Cost Private Investigators QLD Australia Combine Old-School Instinct and High-Tech Tactics

Private investigation thrives in the Internet age.

The mention of private investigators often conjures an image created by TV and film — a shadowy male figure peeping through windows, picking through garbage cans and returning to a dark office to chain smoke and drink scotch out of an old coffee mug.
Top private detectives and investigators these days, however, resemble high-tech corporations, including highly rated K. Griff Investigations of Houston, Texas, and Striker-Pierce Investigations of Alexandria, Virginia.
K. Griff founder, Kathy Griffin, overcame old stereotypes in 1991 when she entered the male-dominated private eye field. The University of Texas grad broke through big time two years later, when she agreed to do employee and new hire background checks at Houston’s St. Joseph’s Medical Center.

Kathy Griffin shows off a keychain camera that she and her employees use for surveillance. (Photo by Chris Curry)

“They were the first hospital in the city to do it. Before that, they were just checking licenses and certifications,” Griffin says. “After the first one, we went up to 37 hospitals in a few years. We went from three employees to 20, and became the largest female-owned investigative company in the state.”
Brian O’Shea opened Striker-Pierce in 2009, after spending 11 years in military intelligence and a decade with other agencies, mostly finding missing persons who didn’t want to be found. His employees have experience in everything from investigative journalism to marketing to the Coast Guard. He says it’s important for an investigator to have two key characteristics.
“The people I hire, what I look for is creativity and the ability to elicit information from paper and sources,” O’Shea says.

The private detective business

Cost Private Investigator say background checks make up a majority of their work. These range from prescreening poential mates for online dating participants to in-depth employee examination for major companies.
They also do domestic surveillance — mainly to prove spousal infidelity or problems with child custody. Emotions are often high for those who want to hire a private eye when they first reach out.
“Every call is a counseling session, no doubt,” O’Shea says. “A lot of this business can be impulsive, so we’re very careful about which cases we take. We tell them whether we’ll be able to help them, and advise them of the best course of action.”

Striker-Pierce has an extensive selection of high-tech surveillance devices. (Photo by Joel Rotunda)

Griffin says she paints a realistic picture for potential clients.
“I don’t mind guiding them as far as what they can do, as cost-effectively as possible,” she says. “Some have too high expectations because they’ve watched too much ‘CSI.’”

Griffin and O’Shea often educate callers on the illegality of certain investigative tactics, such as hacking into a spouse’s work phone or computer, or tracking a vehicle other than one jointly owned. Both say it’s critical to call a private investigation company with any questions, especially before taking solo action.
“Don’t ever take matters into your own hands, because inevitably, you’ll do something wrong,”

Griffin says. “Even if you get what you want, it probably won’t be admissible in court because you’re a party to the suit. You need somebody who’s a licensed professional, who knows the legalities of things, to help you present evidence.”

Private investigator cost

Private detective agency costs vary, based on the service provided. Griffin charges $125 an hour for surveillance, $65 to $125 for employment screenings and $250 to $550 for comprehensive background checks and people finding.
Cost Private Investigators charges $150 for standard backgrounds, $125 per hour for surveillance and $75 an hour for consultations and open-ended research.Ph 0411596250

Cost Private Investigator