When choosing a private investigator, how do you know you’re choosing someone with the knowledge and experience to handle your case properly and legally? One way to tell is by verifying which professional organizations they maintain membership with and what the requirements are for those memberships. Locally, you’ll want to make sure the investigator is a member of the South Carolina Association of Legal Investigators (SCALI). Bulldog PI is a member of this organization.
What is SCALI?
SCALI is a non-profit organization for professional investigators including investigators for public defenders, investigators employed by law firms and licensed independent private investigators. SCALI also offers associate memberships for criminal justice or law students, insurance adjusters and investigators who work for other similar legal service providers separate from law firms, such as paralegals.
Founded in 1985, SCALI now has more than 200 members and has grown a strong working relationship with the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED). SCALI’s relationship with SLED has created a foundation of mutual assistance between law enforcement and investigators and has also helped set and maintain standards for the investigation industry throughout the state. This relationship has also resulted in SCALI being invited to provide input and assistance on legislation that impacts the daily work of legal investigators.
What SCALI Provides
SCALI keeps members up-to-date on changes to the law that impact investigators, new technology, updated techniques and upcoming legislation issues. SCALI provides continuing education for legal investigators through seminars held several times per year, as required by SLED. The organization is also focused on educating about and promoting ethics and professionalism. SCALI provides networking opportunities for members as well as a yearly conference that includes educational presentations, information about the latest equipment and applications for investigators, legal issues and law updates.
For visitors to the SCALI website, they offer a search option to find a SCALI-member investigator in their area. Site visitors can also search to verify the investigator they’ve been considering for their case or need is a currently active member of SCALI.
