Happy 4-Year Anniversary Guns, Gams and Gumshoes! #bookgiveaway

Guns, Gams, and Gumshoes: A Defense Attorney and PI Who Also Happen to Be Writers

On June 9, 2013, Guns, Gams & Gumshoes celebrates its four-year anniversary — thanks for being along for the ride!

Our blog byline started out as “A couple of PIs who also write” but as one of us is now a criminal defense attorney, we’ve changed it to “A defense attorney and a PI who also happen to be writers.”

We’ve had a great time writing these blogs.  Four years ago, we started this blog  to help fiction writers better understand the tools and tasks of contemporary private investigators for their characters and stories.  But we’ve also written for our peers in the profession, as well as those simply curious about the real-world of private investigators.

Shoutouts to Guns, Gams & Gumshoes

Along the way, we’ve garnered some recognition:

• Noted in Bill Crider‘s column in August 2010 Ellery Queen Magazine as being one of the top three true crime blogs.
• Ranked by PINow.com as being #8 in the top 44 private investigator blogs throughout the U.S. in 2012
• Chosen by the American Library Association‘s Booklist Online to be “Web Crush of the Week” during its 2012 Mystery Month.

We’re Giving Away Books!  Yeah, We’re Talking Free

What’s a celebration without some free stuff?  To celebrate our anniversary, we’re offering free downloads of our two nonfiction books on private investigations on June 9 and 10.  To download a book for your Kindle, PC or Mac computer, browser or a variety of mobile devices, click on the links below.

Click on the book title link (or the book cover) to open its Amazon page. Remember, these downloads are free on June 9 and 10 only:

How Do Private Eyes Do That? by Colleen Collins

“A must have for any writer serious about crafting authentic private eyes. Collins knows her stuff.”
- Lori Wilde, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author

“Real-life private investigator Colleen Collins spills the beans.”
~The Thrilling Detective

How to Write a Dick: A Guide to Writing Fictional Sleuths from a Couple of Real-Life Sleuths by Colleen Collins and Shaun Kaufman

“This is an amazing book and I’m very happy that I got it. The authors cover so much ground about a PI’s life and work, I’d find it hard to get a more thorough overview. Since this book is geared towards writers, I think the authors provided just the right amount of detail regarding specific PI work.”
~Allie R.

“HOW TO WRITE A DICK is an accessible, up-to-date guide to the realities of P.I. work uniquely tuned in to what fiction writers want/need to know. If it had been around when I was fiction editor for THE THRILLING DETECTIVE WEB SITE, my job would have been much easier.”
~Gerald So

Readers’ Favorite Articles Over Four Years

In four years, we’ve written 256 posts in 165 categories, with nearly 200,000 of you dropping by to read and post comments. Below, we list our readers’ top 10 favorite articles since we opened our blog doors in 2009…

Our readers’ #1 blog post over these four years has been:

Private vs. Public Investigators: What’s the Difference?

Below are the next most popular readers’ posts, from #2 through #10:

Can You Put a GPS on My Boyfriend’s Car?

Booklist Online’s “Web Crush of the Week”:  Guns, Gams and Gumshoes

How to Find Someone: Free Online Research Tips

When the Amazing Race Reality Show Called and Invited Us to Audition

Shaun Kaufman and Colleen Collins, the Writing PIs

What’s the Importance of a Crime Scene?

Private Investigators and Murder Cases

Marketing the Private Investigations Business

How to Find Someone’s Cell Phone Number

iPhone Apps for Private Investigators

Our Other Sites

Shaun Kaufman Law

Colleen Collins Books

Thanks for dropping by, Writing PIs

Can a Minor Hire a Private Detective?

Today we’re answering a reader’s question: “Could a minor hire a private detective?”

