A court appointed private investigator? America is leading the way in court funded private investigation. Its becoming an intrinsic part of a defence strategy that private investigators are called in to interview potential witnesses for the defence.
It stands to reason that a single person that has been accused of a crime does not not have access to resources for evidence gathering and interviewing that is equal to that of the police.
A story was recently aired about a judge in America who awarded a juvenile defendant in a murder case $5000 to hire a professional court appointed private investigator in order to prepare for his defence in an adult trial. At the time the police had only had 24 hours to conduct their investigation, however you can be sure there was more than 1 person working it. While in most cases the defendant will have a limited amount of funds and time to spend proving their innocence.
Why is this story important for us here in the UK I hear you ask. Well you may remember a while ago we wrote about the cuts in police funding in the UK and how they were affecting the ability of the police to conduct competent investigations. Earlier this month the BBC reported that all of the police forces are facing cuts of least 5% before the election, and there is a possibility of more cuts after it.
The stories we covered last year highlighted the cuts facing the police and that victims were being asked to investigate the minor crimes committed against them. When we say minor, you can be sure they are not minor to the victims. There were 7 million crimes committed against property and people aged over the age of 16 in the year ending September 2014.
The question is, should the British government follow America’s lead and set aside court funding for the purpose of hiring professional private investigators for both the victim and the alleged perpetrator.
Whether you are a victim or have been wrongly accused, a professional private investigator can help you win your case.
Here at Alpha 1 Legal Services all of our investigations are carried out objectively and ethically.
