September 2020 Meeting Recap: The P.I. – Fact & Fiction

Michael Pool

Based on his work as a PI and an author, Michael Pool shared what it’s like to be a real PI and what he finds unrealistic in some fiction. He said that to be a good PI you have to be a “jack of all trades and a master of one.” In other words, PIs tend to specialize. Many of his examples were about his experience in surveillance, although he has branched out into other areas now that he is on his own. He talked about everything from the PI’s relationship with police to how they do research to his personal ways of coping with long periods of inactivity while waiting for something to happen. He took questions from the participants and gave specific and interesting responses to a broad range of topics. “Have you ever been in danger?” “What was your most unusual case?” “Do women make good PIs?” “Do you use trackers?” You can learn more about Michael’s books and what it’s like to be a PI on his website: www.michaelpool.net