In the State of California, a private investigator is a licensed professional that has met a rigorous standard of 6,000 hours of training and experience, passing a state examination and a criminal background check by the California Department of Justice.

A private investigator has the knowledge and experience, resources and abilities to gather useful and relevant information and provide factual documents supporting his/her findings, gathering evidence and supporting his/her findings with court room testimony.

The tools of an investigator are their own training and experience in the industry, the latest in innovative surveillance and recording technology, the powers of observation and reporting the facts, and access to confidential databases and entry to secure locations.

The advantage of using a trained investigator is a degree of objectivity and separation as well as professional reporting. Investigators may be armed or unarmed, depending upon the job and the level of their licenses. They may be specialists, such as a polygraph operator or have expertise from prior law enforcement backgrounds. Investigators maintain a high degree of professional standards while protecting the integrity of their clients.

Using investigators satisfies a need for due diligence such as conducting background investigations for potential new hires.An investigator can also investigate suspected misconduct such as sexual harassment, employee related accidents, internal fraud and embezzlement, and hostile work related incidents.