Private Detectives as Witnesses in Court

Witness testimony is an essential component of detective work. In a great many cases, a detective agency is commissioned with the clear objective of obtaining evidence admissible in court to confirm a specific suspicion. The first and, in many cases, sufficient instrument of detective testimony is the written investigation report that Kurtz Detective Agency Berlin provides to its clients after the investigations have been completed. Sometimes, however, the court considers the investigation report insufficient and therefore requires the personal appearance of the detectives who conducted the investigation.

Conflict of Interest in the Witness Stand? What May the Detective Say, and What Must He Say?

In principle, detectives such as the investigators of Kurtz Investigations Berlin are bound by their contractual duty of confidentiality. If they are summoned as witnesses to clarify a court case, it is their civic duty to comply with this summons. Provided that the case does not involve a capital crime, the court can hardly compel the detective to make statements that would incriminate the client or otherwise run counter to the client’s interests. Although there is technically no formal right of refusal to testify for detectives, problematic statements can easily be avoided by stating that one cannot make a qualified statement on the matter in question. Nevertheless, the detective, in his capacity as an objective witness, is naturally obliged to give truthful testimony and will not commit perjury on behalf of a client.

As a rule, the court will question the detective about his subjective perceptions of the events described in the investigation report. Judges often ask the detective to provide his own assessment of certain circumstances that may be open to interpretation; for example, whether observations made in a case involving a suspected undeclared cohabitation in a maintenance dispute indicated affection between a couple, or whether the photographed embraces, caresses and similar behaviour could also be interpreted as friendly gestures. The detective giving evidence is obliged to describe his impression truthfully or to state that he does not wish to make a judgement (this diplomatic answer will most likely be given if describing his subjective impression would run counter to the client’s interests).

The detective’s fee for witness testimony at Kurtz Detective Agency Berlin is offset against the witness compensation provided by the court treasury (according to the Judicial Remuneration and Compensation Act).

Do Witness Testimonies by Detectives Have a Special Status?

Court testimonies by detectives have no special status any more than those of, for example, police officers. Legally, they are equal to the statements of “ordinary citizens”. However, the court must assess the credibility of witnesses, particularly where conflicting testimonies exist. Police officers, as public servants, generally enjoy considerably greater credibility than ordinary citizens because they usually have no personal interests in their statements.

A similar principle applies to detectives: they are essentially neutral, objective observers, even though they are, of course, paid by one party. Detective fees at a reputable agency such as Kurtz Detective Agency Berlin should only rarely depend on success (for example in address tracing cases). Whenever court testimony may become relevant, success-based fees should be avoided so as not to compromise the independence of the detective giving evidence. If payment is not dependent on success, the detective can testify objectively and free from personal interests, thereby gaining greater credibility than witnesses who have personal connections to one of the disputing parties or other personal interests in the case.

In addition, a private detective is, by profession, an observer. What he sees and documents is not observed by chance, but because it is his task. He will therefore be able to provide more precise information about the course of events than witnesses who became involved accidentally and will be able to highlight the most important details clearly.