Mitchell Lyman Associates Inc.   Hamilton-Burlington, Kitchener-Waterloo, London St. Catharines/Niagara Current Issues  Safeguarding Against PI Business Closure With PI's Its Buyer Beware!! Ask the Investigator Covering Your Assets A Case in Point     Safeguarding Against PI Business Closure Deal only with investigation companies with a long and reliable history. Ensure that every investigation company you use carries a minimum of $1 million in liability and failure to perform insurance coverage. Insist upon the personal history and CV, including home addresses and birth dates of all investigators that have handled your file. You may need to track these investigators down as a case nears trial. Pay the extra cost for three copies of all videotapes and photographs. Insist that your investigator forensically seal all originals and turns them over to you or your lawyer. Utilize one set of copies for review and analysis. The investigation company keeps a copy in its file. Never break the seal of the originals except in the courtroom. Audit your investigator's premises once each year to ensure records are safeguarded in a manner consistent with the sensitivity of the material. When an investigation company that you have used closes, insist upon the return of your investigation file. It belongs to you. You may need it for court purposes years in the future. Ask for a letter from PI's lender that the firm is not in financial difficulty with the bank. The bank will require permission from the PI firm to issue the letter. Do a bankruptcy search at the Bankruptcy office in Toronto. Include the principal officers and corporate managers in this search. Demand regular updates and interim reports on lengthy, ongoing investigations. Require that a copy of the file be provided to you when the investigation is completed Back Up   With PI's Its Buyer Beware!! "Yes. Scott Patterson is still with our firm. Yes. He is available for trial next Monday." Dale Lyman, president of Mitchell Lyman Associates in Hamilton replied to a prominent Toronto lawyer. The lawyer, representing a major insurer was somewhat surprised and commented, "Your firm is one of four investigation companies that worked on my client's file and the only one that is still in business."      The lawyer may not have been quite so surprised had he known of the recent trend in the private investigation industry, borne out by statistics kept by the Registrar of Private Investigators. Private Investigator licenses are renewed March 31st of each year. In 1998, there were 303 private investigation firms holding licenses down from 320 in 1996, a 5% decline. Several notable firms have surrendered their licences this year.      More worrisome to the private investigation industry, is the steady decline in the number of individuals licensed as private investigators in Ontario. Licensing of individuals reached a peak in 1996, when the Registrar issued 2373. In 1997, that number plunged to 1999, a whopping 16% decrease. In 1998, that number is up very slightly to 2064. The registrars office attributes this increase to a number of one man start-ups, often by investigators laid off by larger firms.      The private investigation industry was fairly stable until the NDP's Bill 164/59 was implemented. In April 1993, there The private investigation industry was fairly stable until the NDP's Bill 164/59 was implemented. In April 1993, there were 2025 licensed private eyes, and in April 1994 there were 2041. Once Bill 164 took hold, the PI numbers jumped to 2244 in 1995 and 2372 in 1996. These numbers suggest that Bill 59, passed by the Harris government in 1995, significantly reduced the number of fraudulent and malingering cases stemming from auto related accidents. Conversely, the tort provisions for economic loss included in Bill 59 have not yet caught the imagination of plaintiff's counsel in Ontario.      As one noted plaintiff's lawyer put it, "No fault insurance drove a lot of personal injury lawyers out of the field. For five years, lawyers have been turning aside calls and referrals relating to motor vehicle accident litigation. It will take a while before the legal profession catches up with the insurance legislation."      Insurance companies and private investigators' clients in general, face significant risks when private investigation firms fail. The end product of any investigation is the evidence collected. Sometimes that evidence is in the form of photographs or videotape. Sometimes it is the testimony of the investigator. When a private investigation firms fails, evidence may be lost forever.      