon completion of this course the student will be able to:

1. deﬁne the qualities and skills of a private investigator;
2. explain licensing requirements for private investigators;
3. identify the sources of employment for the private investigator and investigative agency;
4. distinguish between civil and criminal law;
5. analyze lawful and ethical business practices;
6. identify lawful sources of public and private information;
7. demonstrate methods to conduct lawful video, foot, ﬁxed, and mobile surveillance;
8. describe the collection and recording of evidence for court presentation;
9. describe the skills needed to interview witnesses and suspects; and
10. demonstrate the ability to organize investigative ﬁeld notes and write a concise investigative report