Answer: A minor can hire a private detective so long as the minor’s request is legal.  In other words, just like with adults, a minor can’t hire a PI to conduct such illegal activities as harassment, stalking or  intimidation.  The minor must also have the ratification of the minor’s parents.  This flows from a rule of contract law pertaining to a minor’s ability to enter into binding contracts.  To paraphrase, this rule says that minors can enter into enforceable contracts so long as they have their parents’ assent.

Perhaps a more important question is: Would a private investigator want to be hired by a minor?  A PI having his/her actions directed by someone under the age of 18 is exposing him/herself to liability and professional criticism.  If something were to go wrong during the investigation–say, an unexpected confrontation between the PI and the object of the investigation–there could be a challenge to the PI’s exercise of professional judgement.  Let’s say the object of the investigation, upset about the confrontation, files a professional negligence lawsuit against the PI, accusing him/her of harassment and invasion of privacy.  The plaintiff might use, as a damning circumstance, that this so-called “professional” PI was taking orders from a minor.  The PI could look bad, even very bad, in court when he/she admits they were working a case being directed by a teenager.

Great question!

Have a great week, Writing PIs

Related articles

All about the life and work of an investigator (slideshare.net)

Ten Articles About Private Investigations (thezenman.com)

An E-Misperception: It’s Easy to Find People on the Internet (thezenman.com)

Don’t Shoot the Messenger: Growing Issue of Assaults on Process Servers

We’ve written several posts here at Guns, Gams, and Gumshoes about our experiences with violent reactions by those to whom we’ve served legal papers.  We’ve had dogs sic’d on us, had a woman pound Shaun’s back as he walked away (he kept walking…she kept pounding…she finally stopped when he reached his car), had people follow us screaming obscenities and threats, even once had a politician get incensed and call the sheriff, who took our side (we’d behaved professionally, and the process service was legal…in fact, the sheriff, right in front of the politician, asked us if we’d like him to serve the papers for us because of how the politician was behaving.  We said no, we’d like to complete the job).

In Colorado, a process server was murdered several years ago

We’ve had dogs sic’d on us while serving legal papers

In our state, a process server was murdered several years ago in the course of serving divorce papers.  He made the bad decision to get in the middle of a domestic squabble, and the ex-husband-to-be killed him.

We have different views on serving legal papers

We write about our differing viewpoints regarding conducting process service in our book How to Write a Dick: A Guide for Writing Fictional Sleuths from a Couple of Real-Life Sleuths. Shaun takes the view that serving process is a critical, and noble, function of the legal system (he’s right).  Colleen takes the view that it’s getting too dangerous for her taste (she wrote that after a man threatened to run Shaun over with his car when Shaun served him legal papers, so she’s right, too).

Now that Shaun’s practicing law again, Colleen has been serving legal papers for his cases.  In the last three months, she’s had two women follow her, screaming obscenities, one even had her fists raised as though ready to hit (Colleen’s become very good at speed-walking).

Articles on process servers being assaulted

But it’s not just the two of us who have noticed the increasing levels of violence.  ServeNow.com, an organization for process servers, posted the article “Process Servers and Assault” in June.

This month, PI Magazine includes the article “Process Servers and Assault: A Growing Issue,” which offers the below tips (which we’ve paraphrased) for process servers if they are victims of assault (to obtain a copy of this article, purchase the October 2012 issue of PI Magazine–if you’re reading this article after this issue is off the stands, PI Magazine also sells back issues):

1. Contact the police

2.  Network: Talk to other process servers about your experience, contact your local [process server/private investigator] association

3. Raise awareness by contacting local news stations/newspapers, industry publications

And we’ll add to the last item, by writing blogs like this.

Have a safe week, Writing PIs

Related articles

• A Story of a Botched Background Check (writingpis.wordpress.com)
• Using Google to Find People (writingpis.wordpress.com)

Happy 3-Year Anniversary Guns, Gams and Gumshoes!

