Investigation in the United States has taken a turn to the online environment.



This started to happen from 1995 to 1996 with the appearance of the investigative tools: Web Detective and Net Detective. Later, these services found dozens of imitators trying to ride the boom of online information provision.

The P.I. tools began as rudimentary, almost ebook-like software programs but now they are practically 100% web based subscription services, which seem to function better and with more flexibility. They are also offered as once-only payment services with up to three years searching - or monthly subscription

services in the case of Net Detective Plus. This latter product is offered more as a professional's search tool with endorsement by the National Association of Independent Private Investigators.

Companies claim that their tools are used daily by hundreds of law enforcement agents across the United States of America, and that the total number of users or customers in the general population of the USA now exceeds 750,000 users.

Another statistic claimed is that Co. databases now have searchable in-house records on over 211,500,000 US citizens. The legality of searching these personal records is attributed to the Freedom Of Information Act, which is a Federal US law. To comply with privacy and record updating requirements are

two further considerations that this writer has not yet explored.

The electronic delivery of data can rightly lead to a statement like: Imagine becoming an expert Internet based investigator in about 60 seconds flat!

A prospect is then asked to: Picture yourself, sitting at your home or office computer, with all the power and tools of an experienced private investigator at your fingertips.

These are indeed powerful search tools that can capture the imagination of being able to instantly find out what someone's criminal record contains. Or what liens or Court judgements have been made against an individual in the USA. Or to verify a Social Security number or find out details of births,

deaths, marriages, divorce and adoption, or DMV records.

A traditional P.I. or investigator for the government may begin to realize that what looked complex at first is really incredibly simple to do with an online search tool such as Net Detective.

This is largely because US Public Records are searchable online. State and Federal Government departments such as DMV, the Social Security Administration and Court houses (DOJ) have very cautiously released some databases such as Court and criminal records.

Obviously, the caution is based on fears of contravening the opposing privacy legislation which looks at first glance to be in conflict with the Freedom Of Information Act. However, each piece of law has its specific areas of

application.

Some clear uses for the online search tools include HR pre employment screening, tenant background checking, legal office information gathering, private investigation and law enforcement. It is a tribute to the North

American society that openness and transparency can truly survive in the USA,

as indeed The Constitution of The United States of America always intended.

Enter the Information Age of The Internet and the tools appear like magic for people to access vast storehouses of social information.

Web based search tools such as Net Detective will prove useful to both amateur online investigators and professionals alike, as individuals can quickly find out just what information government agencies and departments are holding on them. Freedom of information has returned the power to the

individual citizen and The Internet amplifies this newfound informational power.

Net Detective simply provides an organizing tool for these processes to occur faster. Finding lost people in America then becomes a matter of searching the most suitable and relevant federal or state government database records. The new tools make the job simple.

Geoffrey P. Dodd