Finding people is an investigator’s job. Finding a person’s current residence or work address is a type of investigation frequently requested by lawyers, insurance companies and private parties.

Many locate investigations involve serving legal papers, such as divorce and child support documents, insurance claims, civil Summons and subpoenas, and small claims court papers.

These common cases usually come from vetted and legitimate customers. Sometimes, however, the locate investigation involves finding an estranged family member or old acquaintance.

These type of cases must be screened for stalkers. In cases where the client is a private party and they are seeking the residence of another person, the investigator should condition the investigation on the consent of the person being located.

This is a simple and cost effective way to screen out stalkers. Potential clients who may be stalkers will not, usually, accept the investigator’s conditions when the learn they won’t get information unless permission comes from the person being contacted.

Another approach would be checking the client’s background before performing the locate investigation. Restraining orders and domestic violence cases should be searched carefully.

This requires checking both the civil and criminal index, which costs time and sometimes money. However, a small expense up front can prevent a huge debt later on.

There is nothing worse for an investigator and the industry of private investigations in general, than having a stalker locate their victim using the services of a licensed private eye.

Public reaction to news reports of a criminal act that was perpetrated after the use of a private investigator have resulted in new restrictions on the industry. Where investigators had access to address records at the Department of Motor Vehicles, such access is much more difficult to get since a stalker used a private investigator to locate an actress whom the stalker later murdered.

The investigative industry must self-govern to avoid these types of instances. Better that we all decline a case or two than becoming a sensational headline at the expense of the entire industry.

Conditioning a locate investigation upon the permission of the person being locate, in cases where the client is a private party seeking the residence, or contact information, of another person, is a simple and effective method.

Ultimately the victims of stalkers themselves are the best source of information to help the investigator avoid stalkers. Anytime circumstances surface where someone is being followed, harassed, or threatened, they should not hesitate to make a police report and request a restraining order.

Filing a request for a restraining order leaves an easily discovered public record documenting the actions of the stalker. Even if the stalker is never served, just filing the restraining order application will create an easily discovered case in the civil court’s index.