Guns, Gams, and Gumshoes: A Couple of PIs Who Also Write

This week — June 9 to be exact — Guns, Gams, and Gumshoes celebrates its three-year anniversary as a blog by a couple of PIs who also write.  We’ve had fun writing these blogs.  As we stated from the beginning, our primary reason for starting this blog was to help fiction writers better understand the tools and tasks of contemporary private investigators for their stories. But we’ve also written for our peers in the profession, from new investigative techniques and products to issues affecting the professional private investigations industry.

Shoutouts to Guns, Gams, and Gumshoes

Along the way, we’ve garnered some recognition:

• Noted in Bill Crider‘s column in August 2010 Ellery Queen Magazine as being one of the top three true crime blogs.
• Ranked by PINow.com as being #8 in the top 44 private investigator blogs throughout the U.S. in 2012
• Chosen this past week by the American Library Association‘s Booklist Online to be “Web Crush of the Week” during its Mystery Month.

We’re Giving Away Books!

What’s a celebration without some free stuff?  To celebrate our anniversary, we’re giving away 3 free copies of our nonfiction books on private investigations: How Do Private Eyes Do That? and How to Write a Dick: A Guide to Writing Fictional Sleuths from a Couple of Real-Life Sleuths.  They come in two flavors: Kindle and Nook, and if you don’t have one of these ereader devices, you can still download a copy to your browser for reading.  We call that a win-win.

How to Win a Free Book

Post a comment to this blog.  Yeah, it’s as easy as that.  We’ll write the winners back at their email addresses.

Deadline for Entering

June 15, midnight. We’ll contact the winners the following day, June 16.

Readers’ Favorite Articles on Guns, Gams, and Gumshoes

We’ve written nearly 250 articles since we launched Guns, Gams, and Gumshoes.  Below are 10 of our readers’ favorites.  To read an article, click the link.

Private vs. Public Investigators: What’s the Difference?

Excerpt from How to Write a Dick: Real-Life PIs’ Pet Peeves About Fictional Ones

Answering Writer’s Question: Are PIs and Cops Compatible?

Shaun Kaufman and Colleen Collins, the Writing PIs

When the Amazing Race Reality Show Called and Asked Us to Audition

Top Mistakes Writers Make When Depicting Crime
Scenes

Answering Writers’ Questions: What Records Can PIs Legally Obtain?

Answering Writer’s Question: How Can a Person Stay Hidden?

Private Eye Stories That Get It Right

Answering Writers’ Questions: PIs Wearing Disguises and Carrying Guns

What’s the Importance of a Crime Scene?

Have a great week, Writing PIs

Related articles

• Booklist Online’s “Web Crush of the Week”: Guns, Gams and Gumshoes (writingpis.wordpress.com)
• Story Foibles in Private Eye Fiction (writingpis.wordpress.com)

Surveillances: When in the Country, Don’t Be a City Slicker

Sounds obvious, doesn’t it?  When conducting a surveillance in the country, don’t act like a city slicker.  But if you’re a citified PI who rarely, if ever, conducts rural surveillances, maybe you’re unaware that dressing in jeans, a flannel shirt and boots only goes so far if you’re also driving a spanking-clean pick-up.  Same applies if you’re a writer writing a PI-character doing a surveillance in the country — some of these tips might come in handy in your story.

Today, we’re sharing a few of our slides from a recent presentation we made at the Pikes Peak Writers Conference on Surveillance 101.

Rural Surveillances: Don’t Look Like a City Slicker

How to Not Blend in on Surveillance

On the other hand, if you’re writing a humorous character, make him/her not blend in!

Win a $10 Amazon Gift Certificate: Check out contest by clicking here.

Have a great week, Writing PIs

Related articles

• Surveillance Rule Number 1: Blend In (writingpis.wordpress.com)

Surveillance Rule Number 1: Blend In

Your Writing PIs

Last month we gave several presentations at the Pike Peak Writers Conference, a fun, informative annual conference held in beautiful Colorado Springs, Colorado. We taught two workshops for writers: “Surveillance 101″ and “Missing Persons 101.”

