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Private Investigation Glossary

Writer's picture: SIASSSIASS

Updated: Jul 10, 2024

As with any industry or profession, private investigators can use terms that clients may be unfamiliar with. We've compiled a few words into a private investigation glossary here to aid understanding*.


If there's a term that you've heard used by P.I.s or investigators, and we haven't listed it, let us know. Happy to add to this list.


dictionary
Private investigation glossary



Adultery: Infidelity; having sexual relations with someone other than one’s husband or wife.

Admissibility: A legal term used to determine whether a piece of evidence could be presented in a court of law. In order to be admissible, the evidence must have relevance and have been gathered, stored and collated in a lawful way.

Admission: A person’s acknowledgment of facts or circumstances that tend to incriminate them with respect to a crime.

Affidavit: A sworn, written statement of the information, made under oath. A statement sworn to be true made in front of and witnessed by someone legally authorised to administer an oath.

AKA: Also Known As

Arson: The crime of setting a fire with intent to cause damage.

Arrest warrant: A judicial order that a particular person be arrested and brought to a court to answer their criminal charge.

Assault: a threatened or attempted physical attack by someone who appears to be able to cause bodily harm if not stopped. Battery occurs when the assailant makes physical contact.

Assets: Item of value, such as a person’s real estate, bank accounts, certificates of deposit, stocks, bonds, mutual funds, cash, trust funds, and businesses.

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Behavioural evidence analysis (BEA): behavioural evidence analysis is a method of criminal profiling in which characteristics of the perpetrator are determined from evidence at the crime scene.

Blown: Discovery of a covert operative's true identity or a clandestine activity's real purpose.

Body Language: Non-verbal communication. The gestures, facial expressions, and other nonverbal signals that show a person’s attitudes, truthfulness, impressions, planned actions, etc

BOLO: be-on-the-lookout.

Burglary: The unlawful crime of breaking and entering a building or other structure with the intent to commit a theft.

Burned: An investigator that has been compromised (recognised/spotted) by the subject he/she has been conducting surveillance on.

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Canvassing: Searching for a surveillance subject after they have been lost during mobile surveillance.

Carjacking: The crime of stealing a motor vehicle from a motorist immediate presence. Carjacking can be by the use of force, fear, or threat of force.

Case: An assignment that a investigator is conducting an investigation on.

Chain of Custody: applies to the documentation, custody, control, and handling of evidence. Chain of custody is written in chronological order, to preserve its integrity.

Child: Any individual under the age of eighteen. More specifically in the UK used to refer to any person under the age of 12. The term Young Person is preferrable when talking about a person aged between 13 and 18.

Child Pornography: Sexually explicit visual of a minor which includes movies, photographs, videotapes.

Chop shop: An illegal operation at which stolen vehicles are taken apart and their traceable parts are disposed of so that untraceable parts can be sold to salvage yards, repair shops, and indiscriminate buyers.

Claimant: An individual that has a claim with an insurance company or self-insured company.

Class Action: A civil action is brought by one or more individuals on behalf of themselves and others similarly situated.

Cloning: Illegal reprogramming a smart phone’s access codes with the codes from a different legitimate cellular customer.

Cognitive interview technique: An approach to interview a witness, where he or she is asked to recall events in different ways.

Confidence or Con Artists: Individuals or groups who use guile in a person-to-person relationship with the objective to swindle the other person by gaining his or her confidence.

Confidentiality: Confidentiality is the prevention of disclosure, to anybody other than authorised individuals. Confidentiality can include things of client’s proprietary information, investigation findings, or of a subject’s identity.

Conflict of Interest: Conflict of Interest is when a private investigator has a duty to more than one individual or group where both parties’ different interests make it impossible to act impartially. A conflict of interest would arise if a private investigator took jobs from both the claimant & defendant in the same civil lawsuit.

Counterfeit: Counterfeiting is an imitation with the intent to deceptively represent its origins and or content.

Counter Surveillance: Counter surveillance is avoiding surveillance or making it difficult. Counter Surveillance is attempting to determine whether or not a subject is under surveillance and by whom.

Covert: Hidden or concealed. Not overt.

Covert Camera: A covert camera is a hidden camera with the goal of recording somebody or something without his/her knowledge.

Cryptology: Cryptology is the combination of art and science to make or break codes and ciphers.

Cyberstalking: The crime of threatening or harassing victims by electronic technologies Cyberstalking can be with e-mail, Internet chat rooms or news groups.

Cyberterrorism: Cyberterrorism is using electronic tools to shut down or disrupt critical infrastructure components. Cyberterrorism can target lots of different areas such as transportation, energy, and government operations. ___


Dactylography: The study and comparison of fingerprints to aid with criminal identification.

