Corporate Investigations

corporate-investigators

Sometimes something goes so badly wrong in your company that you need to bring in professional external investigators. Whether it involves employee theft, loss prevention, suspicions of drug abuse, sexual misconduct, or other related illegal activity, a good business owner can’t afford to let the problem become worse due to a botched investigation.

Such situations should be handled by a professional security agency with the experience and knowledge to find the right answers to the toughest questions. Choosing the right agency, therefore, is extremely important.

When Do I Need a Corporate Investigation?

Corporate investigations are mainly conducted to unveil fraud and embezzlement in businesses by employees, issues with huge ramifications for the future of the business. There may be a substantial amount of money on the line, or even legal risks that could threaten the company.

Outside investigators are usually brought in when someone within the company is probably to blame for an irregularity, whether through malice or incompetence, and management need to find out what happened without alerting employees to what is happening. After all, if fraud or theft are taking place, the last thing you want to do is tip off the thief before you find out who they are.

Investigators will:

  • Assess company records to discover irregularities and trace leaks
  • Observe your workplace to learn who is involved in relevant projects and what they do
  • Ue audio and visual surveillance to gain additional evidence
  • Where relevant go undercover to learn hidden secrets
  • Interview employees if doing so would not jeopardize the investigation.

How To Choose The Agency for Your Corporate Investigation

When choosing the right corporate investigation agency for you there are many aspects to consider. Do not rush the decision and make sure you have satisfied all your questions before taking someone on. 

The most important elements are hiring skilled investigators, maintaining professional protocol during the investigation, having a plan for difficult decisions and keeping the business flowing while the investigation is ongoing. 

 

Hire Skilled and Experienced Investigators

Most corporate investigations are extremely complex. Private Security Agencies hired to look into complicated matters should be experienced and have many investigative methods to utilize. As well as trained investigators using face-to-face interviews and other traditional methods, your agency should be comfortable using state-of-the-art databases commonly used by law enforcement and other agencies to access key information about suspects. 

To accomplish this, make sure the agency you hire to conduct your investigation is committed to constantly training its employees in the latest investigative techniques. By doing so, you will be assured of having investigations conducted that are accurate, reliable, and provide information that can be counted upon to be trustworthy. 

Ranger Guard prioritizes hiring investigators with prior experience in law enforcement or military intelligence, then training them in civilian investigation methods. Combining that front-line relevant experience with up-to-date top quality training means that Ranger Guard investigators have all the tools available to succeed in concluding your corporate investigation safely. 

 

Maintain Professional Protocol and Confidentiality

Strict confidentiality is absolutely necessary to gain correct and accurate information from people you are questioning. It’s especially important when conducting employee background investigations requiring multiple interviews throughout the company. Your investigators have to make staff feel comfortable enough to share any crucial information. There are also legal reasons to consider. 

If an investigations firm begins to cut corners or fails to follow proper procedure during the course of an internal investigation, you could open yourself up to lawsuits later on and have to pay fines or compensation. Any litigation judgements or enforcement actions you are awarded could be overturned. Legal privilege is of course critical and you cannot have interviews leaked. Your legal department should be involved in the process, unless they are also under review. In such cases, take outside counsel. 

Make sure you hire an agency like Ranger Guard with a reputation for having the utmost integrity and confidentiality in investigation services. If an agency is reluctant to explain to you how they operate or what they are going to do, walk away. 

 

Have a Plan For Difficult Decisions

When a company needs to conduct an investigation, it’s expected that at some point difficult decisions will need to be made about the information uncovered. In some cases that may involve reprimanding or firing an employee. Other instances can be much more serious and even see criminal charges. The results obtained can lead to discoveries and consequences no one imagined. 

Whatever the case, it’s vital to discuss possible outcomes with your investigations firm before beginning. You need to know what the plan is for how to handle different possible outcomes and how your agency plans to handle them. An experienced agency will be able to explain some of the more problematic possibilities ahead of time so you have an opportunity to prepare. Corporate misconduct is treated very differently from employee misconduct and sadly both are very real possibilities in many investigations. 

Ranger Guard is familiar with the requirements and penalties many regulators have in place and so can advise regarding possible consequences where wrongdoing is uncovered. All these conversations will be covered by privilege and will be subject to the utmost discretion.

 

Keep Business Flowing

Company investigations should disrupt business as little as possible. Whether interviewing employees or using surveillance, make sure to stay discreet. Drawing attention to the investigation can ruin the results or result in criminals escaping justice. Always discuss exactly how your agency plans to conduct an investigation including how they will allow you to conduct business as usual and remain under the radar.

Ranger Guard’s Four Step Corporate Investigation Process

Ranger Guard investigations follow a simple Four Step Corporate Investigation Process. At every stage your investigator will explain what is going on and you will have the opportunity to ask questions and take notes.
Before any of these steps begin, the investigator team will sit down with you and explain their plan and give you an opportunity to ask questions.

Step One: Collect Evidence 

The first step is conducting the actual investigation and collecting evidence. This includes documents, databases, access logs and any information relevant to the question. Many tax or fraud violations are uncovered during this step. Expert investigators will be extremely thorough in their requests and will ask for all the information you have.

Step Two: Interviews And Interrogations

After gathering all the raw data they need, your private investigator will interview and interrogate witnesses and suspects. They will do this after collecting paper evidence so they know which questions to ask, who to ask them to and where the areas of interest lie. Interviews will typically be recorded. If interviews are impractical since they may tip people off, investigators may conduct undercover work at this stage. 

Step Three: Analysis

All the collected evidence will be examined and analyzed to test various hypotheses and draw appropriate conclusions. 

Step Four: Presenting The Case

Your agency will present the case to you. Ranger Guard will present the facts to you and leave you to make the decision about how to proceed. You will receive a detailed report on the case allowing you to refer back to it later.

Ranger Guard Corporate Investigation Services

Ranger Guard, like many other full-service firms, offers bespoke security solutions tailored to the exact needs of the client. Services not listed here or unusual combinations of different protection types are all available. Contact us with more information about your specific needs and we will be able to draw up a workplace security plan specifically for you.  

Our responsive and available management team provides continuous training and support to the officers to make sure they are ready to face the changing security landscape. As new technology becomes available and alters the security landscape we adapt our practices to stay at the cutting edge of the industry. Each Ranger Guard investigation is unique to the question being answered. The bigger the question and the larger the organization being investigated, the more staff and services will be needed.

 

Private Investigators

Our highly trained agents, mostly from military and law-enforcement backgrounds will come onsite and conduct on the ground investigations. There is no substitute for this kind of old fashioned security work.

 

Analysts

Modern corporate investigations throw up reams of data. Our analysts will go through the relevant paperwork and find the irregularities which point to leaks.

 

Support Staff

Agents will liaise with clients, arrange appointments, manage the project and schedule and keep everyone on the same page about how the investigation is going. 

 

Surveillance Technology

We can install cameras, keyloggers, GPS trackers and other forms of audio, visual and location surveillance to get you the best possible information about what is happening.

Book Your Free Consultation Now

If you have a problem at your company and need discreet professional assistance, contact Ranger Guard today to schedule a free consultation. Our highly trained investigators will be available to walk you through the process of pursuing a case and help you make a decision.

To book your free security consultation, call Ranger Guard now.