Today we’ll share a few of our “Surveillance 101″ slides on the topic of “blending in” while on surveillance:

Rule Number One: Blend In!

Types of clothing to wear on surveillance, based on locale, weather, length of surveillance

Choose an Appropriate Surveillance Vehicle for the Locale

Tips for Picking Effective Surveillance Vehicles

More Tips for Effective Surveillance Vehicles

We loved The Rockford Files, but this is hardly an effective surveillance vehicle!

Have a great day, Writing PIs

Related articles

• Talking Surveillance Cameras Coming to U.S. Streets (640whlo.com)
• Talking Surveillance Cameras Coming to U.S. Streets: ‘Intellistreets’ system now being installed with DHS backing (destructionist.wordpress.com)

Private Eye Stories That Get It Right

Today we’re looking at a few writers who nail private investigations in their stories.

Steve Hamilton, Misery Bay. In this short paragraph, he captures how it sometimes feels on stationary surveillances when you’ve been sitting and staring for a long, long time:

Another hour passed. The sun tried to come out for a few seconds, but the clouds reassembled and then it was a normal Michigan sky again. Cars went by, one by one, kicking up slush. I stayed where I was, feeling like I was slipping into some sort of trance, but always with one eye on the side-view mirror.

George Pelecanos, The Cut. Sometimes we think that if we say we’re private investigators, the person will refuse to talk to us, so we’ll simply say we’re investigators or legal investigators…omitting the word “private” can keep the conversation warm.  However, we’re careful not to lie about our work, and if asked who we’re working for, we’re upfront that we’re working on behalf of the defense.

In the below dialogue, the PI, Lucas, is looking for potential interviews on a case. Lucas speaks first.

“Look, I don’t mean to bother you, but I’m looking into a theft on this block.”

“You police?”

“I’m an investigator,” said Lucas. It didn’t answer the question exactly, and it wasn’t a lie.

Don Winslow, The Gentlemen’s Hour. Winslow is a former private investigator , so no surprise he nails the PI profession in his writing. The below excerpt, where the PI brainstorms case strategy, legal aspects and the legal players with the attorney, hit home with us. Often we work closely with defense attorneys on case/investigative strategies and issues — this type of “brainstorming” relationship is due to our backgrounds (before returning to the practice of law, one of us was a former criminal defense attorney) and also our established attorney-PI relationships that have been built over time where both sides have proven track records and mutual respect.

In this passage, the attorney-client, Petra, is speaking to the PI, Boone. Corey is the defendant whose family has retained Petra. The first line is Petra’s.

“I’m not sure it’s a viable defense anyway,” she says. “But it’s worth looking into. Where else do you want to take it?”

Boone starts off with where he can’t take it. He can’t talk to Trevor Bodin or the Knowles brothers because their lawyers know that their interests conflict with Corey’s and won’t let the interviews happen. Those kids, smarter than Corey, started making their deals right in the police interview rooms. The best they can hope for is that Alan takes a chunk or two off the rest of the crew’s credibility during cross-exam, but that’s about it. So that’s no good. But he can run down more info on the Rockpile Crew and the “gang” issue, find out what they were all about.

Boone sums all that up for Petra, and then says, “If Corey takes that attitude into a trial, Mary Lou will ride it to a max sentence.”

Have a great week, Writing PIs

Related articles

• Answering Writer’s Question: Are PIs and Cops Compatible? (writingpis.wordpress.com)
• Private Investigators and Murder Cases (writingpis.wordpress.com)
• Answering Writers’ Questions About Private Investigators Investigating Kidnappings (writingpis.wordpress.com)
• Answering Writers’ Questions: What Records Can PIs Legally Obtain? (writingpis.wordpress.com)
• Excerpt from How Do Private Eyes Do That?: How PIs Are Used in Cases Where DNA Evidence Is Employed (writingpis.wordpress.com)

Private Investigators and Murder Cases

At Elizabeth A. White’s blog, Guns, Gams, and Gumshoes’s PI Colleen Collins posted a guest article that responds to novelist Ed McBain‘s comment “The last time a private eye solved a murder was never.” An excerpt from the post “Do Private Eyes Solve Murders?” is below; to read the full article, click here.