The Registrar of Private Investigators provides the consumer little comfort. "We do not take possession of investigators' files and records when a firm closes down. Our regulations only require the licensee keep business records in its possession in accordance with the requirements of federal tax legislation," Ralf Paolo, of the office of the Registrar of Private Investigators told "The Investigator." Back Up    Ask the Investigator Have you ever read a private investigator's report and asked yourself, "How did they do that?" "Ask the Investigator" is a feature in which Mitchell Partners resident experts will seek to answer those questions that intrigue our clients about how we do our job. This is a co-operative effort of all Mitchell Lyman Associates Inc, field investigators, and office staff alike will combine their resources, pool their knowledge, and contribute their time to answer your most puzzling questions about the investigation profession.      An adjuster from Windsor asks - I'm working on a file and everything points to the claimant being a "gypsy type traveler." Is there any source of information that I might be able to check?      There are several indicators which may help to substantiate your intuition that you may be dealing with a gypsy claim. The following is a short, certainly not inclusive, checklist of known behaviours of a gypsy claimant; Claimant wants to settle very quickly, often using the excuse of having to leave town due to an ill relative or other personal emergency; Willingness to settle quickly and for a small amount; Transient addresses; P.O. Box, Main Streets with apartment numbers, etc.; Phone for claimant is always picked up by an answering machine or someone who will pass on a message; Injury is subjective. If it is objective, it can't be accurately dated (i.e. broken nose, broken tooth,compression fracture, etc.); Limited or no background information available; If in a motor vehicle accident, the vehicle is often a rental; Children often included in claims or situations; Claims are very creative and colourful; Difficulty in producing picture ID, "I lost my wallet last week"; or out of province ID. A - The National Association of Bunco Investigators (NABI) keeps track of American and Canadian offenders whose usual crimes have to do with home repair scams (roofs, driveway paving, etc.) and slip and falls, and staged auto accidents. You can call them at (410)752-8150 or try the web at www.semiolesheriff.org. An adjuster from London asks - We are going to trial on an automobile accident claim. The scene photos and damage photos, which will prove crucial to the determination of liability have inadvertently been damaged by liquid and the vendor we used to obtain the photos is no longer in business. We are desperate. Any suggestions? A - If the photos were damaged by water very recently, fast response can save the day. The process used to develop film is "wet" so rinsing the damaged photos in clean water is appropriate. After the rinse, put them in a zip lock type plastic baggy, insert a piece of wax paper between each picture and put the baggy in the freezer. Amazing, but true. Had the photos in question been damaged long ago, been seriously stuck together or molding the ending might not have been as happy for you. In that case, the only alternative would have been to attempt to locate the now extinct vendor. While locating him would be relatively simple, it might be a long shot to expect that they could assist with file copies or negatives. Situations like yours drive home the message of "know thy vendor." Saving a few dollars today can conceivably lead to losing more than a few dollars tomorrow. If you would like to submit a query, fax your question to Mitchell Lyman Associates  1-800-449-5245. Back Up   Covering Your Assets     The Private Investigator An Adjunct to Police Investigations Government and police resources are stretched to the limit. Witness the ability of the police in major cities to respond only to emergency calls, the advent of collision reporting centers, and the low priority placed on the investigation of crimes against property. Accordingly, individuals and corporations are looking elsewhere at an ever increasing rate for assistance when assets or personal safety are at risk. They are seeking help from security and investigation firms in preventing and solving crimes, once the sole domain of police agencies. Mitchell Lyman Associates' clients rely heavily on our personnel such as John Styan, a former Military Police officer and now a Senior Investigator with our office. In addition to expertise in insurance investigation, John handles criminal defense cases and investigations for corporate clients with equal facility. Back Up     A Case in Point The following story, as amusing as it might be, will bring home the need to conduct thorough pre-employment verification and/or due diligence. This step, often seen as a cost burden is usually glossed over or, heaven forbid, ignored altogether. Who among us has not rationalized the superficial verification conducted on a potential employment candidate&ldots;."I trusted my gut instinct"&ldots;"he seemed so nice and sincere"&ldots;."Look at his resume, who would have thought"&ldots;and on goes the list. I'm sure you have some of your own special rationalizations to add to this list. Consider the following story. We can all learn from this