Eric Reece sits in his office at ABE Investigative Discovery Services with Post-it notes covering the wall and catalogs on his desk. The office is a suite squished between Manpower Staffing Services and The Muncie Visitor's Bureau, with a large banner displaying the agency name. It's a place much unlike the private investigators' offices of Hollywood, with spotless desks in a high rise office, or even with a secretary out front.
When most people think of the world of private (or professional, as some prefer to be called) investigators, images of The Maltese Falcon's Sam Spade or Casey Affleck's character in Gone Baby Gone come to mind.
"It's ... realistic to a degree," Reece said, looking through a sheet of minutes and contacts from local business meetings. But the people on-screen differ from the real ones. Cigarette smoking, suit wearing Sam Spade sums up the generic stereotype - walking through dark alleys, helping beautiful women in danger - but there are only a few investigators out there who may take on that role.
Becoming a P.I. in Indiana requires a few steps. According to the Indiana Professional Licensing Agency, applicants must be 21 or older, must have two years or 4,000 hours experience in the investigative field or a bachelor's degree in criminal justice. From there, a license fee must also be paid. Recent laws require an agency be formed, excluding the notion of a one-person team seen in movies. Yet this is an upside, as agencies have the ability to hire multiple investigators with specific skills and services.
The services provided at ABE are similar to the work many agencies do now. Electronic surveillance is a growing field many P.I.'s are taking advantage of. Hidden cameras and GPS tracking devices can be critical for gathering evidence in a case. Although hidden cameras are primarily used by businesses or for infidelity cases, the demand is high.
"The internet is a wonderful tool," Reece adds. "We use different mapping programs to scout areas of surveillance. Even we have a partial [social security number], we can find anyone. It's almost scary." The use of computers in the modern investigating world is also a help for safety concerns. Movie investigators are often seen jumping right into the action after the cash has been handled, but what would a movie be without a little danger thrown in? Potential clients to ABE go through an initial interview before any case or money is taken. Questions on the who, what and when can provide better understandings of the client and of the case. Most investigators work with anyone - from attorneys to a town resident - but thoroughly weigh the potential danger factor.
"We're opportunists," he said. "We can't create a scenario, we react to one." But by using the internet to scout an area or even Nexus Lexus to look up a suspect or client, they have to act quickly. "Cases are more about timing than how much time." Hollywood shows the damsel coming in, throwing down cash and the investigator running off. But it doesn't work that way. Stakeouts are still used, sometimes with video equipment or just sitting in a car and waiting. But even before this they learn specific times from their client, so as not to just run up a bill. It's about getting results.
Common cases for investigators range from cheating spouses, criminal defenses and custody issues. Criminal defense cases are usually the only time police involvement is an issue. In movies there is often a pair of cops trailing the investigator, trying to muscle out information while being displayed on screen as the bad guys. Though the defense cases are dealing with criminal issues, and where the investigators are pitted against the police, investigators don't deal with the force much. The term "private investigator" means the work is done independently. But the evidence gathered can be used in court effectively. A person can't setup hidden cameras around their house to capture a cheating husband or wife and use it in the courts because the grounds on which the surveillance is used is unclear or not valid.
But this doesn't mean P.I.'s don't take challenging or dangerous cases. The ability to map out and be aware of surroundings is something that makes investigators effective in their work.
"We control our circumstances," Reece said. This can include hanging out in grungy bars or dives to obtain information. It is unlikely sometimes, but Reece adds, "You want to have as many friends in the community as possible." For instance, the sheet in which he has been going through involves numerous people in different businesses or political areas. Any of these people can get in touch with others, and so on. Like in Gone Baby Gone, finding a friend of a potential suspect in a rough part of town can make all the difference. Or the case may not be taken, if the interview with the potential client doesn't go so well.
In short, private investigators are involved in a specific field that is people-based and time efficient. They know how to get results and be cautious not to get in over their heads. This professional aspect differs greatly from the Hollywood portrayals, but at the same time the process of meeting clients, taking cases and staying unseen has the thrills of any Sam Spade story.
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