Do Private Eyes Solve Murders?

The last time a private eye solved a murder was never.” -Ed McBain *

Like many of you, I love a gritty, fast-paced private eye story where the shamus solves a grisly murder or two. Investigating death makes for compelling storytelling rift with bodies, suspects and clues. In my current novel The Zen Man, the private-eye protagonist must solve a murder in thirty days or face a life sentence behind bars.

But how true is it in real life that private investigators solve murders? Is Ed McBain right that the answer is never? I compiled a few popular theories on this topic — some from the Internet, others my PI-partner-husband and I have heard over the years – with analysis for each.

Theory #1: In stories, private eyes are often effective because they are less constrained by government rules than law enforcement. But in reality, law enforcement must be wary about endorsing a PI’s evidence because 1) it’s unknown what methods the PI used in obtaining that evidence (if the PI obtained the evidence through illegal means, it would be thrown out at trial), and 2) by accepting a PI’s evidence, the police could be seen as using the PI as a state agent (“acting under color of law”) and any improper behavior by the PI could be imputed to the police department.

Analysis: It’s true that PIs, who are civilians, are less constrained by government rules — for example, PIs are not bound to the same evidentiary laws as law enforcement. It’s an assumption, however, that an experienced PI, especially one who specializes in legal investigations, would use “unknown” methods for obtaining evidence. In our investigations agency, we’ve gathered evidence using established rules and procedures to establish chain of custody (documented procedures demonstrating how we got evidence from where it was to our evidence locker). These procedures guarantee reliability and have resulted in courtroom admissibility and victory for the lawyers who employed us.

To read the rest of this article, click here.

Examples of Private Investigators Investigating Murder Cases

Below are links to several more articles written by private investigators about their murder investigations or how they went about conducting such investigations. Also included is a recent news article about three murder suspects who’ve requested a private investigator to clear their names. Click on link to read article.

The Kurt Cobain Murder Investigation by PI Tom Grant

Private Investigators Research Murder Cases (P.I. Stories.com)

Private Investigator’s Investigation Re-Opens Murder Case (Private Investigators in Virginia)

Attempted Murder, 4 Bullet Slugs, and a Dog Named Gus (The Zen Man)

3 Suspects in Covington Dismemberment Case Request Private Investigator

Have a good day, Writing PIs

Related articles

• Excerpt from How Do Private Eyes Do That?: How PIs Are Used in Cases Where DNA Evidence Is Employed (writingpis.wordpress.com)
• PIs and Cases: Attempted Murder, Smalltown Cop, Infidelity (writingpis.wordpress.com)
• Answering Writers’ Questions About Private Investigators Investigating Kidnappings (writingpis.wordpress.com)
• Going for the Best: When Private Investigators Hire Other Private Investigators (writingpis.wordpress.com)

Excerpt from How to Write a Dick: Loss Prevention/Industrial Security

Excerpt from How to Write a Dick: A Guide for Writing Fictional Sleuths from a Couple of Real-Life Sleuths, available on Kindle and Nook

Basically, loss prevention refers to people hired to prevent theft and fraud in a retail establishment. An investigator who specializes in loss prevention might handle the following types of cases:

• Credit frauds
• Employee thefts (for example theft of money or merchandise)
• Theft by store customers (for example, shoplifting, credit card scams, auto thefts)
• Staged accidents.

A Deeper Look Into Employee Theft

The majority of bankruptcies in the United States are filed by organizations and are attributable to employee theft.  One study shows that the company loss per customer shoplifting incident is $207.18 whereas the loss per employee theft incident is $1,341.02!  Employee theft causes bonuses, promotions and raises to decrease as profits shrink and the company losses increase. This means there’s a big incentive for an organization to hire an in-house investigator or an outside investigator who specializes in investigation of embezzlement, staged robberies, “shrinkage” and computer frauds.  A ripe specialization for your fictional PI!