Date-Rape Drugs: Drugs with the purpose to facilitate rape by debilitating the victim. The most common Date-Rape Drugs include Rohypnol, GHB, and many other benzodiazepines & depressants. Administration of these covertly into drinks is referred to as spiking.

Defendant: A defendant is a person or institution against whom an action is brought in a court of law. A defendant is the being accused and or sued.

Dead Drop: A secret location where materials can be left for another party to retrieve.

Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA): Deoxyribonucleic acid or DNA is a nucleic acid consisting of the molecules which carry the body’s genetic material, which is used establish each person as separate and distinct.

DOB: DOB is shorthand for date of birth for any person or animal.

Domestic Terrorism: The use of real or threatened violence against any persons or property by an individual or group. Domestic terrorism operations are entirely inside the borders of the victims’ nation.

Dry Clean: Actions covert operators may take to determine if they are under surveillance.

Due Diligence: The process of systematically evaluating information, to identify risks and issues relating to a proposed transaction (i.e. verify that information is what it has been stated to be).

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E-mail Intercepting: Intercepting emails is an intelligence technique where e-mails are analysed and intercepted to collect information about anybody.

Eavesdropping: Eavesdropping is a listening to another conversation which you are not included in.

Emotional Approach: An interrogation technique used where the interrogator appeals to the suspect’s sense of family pride, religion, honour and morals.

Encryption: Encryption is a a means to secure data. Encryption software will scramble data into nonsense for storage or transmission. Once the data is received you would use the encryption key to unscramble everything as needed by the intended and legitimate users.

Espionage: Espionage is the secret practice of spying to obtain secrets. Espionage will usually happen from rivals or enemies for military, political, or economic advantage. Espionage is considered using illegal or unethical methods.

Evidence: Evidence is anything and everything that tends logically to prove or disprove a fact at issue. Evidence is used in a judicial case or controversy to prove or disprove any statement.

Expert witness: A Expert witness is somebody who is called to testify in court. An expert witness is valuable because of their special skills or knowledge permitted to a case. Experts witness are important as they give opinions about to help jurors understand the complex or technical matters in a case.


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Firewall: A firewall can be a device or software program that acts as security between a network or computer and the Internet. Firewalls attempt to block any incoming or outgoing data, which do not meet the setup and specified criteria.

Fraud: Fraud is intentional misrepresentation or omission of facts. Fraud is done with the purpose of deceiving somebody.

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Garbology: Garbology is the study of refuse & trash but in a investigation garbology is looking through somebody’s trash or garbage with the hopes they will find any new information or evidence.

GPS (Global Positioning System): Global Positioning System or GPS is a satellite navigation system put together by the United States Air Force. A GPS receiver will give you your geolocation anywhere on the Earth where this is a line of sight to the sky.

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Hacking: Hacking or also called cracking is somebody using their computer knowledge to make an unauthorized entry into somebody else’s computer system.

Hearsay: Hearsay is evidence or testimony by a witness that is repeating something they have hear somebody else say. Hearsay is when a witness has no personal knowledge therefore is classified as inadmissible in court.

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Identity Theft: ID theft is assuming somebody’s identity for use in fraudulent transactions. Identity theft is a loss to the victim, as their personal information has been compromised. Identity theft is accomplished by acquiring personal information like date of birth, credit card numbers, and address).

Incident Report: A written investigative record of any crime, usually put together by law enforcement who is first to the investigation.

Informant: A person who regularly provides information to an investigator is an Informant. In return for the information the informant is returned with money or a reduced charge.

Intellectual Property: Intellectual property is a legal claim to something somebody has created or invented. Intellectual property cases usually involve patents, copyrights, trademarks and trade secrets.

Intelligence: Intelligence is a result from the collection, analysis, integration, and interpretation of available information.

Interviewing: Interviewing is a process of obtaining information from people who have any knowledge which might be helpful in a criminal or civil investigation.

Investigation: Investigations is the process of establishing a crime has been committed. Investigations identify and apprehend the suspect, recovering stolen property if any, and assisting in the prosecution of the person charged with the crime.

Investigator: Investigators are officials who gather documents while evaluating evidence and information.

Internet Protocol Address – IP Address: IP Address is an identifier for a computer or device on a computer network. The IP address is a number assigned to every device connected to a computer network.

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Legend: undercover/covert taskings require an operator to have a background or biography, usually supported by documents and memorised details.

Lein: A legal right to keep property belonging to somebody else until their debt is paid.

Liability: Legal liability is both in civil and criminal cases. Liability is an obligation where somebody is liable from a past transaction or events. Liability is a legal responsibility.

