THE use of private investigators (PIs) has grown rapidly in recent times, and those who employ them are drawn from all walks of life, a general check by the Jamaica Observer has revealed.

Among the clients are employers who want to know if their employees are really working from home amid the pandemic, as well as individuals locally and internationally who want to ensure their partners are being faithful.

Trevor Valentine, director at Valiant Private Investigative Services Jamaica Limited, told the Jamaica Observer that many workers have been investigated by their bosses since the Government issued a work-from-home order to curtail the spread of the novel coronavirus.

“When we have lockdowns, especially the very first lockdown, and people are working from home, a lot of companies call to check on their workers. Employers were saying they wanted to check on them to see if they were really at home, because they should be working from home but they suspect that they are elsewhere,” Valentine revealed.

“I get a lot of calls. You will hear, ‘My director is staying at home’ or ‘My manager is staying at home but I am not picking up that they are home’, and all those things,” he added, noting that he won’t reveal the companies. “I love what I’m doing; I love investigation. I was a homicide detective. I don’t like an easy case fi deal with, I like [a] challenge, so I really like what I do.”

The director of another company, i360ja, who asked not to be named, said: “It is those places that employ mass employees or high-paid employees. I don’t think that in-between that would be feasible, unless it’s a one-man shop and the boss just disgusting. That’s the only thing that can come to my mind for those cases.”

Both men refused to disclose service charges, saying it goes against their policy.

The i360ja director explained, however, that: “It really depends on what motivates them to get the information. Sometimes the expenses to get the job done can be very large.”

The Private Security Regulation Authority (PSRA), an agency within the Ministry of National Security, charges a fee of $5,000 for the registration of a private investigator (PI).

The PSRA serves to monitor and regulate the operations of organisations and individuals operating in the private security industry, and to facilitate a closer link between private security and State security in the interest of national well-being.

These organisations include contract security organisations, proprietary security organisations, private secuirty guards, private investigators and security trainers.

According to the PSRA, due to the rapid growth in the number of organisations and individuals operating in the private security industry, “it became highly desirable that a system be introduced to subject those organisations and individuals to some form of regulation and monitoring, hence the passing of the [Private Security Regulations Act] in 1992.”

Valentine, the ex-policeman, told the Sunday Observer that there have been cases in which both men and women who are overseas paid for his services to keep track of their partners in Jamaica. In some instances, he said, these were people who were filing for partners they met online and wanted to make sure they weren’t just being used for a green card.

“People do reach out for private investigator services, and you find it more from the people overseas than the local side. It is more of the people in the Diaspora and Jamaicans abroad. People will meet somebody and say they want to file for them, but they want to know if they are serious. You get many of those cases,” he said.

“Jamaica is a very unique country, with connections to a lot of people. And Jamaicans are all over the world. People call from Germany, Russia, United States, Canada, and many places in the Caribbean.”

He added that people want to find out everything.

“What I find out is that people file for people and when they go up, they find issues and run off leave them. They just wanted a green card. Some of them get the green card and then file for their loved ones who are in Jamaica. They would ask, ‘Is Mary Brown serious? Does she have an affair?’ People want to know about them first.”

The i360ja director told the Sunday Observer that these types of cases are defining for local PIs.

“That is what started the great need for private investigators in Jamaica. It was the great need for people to have somewhere to go and investigate infidelity, because the police don’t do that. There is no national body that does that, so people started to use private investigators. Majority of the calls we get are for infidelity… and then second in line is people who have people’s money and disappear,” he said.

“People from overseas call and ask that, as well as locally. A lot of people call — married and unmarried people. Even the matey want fi know if the man have anybody other than him wife, so it is not partial.”

He added that, through investigations, many relationships come out stronger than ever.

“I have done cases that actually helped marriages. One party may have been saying they are not doing anything wrong and won’t talk about it, but when you investigate, get the information, and present it the proper way, they have no choice but to recant and have the conversation. Then you hear ‘This is why mi unhappy… this is why mi a cheat.’ Time and time again, I save marriages.

“People who really want to make their marriage work, it save them. They go through the pain of investigating it and exposing it to say, ‘Here is the evidence… I want to save our relationship’ and they go through. It happens. A case on the top of my mind that I did is a prominent businessman and woman in Kingston — a power couple. The man said he wasn’t doing anything but the investigation proved otherwise.”

Valentine added: “Many of them [suspicious partners] are right and many of them commend me for it. But for some, there is nothing going on and it’s just suspicion. What people want is peace of mind and to know what is going on. When it’s true, I always advise them to get a counsellor, whether they are married or not.”

However, he added that some requests are out of jealousy and insecurity and, as such, demand extra caution.

“I am mindful of how I deal with them. I have turned down a lot of clients because sometimes, just talking to them, you hear jealousy in their voice. I am trained, and just by speaking with some of them I know that all they want is reprisal and getting back at [their partner]. So, I put them aside and I don’t do the work for them. And you know where it’s going to end up. We know that men are doing women some serious things now because of love affairs, so I vet my clients and remind them of the seriousness,” he said.

“Everything I do, I do it covertly. I am trained. I am a former detective sergeant; I spend all my years in the police force… I’ve never worked anywhere else in Jamaica than in the force. I retired early in 2012 and then formed my company; so I know how to deal with people in this job — and I know when to pull away from a situation. Sometimes I do investigations on people who want to give me a job… and I find that most people are violent people.”

Further, the i360ja director said overseas families also pay for investigation of “mysterious deaths”.

“These are sudden death cases. People come to Jamaica and die, and their family abroad want clarity and transparency. Even after the police and the court have done their job, some of them are still not satisfied,” he said.

“I get a lot of calls also because of people who have people’s money. People lend or give people money to do things and time pass and they can’t find them. And then, they don’t have enough evidence to make a complaint to the police,” he said.