What signs of employee theft (specifically, cash money) might your fictional PI encounter?

• No sales at register
• Fictitious refunds and voided sales
• Income from medical appointments paid with cash
• Failure to record sales
• Abundance of collections and donations
• Passing to friends
• Sales prior to opening the business
• Refunds/Voids after the business closes
• Questionable coupon redemption
• Robbery with scanty identification information.

Signs of employee non-cash money theft:

• Questionable credit card refunds
• Phantom payroll
• Fictitious vendor accounts
• Bogus travel expenses
• Kickback schemes
• Credit card fraud with friends.

Signs of employee merchandise theft:

• Direct theft
• Fictitious mail order
• Fraudulent receipts (free merchandise)
• Fraudulent computer entries.

As of the writing of this book, the online Loss Prevention magazine is free and offers access to past issues as well.  Great resource for researching topics such as asset protection technology, shoplifting cases, retail investigations and more.

Writer’s Slant: If Your PI Specializes in Loss Prevention, Think About

• His background — is he a former thief, or more likely, a former police officer?
• How did she get her skills in developing and documenting a case against a target?  (Many times a PI must present a completed case file ready for prosecution to a Deputy D.A. or to a company official who can then legally fire an employee.)
• What ambivalences might your PI have about going after someone without benefit of the tools that law enforcement agents have, such as search warrants and intelligence data?
• On the other hand, your fictional PI also has an easier job than a police officer in this investigative field because employees in the workplace might waive many constitutional rights to privacy, the right to remain silent and the right to an attorney’s presence when questioning takes place (steps the average police officer must respect).
• The relationship between this job and the kind of work done by other, similar investigators who assemble cases for submission to insurance companies so that a claim for loss is paid. After all, loss prevention investigators are frequently making a case for money from an insurance company, which is not all that different from how personal injury investigators work.

Praise for How to Write a Dick:

“If you want authenticity in creating a fictional private investigator for your stories, then this is a must-have reference book. Its authors, Colleen and Shaun, are living breathing PIs with years of actual experience in the PI game.” ~ R.T. Lawton, 25 years on the street as a federal special agent and author of 4 series in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine

“What every wanna-be sleuth needs: a revolver, a bottle of scotch, a trusty sidekick, and this book.” ~ Mario Acevedo, author of Werewolf Smackdown

“How to Write a Dick is a gift to crime fiction authors everywhere, a comprehensive and no-nonsense compendium of information, analysis and thought-provoking writing prompts that will help you create your own 21st century shamus with confidence and class. An absolute must for the library of any PI writer!” ~ Kelli Stanley, critically acclaimed author of City of Dragons and the Miranda Corbie series

Related articles

• 2011 Theft Approaches 2 Billion at Christmas (manolith.com)
• Shoplifting suspects found with almost $4,500 worth of Victoria’s Secret merchandise in Indian River County (tcpalm.com)
• Shop insurance news: Theft the biggest crime facing retailers (premierlinedirect.co.uk)

The Story of a Private Eye: From Romance Writing to Private Investigating

Before we started our investigations business nearly 8 years ago, one of us was a full-time writer (with 20 published novels to her credit) and the other a trial attorney turned legal researcher (who had trained many private investigators in his decades-long career in the criminal justice system). Today at New York Times bestselling author Lori Wilde’s blog, the writer half  (Colleen Collins) tells the tale of how the Guns, Gams, and Gumshoes team decided to start their own private investigations business.  Leave a comment & be eligible to win a Kindle version of How to Write a Dick.

Click the below link to read the article:

From the Desk of New York Times Bestselling Author Lori Wilde: From Romance to Surveillance

Have a great week, Writing PIs