Gone is yesterday’s gumshoe private investigator (PI), the solitary Lone Ranger who single-handedly righted wrongs, leaving the world a better place as he disappeared down those mean, dusty streets to another case. Don’t get me wrong, the 21st century PI works alone for some of the time, but he (or she) would be a fool to work that way twenty-four/seven, especially with the network of other PIs, resources, and data to draw on (for example, via the Internet).
Let’s start by blowing the dust off some of the out-dated, cliched myths about yesterday’s PI by reviewing some real-life PIs’ pet peeves about their fictional counterparts.
Real-Life PIs’ Pet Peeves About Fictional PIs
A group of PIs were asked what misconceptions they’d like to correct in representations of PIs in novels, movies, and TV. Below are some of their responses:
Staying Legal. At least 80% of the PIs surveyed brought this up as their number one pet peeve. Fictional PIs are often shown doing illegal things when, in actuality, real-life PIs abide by the laws. Because if they don’t, they could lose their business and license–a risk no PI wants to take. If a PI doesn’t know his/her legal rights, they know how to look up the statute or they have a lawyer buddy/client to call for advice. No PI worth his/her proverbial salt goes into a legally-murky situation without knowing exactly what actions are lawful. Slip-ups and missteps muddy a PI’s reputation, which is perhaps their most critical asset because it reflects both their ethics and skill.
Being Prepared. Colombo (the detective from the ’70s’ TV series with the same name) always came back again (and again and again) to the witness, before he finally asked the zinger question. He never seemed to have a plan how to obtain information in one fell swoop. Today’s PI typically has one shot, and one shot only, at interviewing a witness. There’s no bumbling around-he/she has to get to the point. That means being prepared. When a PI first makes contact with a witness, the PI needs to know the purpose of his questioning as well as the questions themselves. Sometimes legal investigators (PIs who work for attorneys) will come armed with police reports or past statements by the witness. For example, sometimes a prior witness statement reveals to the investigator, in the course of the interview, that the witness’s statement has inconsistencies-such conflicts in a person’s story indicate the witness is unreliable.
Surveillance fantasies. PIs scoff at the notion that a solitary PI can effortlessly pull off a successful mobile surveillance (meaning, following someone in a vehicle) for hours and hours. Mobile surveillances typically require at least two PIs in two vehicles, and even then the success rate (per one PI’s statistics) is 50%. And yet time and again one will read about (or see in a movie) a PI who magically follows someone who’s weaving in and out of traffic, turning, speeding, zipping through intersections for an entire day! Try following one of your friends in traffic (especially when you do not know their destination) and see how easy it is to lose their car.
Business savvy.Too many PI stories ignore that a PI runs a business that entails negotiating and writing contracts, managing money (and sometimes subordinate PIs), buying/upgrading office equipment, writing reports, etc. First and foremost, a PI has a business relationship with his/her client that includes all the legal ramifications that come with any customer situation.
Violence. Real PIs don’t hit people first, even if they are mad. In fact, they don’t engage in violence anymore than they engage in burglary or theft. The debate is ongoing within the PI community as to whether to carry guns or other self-defense weapons.
Make It a Whiskey, Neat. Real-life PIs don’t all drink like Phillip Marlowe or Sam Spade, and if they were to be slipped a micky, or hit with a sap, they’d be ashamed of their lack of planning. Today’s PIs wouldn’t chance dulling their senses as this could be used to denigrate them should they have to testify in court about their observations.
This is a good place to also note things today’s PI would never do. If a writer chooses to have his/her fictional PI do any of these acts, they’re setting up the PI character to be in some deep you-know-what (although, this might also be what you, as the writer, want for your PI-better to know what’s illegal than to write something that’s manifestly so and not know, right?).
A PI who wants to keep his/her job/license/career/reputation would never:
Use these myth-busters and guidelines to create true-to-life, 21st-century savvy PIs who’ll keep readers turning the pages of your stories.
Source by Colleen Collins-Kaufman
#Writing #Sleuths #21st #Century #Private #Eye lawyer near me
