ABSTRACT
Private investigators (PIs) have an uneasy role in the surveillance landscape. In the US, private investigators may be hired by both the prosecution and the defence in court cases, to uncover evidence relating to a crime. Insurance companies may hire or indeed have their own investigation teams to look into cases of suspected fraud. As private operatives, PIs are for the most part responsible only to themselves and the law. There is therefore less pressure on PIs than on police to act ethically, and this is a cause for some concern, given the investigative and surveillance skills that PIs have and the uses to which these may be put. The authority to practise as a PI granted by a license also goes some way towards mitigating a further question that of the difference between a PI and a stalker. This may sound extreme, but the central difference between a legitimate PI and a stalker is the intention of the individual.
