Loss Prevention Investigations
Many people have glamorized visions of what it is to be a private investigator. Car chases, beautiful women, and blazing gun fights capture the imagination. And the imagination is where such notions belong. Books, TV, movies and other media reinforce these images.
Real private investigators are basically fact-finders. Their job is to locate information for clients who would not be able to locate it themselves. Sometimes it involves researching records, examining documents, or conducting surveillance. Surveillance operations can involve several hours of boredom in search of maybe a few minutes of activity.
Private investigations can cover a wide range of activities. The insurance industry employs investigators to look into possible fraud, such as false worker's compensation claims. Corporations use investigators to research potential business partners, also known as due diligence investigations. Lawyers often have investigators, either on payroll or on retainer, to work on their cases.
Another thing to keep in mind is that there are actually several different types of investigators who work in the private sector. Traditional private investigators are essentially freelance fact-finders who offer their services to a variety of clients, ranging from lawyers to suspicious spouses to corporations. Several different types of companies employ investigators to detect and investigate fraud, such as insurance companies, credit card companies, banks, and e-retailers. Private companies also utilize in-house investigators to conduct investigations ranging from internal theft to background investigations of potential employees.
I work as a loss prevention investigator. My job is to conduct internal investigations for a clothing company. My day-to-day activities vary, but this is an example of what a typical day might be:
9am: Arrive at work and receive updates on what has happened since the previous workday. Take care of e-mail and other correspondence. Review my schedule for the day and the week. Prioritize my activities. Review my case reports to see where I stand and determine courses of action.
10am: Make a loss prevention awareness presentation during an employee training session.
11am: Review audits conducted by loss prevention agents to identify any new issues requiring follow-up investigation. Audits are also reviewed for data supporting one of my on-going cases. Apply data analysis techniques to identify loss trends.
12pm: Spend next hour reviewing video surveillance footage. Try to work in lunch.
1pm: Meeting with my supervisor to discuss current cases and receive feedback. Also discuss other avenues of investigation for cases. Discuss trends identified. Take care of administrative issues.
2pm: Conduct physical inspection of areas under investigation, looking for anything unusual. Talk with loss prevention agents to see if anything of note has been observed that should be followed-up on.
3pm: Receive a tip of employee theft. Begin gathering data. Develop an investigation plan. Give direction to loss prevention agents to support the investigation with audits. Conduct preliminary interviews as needed.
5pm: Follow-up on information requests. Not all follow-ups are successful. Update case reports. Review schedule, making changes as needed based on the progress of my cases and new leads to follow. Take care of e-mail and other correspondence. Relay updates to management as needed.
6pm: Go home.
Half my time is spent sitting behind a computer. The rest is talking to people. I may also re-work my schedule so I can install a covert camera, which usually involves spending a few hours contorting into uncomfortable positions trying to get everything in place, finishing up covered in dirt and sweat.