company's acknowledged mistake. A growing pharmaceutical testing company (who for now shall remain unnamed) had an opening, which required immediate filling. Resumes were received and narrowed down to a manageable number for actual interviewing. The interviews were conducted and cursory pre-employment verifications were made of the potential candidate. An in-depth verification was not made, for numerous reasons, which could have included such factors as time, funds, and lack of expertise, to name but the obvious. The president of the company agreed that the candidate chosen was the best of the lot, though perhaps not the best person to fill the position. An urgent need and time being of the essence, the person was given the job. It became clear after three weeks of employment that this individual was absolutely the wrong person for the position. Irreversible mistakes were being committed. The firm admitted their mistake in hiring this person and terminated her employment offering her a generous and remarkable four weeks of severance. This employee; however, left with company client lists and a laptop computer. Efforts were made by the company to retrieve their materials but to no avail. They hired a private investigator, who turned out to operate commando style (U.S. based PI of course&ldots; And just to bring the point home, they didn't check out this investigator's reputation either). This investigator had difficulty with the ex-employee and was unable to help. His conduct was an embarrassment to the firm. The company then sought out the judicial route and obtained a court order allowing them to retrieve their materials, enforced by the local police in Detroit. Here's where the story becomes even more amusing, if not a little scary. The police conducted a criminal verification of the ex-employee before sending out a uniformed officer. They learned that not only was there pending criminal charges against this woman, but pending weapons charges against her spouse. Would any of us have hired this individual with this knowledge on hand? The police sent in the S.W.A.T. team to retrieve the laptop and the client lists. The house was surrounded and bullhorns used to ensure the safety of the officers. Extreme perhaps, but a true story nonetheless. Of course now the running joke around their offices is to call in the S.W.A.T. team anytime there is a possibility of a dismissal.    This could have been avoided if more effort and time had been invested in properly conducting a pre-employment verification. Consider the following basic check points when conducting your next employment interviews. At the interview Obtain all pertinent personal/business data for at least 3 business and 3 personal references (non-family). This will be a time saver for you. Check for holes in the chronology of work history and obtain the missing information. Monitor closely the candidate's reaction to defending this omission. Obtain a signed authorization to verify credit history and criminal records. During the pre-employment verification Check with all references provided. Consider certain comments and behaviours at the interview by the candidate when interviewing the references. Call the employers who may not have been provided on the CV. Failing that, call at least the last three. Talk to employees and immediate supervisors as well as managers. Start with the individuals who have the least amount of authority and work your way up the chain; otherwise, you may be turned down and closed out immediately. Conduct these interviews in as short a time span as possible. Going beyond the references offered will provide a more objective picture of the candidate's abilities, skills, ethics, work habits, etc. Follow through on verifying credit information and criminal history. Certain jurisdictions require the candidate to obtain their own criminal record verification/certificate. Making this part of the process will again be a time saver for the employer. These tasks are meant as basic starting points for conducting a pre-employment verification. Hiring for a specific position may entail a larger list of investigative routes or the completion of aptitude and psychological testing, etc. A skilled telephone interviewer or human resource professional should conduct these investigations. If you do not have the personnel available in-house, consider hiring the right individual. Hiring the right candidate the first time around compensates the cost of conducting an appropriate pre-employment investigation, in-house or otherwise. The company can rest assured that the candidate is bondable, has no criminal record and has the skills set purported to in the interview. The employer can then assuredly say&ldots;"I trusted my gut instinct". Lynne M. Perrault, Back Up   Contact Mitchell Lyman Associates Inc. Toll Free: 1-800-563-6200 Assign a Case Last updated January, 2006 For any comments or inquiries regarding this website please contact Carlos@mitchell-lyman.com     Graphics by Art for the web