Digging deep

We speak to award-winning professional investigator Mike LaCorte about how covert intelligence can span countries and support law firms on anything from litigation to corporate fraud.

“There can be stigma attached to our industry, with the words ‘private detective’ and the image of a guy in a long, dark trench coat,” says professional investigator Mike LaCorte. “But there are some law firms out there that aren’t experienced in understanding what an investigator actually does and how they can help a case.”

Most cases that end up in court will include some type of investigation, whether an in-house paralegal search or an investigator’s professional information gathering and findings documentation. “We can work side-by-side with legal teams to get an advantage,” says Mike, who was named World Association of Detectives (WAD) Investigator of the Year in 2016 for helping a high net worth client who was blackmailed by a criminal gang.

“In-house researchers are not out on the ground, taking statements, conducting interviews, doing surveillance and field inquiries. A lawyer might think, ‘We’ve done a few searches, but need more – someone who knows how to navigate this and prepare a professional report.’”

A self-regulating industry

An international investigator for more than 25 years, Mike was trained privately in intelligence gathering and covert surveillance by ex-British Armed Forces members. He began subcontracting for different agencies, taking images of residential addresses and carrying out other field work.

After joining an intelligence firm and working his way up to director, in 2003 Mike set up his own consultancy. This merged with another in 2008 to create Conflict International, which he leads, serving three types of client across different geographies: the legal sector, corporate firms and private individuals. “We generally operate in the civil arena, but if anything we investigate has a criminal element we have a duty to report it to the police. We share everything we have with them.”

The company takes on students for work experience, as the profession becomes an increasingly visible and attractive career choice. Previously, it mainly comprised former military and police officers; now there is a BTEC Level 3 Award for Professional Investigators, accredited by the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation.

But the industry is yet to be licensed in the UK, unlike in the US and some eastern and western European countries. Mike is hopeful that will change. “In 1998 the Data Protection Act tried to legitimise and professionalise the investigation gathering industry, with self-regulation put in place through the Association of British Investigators (ABI) shortly after. We’ve been pushing for licencing ever since.”

The ABI has also put in place a Code of Conduct that the profession is hopeful will be approved by the Information Commissioner’s Office this year, putting another external monitoring body put in place to ensure compliance in the industry. Mike was recently voted on to the ABI Governing Council and is a past president and chairman of the WAD. His priorities are to continue to liaise with the Law Society and the ABI Code of Conduct.

Tools and methods

When he started out, the day-to-day job looked different. Information could be found on microfiche, in files in libraries, and in birth, marriage and death registries. “This was pre-internet – trying to get access to data and connect the dots,” he says. “We’ve got younger guys coming through our company now who now prefer to solve cases at their desk.”

Consented datasets provide primary data that investigators can dig through and extract, without getting “lost down rabbit holes of useless information and trying to verify the primary source of information”. This avoids the risk of using secondary, inaccurate data that may have been scraped off the dark web, for example.

But there’s no substitute for field work, Mike says. “I tell my team, ‘Please don’t miss the opportunity to get out on the ground, speak to people and take statements. What you find online might not be the full picture.’”

Investigators also use drones, particularly for field work in an address that’s difficult to access, when they don’t want to arouse suspicion or are monitoring potentially dangerous targets. “Drone support was pivotal for us when investigating fly-tipping and the vehicles associated with it,” Mike says. “Obviously you need all the checks and balances first. You can’t just throw one up, there’s got to be a reason for it.”

When working with a law firm, Mike’s team may start with OSINT (open-source intelligence), looking for data available on an individual or company via databases and court records, both for the UK and globally. “To go a little bit deeper, we may send field operatives out to photograph addresses or assets. We might also mobilise surveillance teams on the ground.”

But every investigation has got to be proportionate and necessary to the objective. “We need to have a legitimate interest to investigate an individual,” Mike says. “We need to know what we have been asked to do and why. We’ve got to make sure that what we’re doing is not breaching any privacy or human rights.” Reports must stand up in court so Mike’s team will conduct privacy impact assessments to ensure the roles and methods they deploy are proportionate to the results.

Legalities

“Obviously, we’ve got to respect all of the laws in the jurisdictions we operate in, such as data privacy, GDPR and the Human Rights Act,” Mike says. If an international assignment uncovers a subject with footprints in 10 countries, the investigator will have to understand what licences to operate, the local resources available and what can be done remotely. “We have service level agreements with many investigators in different jurisdictions.”

What can be done depends on the region. For example, private surveillance in many areas of the Middle East is illegal. If there were complaints of fraud, the investigator would need to go straight to the police.

“If a client is in the UK, all reports must go in front of a UK court,” Mike adds. “I’ve seen it go wrong – investigations that have obtained information in foreign jurisdictions that’s great for the case but was not collected legally or correctly. At the minimum the case is thrown out. Investigators need to be experienced in running  international investigations.”

Artificial intelligence (AI) is poised to have a huge impact on professional investigations, like most other industries. On one hand, deepfake AI will have implications for criminal activities; on the other, investigators want to leverage AI to help with the investigation process.

“Basic, automated work, like pre-employment checks, could be carried out by AI,” Mike says. “But if you are doing an investigation where you need to think on your feet and explore information gaps, the human element cannot be removed.”

Mike provides a free service to law firms – 15 minutes with an investigator. “You’ve got a case that is difficult. You’ve looked at it from a legal position. We look at it from an investigation viewpoint. Let’s discuss it and see if there is something you haven’t thought about.”

The company has had, on occasion, “random requests for crazy stuff – tracking phones or getting bank account details”. Mike adds: “Ensuring we are staying on the right side of the law is always our first priority.”

The reality is that professional investigators have step-by-step processes in place to work alongside legal teams to find solutions to requests, and to find and legally obtain admissible evidence. “We might be able to find that nugget of information that opens up a legal route to obtain difficult source information, like a disclosure order for a bank to reveal the next layer of information through discovery,” he adds. “Investigators can then review and look for additional leads.”

How professional investigators are used

Asset tracing individuals or companies – before or after a judgment.

Blackmail investigations – looking for personal security breaches with forensic sweeps; counter surveillance.

Corporate disputes – gathering evidence for use in arbitration or negotiation.

Fraud – working with international agencies to trace scammers.

Tracing individuals – a missing person or witness, or for process serving.

Written by Anna Scott, freelance journalist