Libel: The defamation of a person’s reputation, in writing or by images is libel. Libel is also called slander when it’s in a written format.

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Mail Fraud: Mail fraud covers any scheme which involves the use of mail to defraud individuals.

Malpractice: Professional negligence or misconduct unreasonable lack of professional skill which results in injury or loss to another.

Mirror: Mirror or mirroring is matching a person’s actions, words, or mannerisms. Mirroring is a method to eliminate communication barriers, foster trust, and create the flow of desired information.

Misinformation: Incorrect information. This may be spread accidentally, without intent to mislead or deceive. Examples include misquotes, miscaptions, rumours, or simply information which is inaccurate, mistaken, incomplete, or unintentionally biased.

Mobile surveillance: The process of following a subject/individual during surveillance in a vehicle.

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Oath: Oaths are a formal attestation where a witness swears to tell the truth and acknowledges a the penalties for lying. Under oath is a means of establishing a witness’s competence.

Odometer Fraud: The crime of rolling back a vehicle’s odometer is called odometer fraud. Altering an odometer so it shows lower mileage than actual driven miles is odometer fraud

Open Source Intelligence: Open-source intelligence is the collection of publicly available data and information that is analysed to help, well the investigator, in this case, to help with an investigation. __

Perjury: Perjury is when a person lies or make a false statement in court while under oath.

Polygraph: A polygraph is used to measure somebody’s heart rate, respiration, & galvanic skin response. Polygraphs are commonly called a lie detector. A polygraph has its limitations because it can only detect signs of physiological stress. A polygraph is used by a trained examiner who looks at the results and interprets whether one is lying or not.

Preliminary Investigation: Preliminary investigations are the process undertaken by the first officer to arrive at the scene of a crime. A preliminary investigation can include emergency care, assessment, scene control, & incident reports,

Pretext: A ruse or story given to an individual to disguise the reason one’s true intentions. Pretexting is an method to make contact with a subject without raising suspicion.

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Recorded Statement: Statements or interviews that are recorded.

Repossession: Repossession can be a forced, or voluntary surrender of merchandise or collateral as a result of the customer’s failure to pay as promised. Repossession is used by lenders to recover as much lost cost as possible by reselling the property.

Retainer: Retainer is money paid by the client to obtain services from the private investigator to handle the client’s case. A retainer is a deposit towards the investigator’s fees, a retainer is not the full amount due just enough to start the case.

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Shoplifting: Shoplifting is stealing of goods for sale from a retail establishment. Shoplifting is usually somebody hiding products under their clothing then trying to exit the store without paying for the products.

Slander: Slander are false words that will damage someone’s reputation.

Stalking: Stalking is following and observing a person persistently and surreptitiously. Stalking is sometimes done out of obsession or derangement.

Statement: Statements are a written or recorded communication detailing the their understanding & knowledge of an investigation.

Stationary Surveillance: Observation of activities of a subject from one vantage point. AKA stakeout.

Surveillance: Surveillance is usually secretive and continuous observation of a person, place and thing, with the goal to obtain information concerning the activities and identity of individuals.

Suspect: A person who is seen as possibly being guilty of the crime under investigation.

Sweeping: Sweeping is a technical surveillance countermeasures, which is the process of finding and removing covert listening or video devices.

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Testimony: Testimony is evidence given by a competent witness while under oath. A testimony can be a witness describing events at or leading up to a crime.

Threat Assessment: Determining the risk level posed by a current threat.

Trespass: Trespassing is a criminal offense when somebody stays on another’s private property after being asked to leave.

Trojan Horse: Trojan horse can have many different applications but for computers a Trojan horse is a computer program that is designed to perform an unwanted & malicious function. Trojan horses are programs that while appearing to legit are actually designed to do something malicious to your computer.

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Undercover: Being undercover is disguising your identity for the purposes of gaining the trust of an individual or organization. Often people go undercover to learn secret information or conduct an investigation.

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Victim: In a crime the victim is a person or an organization that has suffered injury or loss as the result the crime.

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Whistleblowing/Whistleblower (also written as whistle-blowing or whistle blowing) is when a person, often an employee, reveals information about activity within a private or public organization that is deemed illegal, immoral, illicit, unsafe or fraudulent.

Wiretap: Wiretaps are a method to monitor telephone conversations. Wiretaps are often done secretly in an attempt to learn some information.

Witness: A witness is anybody who has firsthand knowledge regarding a crime or who has expert information regarding some aspect of the crime. A witness is most often somebody who saw the crime and reported to lawn enforcement. A Witness is also somebody called to upon by a lawsuit for their testimony.



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