The World Wide Web is a Great Investigative Tool – Except When It’s Not

We’ve all met that one person. You know, the one at the dinner party who thinks they know everything because they’re good at finding things on the Internet. He or she may even refer to themselves as an “amateur investigator.” And, to be fair, some of these folks are pretty good at finding information online (often about their ex or how much their neighbors paid for their house, but I digress).

The fact is that the World Wide Web – which, like so many things these days, somehow has a day declared in its honor (August 1) – has revolutionized the way all of us search for information, amateur and professional investigators alike. It has empowered us to conduct informational research unthinkable a couple of generations ago. Just knowing how to use Google – and let’s face it, that’s a low bar – opens up a world of information to anyone with internet access. Yet I still bristle when I hear someone brag about their investigative skills when they’re not doing anything a curious fifth grader couldn’t do. 

The point is not that we professional investigators hold a monopoly on finding good information – nothing could be further from the truth. Rather, it’s that a key component of our expertise is understanding that the World Wide Web, while arguably the greatest investigative tool of all time, is also woefully incomplete.

Why Google is just the start, not the end

A Google search is the logical starting point of many investigations, but it’s just that – a starting point. It’s the ultimate low-hanging fruit exercise.

Google searches aren’t particularly useful when investigating a subject with a common name like Tom Smith, especially if the subject lives in a large metropolitan area where there are a dozen Tom Smiths. Is your subject the Tom Smith who donated $500 to a local charity two years ago, or the Tom Smith who is currently on trial for attempted murder? With little more than a name and an address to go by Google probably can’t tell you.  

Another example of where this approach falls short are court records, which often don’t show up in Google search results and which can require quite a bit of skill and know-how to find.

And yes, the World Wide Web has made this part of our jobs a lot easier, too. Rather than schlep to the courthouse every time we need to see if a subject has ever been charged with a crime or been sued, like our investigator forefathers did, we sometimes have the luxury of searching online. If an online court records search isn’t an option or is incomplete, we might have to resort to a nearly forgotten piece of 20th Century technology: the telephone (ask your parents about it, kids) to call the local court clerk and see if any records exist and are available. We might even need to visit the courthouse in person or send a court runner to do so for us, just like the old days.

Searching for hidden treasure

Many older court files have never been digitized and exist only on paper. They often need to be retrieved from court archives, which can take weeks. But, as many professional investigators will attest, there’s nothing quite like discovering a valuable piece of information tucked away in a fading case jacket at the courthouse, just waiting for you to find it, dust it off and pass it back to your client. Offline findings like that can make or break a case and serve as proof that knowing where to look is just as important as knowing what to look for.

Another example is property records. Some jurisdictions make these available through county recorder websites, and even let you view records online. However, many don’t and require a trip to City Hall to view records, especially older ones.

Shhhh! People are investigating!

Speaking of older records, those of us old enough to remember the days before the World Wide Web became a thing may recall visiting a magical place called the library to do the bulk of our research. Well, surprise! The library still has some advantages over the World Wide Web, especially when searching for older records that have never been digitized or posted online. Yearbooks, local newspaper articles and out-of-print books are just some of the useful sources that may be found at your local library and not on the Web.

These are just a few examples. I didn’t even mention source interviews – actually speaking to people who may have useful information that’s never been written down anywhere. Information useful to your investigation can be hiding in so many places beyond your computer or smart phone. You just have to think creatively about where it might be.