Hawkeye Intelligence
Private Investigator Birmingham, AL
State of AL License #641
Hawkeye Intelligence is owned by Richard Boyd, a private investigator licensed in the state of Alabama by the Alabama Private Investigation Board. He is a member of the Alabama Private Investigators Association. Richard is a graduate of the University of Alabama at Birmingham with a bachelor’s degree in Political Science with a concentration in American Government and a minor in Criminal Justice. His entire education leaned heavily in the direction of the law and legal matters and is a member of Pi Sigma Alpha, the Political Science National Honors Society.
Richard is lifelong resident of the Birmingham area having grown up in Mount Olive and graduating from Gardendale High School. He has a wife and two children, all of which were born and raised in the Magic City. Richard is always trying and learning new things and has been a computer programmer, musician, real estate investor, and even a blackjack dealer. His varied experiences have given him a unique ability to consider any situation from a unique perspective.
What do PI's do exactly?
There was a time when private investigators (also called private detectives) were not licensed in the state of Alabama. Anyone could call themselves a PI and gain access to all sorts of information available only to a private eye. Someone could literally be released from prison and then hang their shingle the next day as a private investigator. Some took advantage of that lack of regulation and took advantage of their clients. Private investigators in Alabama developed a bad reputation as crooks and swindlers. Some of the good guys took it upon themselves to work within the legislative system of Alabama and pass statutes that formed a governing body, The Alabama Private Investigation Board, to regulate and enforce licensing and ethics rules for private investigators in Alabama. As of 2013, it became unlawful to operate as a private investigator within the state of Alabama without a license.
Private investigators have a unique set of skills, privileges, and resources that allow them to gather information and intelligence about almost anyone. They have access to databases that contain the personal information of most people. PI's use that information to locate people for a variety of reasons such as back child support, process serving, debt collection, birth parent location, due diligence searches for adoption, and due diligence searches for estates. They also use that information along with their surveillance skills and a legal right to loiter (so long as they are not trespassing) to follow spouses suspected of cheating and former spouses suspected of violating child custody or alimony agreements. These skills come in handy for PI's on cases where insurance companies suspect fraudulent claims and need someone to ensure that a claimant is being honest about their claim. Background checks are also a purview of private investigators who are handy with online research and know their way around the courthouse. Click here to find out how the process works.
Do you just follow people around?
Most people associate private investigators with someone you hire to follow your husband or wife around when you suspect them of cheating. That is definitely something that a lot of private investigators do. A PI can make sure he is where he says he is. They can see exactly who your spouse is spending their time with when they are not spending their time with you. In the past, someone seeking a divorce had to establish grounds for the divorce. That’s where a PI, some fancy camera equipment, and some photography skills came in useful. Now, since no-fault divorces have become the norm, the information a PI gathers on cheating spouses, using the same fancy camera and skills, is useful for determining child custody arrangements, alimony, and marital asset allocation in a divorce settlement. Hawkeye Intelligence uses GPS devices that may be attached to the car owned by qualified which can pinpoint the location of the car in real time. This helps to make the most efficient use of surveillance time.
Can you help with child custody?
The determination of child custody arrangements is probably the most important part of a divorce proceeding. Most parents want what is best for their children but some parents will use their children to get things that they want from the other parent. A mother may become so enamored with the affection of a new beau that she may neglect her children when they are at her home. A father may introduce his children to a new love interest who also happens to have a history of domestic violence and abuse. Parents can neglect their children if they become addicted to drugs or gambling. Many divorce decrees contain a clause forbidding members of the opposite sex who are not relatives of the children from spending the night in the home of the parents when the children are present. This is often meant to keep parents from having new love interests moving in and out of the home while the children live there. Believe it or not, there are many parents who violate this clause. Information about and evidence of these situations are something that a PI can obtain in an effort to modify court ordered custody arrangements.
Unfortunately, it is not unusual for a parent who owes child support to renege on their obligation to help financially support their children. Sometimes they move to avoid their obligation. A PI can locate them. Sometimes they under report their income or claim they are not working in order to avoid making child support payments. A PI can verify or gather evidence to refute their claims. Click here to read more about how Hawkeye Intelligence can help you with your child custody case.
Can you help with an alimony case?
In Alabama, a spouse is entitled to petition for alimony if the couple has been married for at least 10 years. The amount of alimony awarded is usually set in order for the receiving spouse to maintain the lifestyle that they were accustomed to during the marriage. Alimony obligations may cease if the receiving spouse is co-habitating with someone else. Some people even hide a marriage to someone else in order to continue receiving alimony payments from their former spouse. A private investigator has specific techniques that are likely discover co-habitation if it exists. Also, since one of the criteria that determines the amount of alimony owes is the difference in the income of the two former spouses, one spouse or the other (the payer OR the payee) may under report their income or may deny that they have an income. A PI can find the truth behind claims such as these. Click here to read how Richard can help you WIN your alimony case.
Can you help us with workers' compensation fraud?
Yes! Can you believe there are people who pretend to get hurt on their job so they can defraud the insurance company and collect a worker’s compensation check every month? They sure do. There are also people who pretend to slip and fall in a grocery store or restaurant and sue for damages only to be seen water skiing the next weekend. A PI can keep an eye on those rascals and collect evidence of their fraud to protect your business from being defrauded by a dishonest employee.
Our teen is missing. Can you help us?
Most definitely. Every parent knows the sinking feeling you get when you can’t find your child. Some children, especially teenagers run away. If they are age eighteen or older, there is little a parent can do to get their child home but if they are younger than eighteen, parents can appeal to the police to find and return their child. The police will take a statement and file a report and alert other police agencies about the missing child but, often because police resources are so stretched, they do not actively search for the child unless they suspect the child may be in imminent danger. Some parents become frustrated with this process and turn to a PI. A private investigator can follow leads, interview friends and parents, and seek your missing child out, giving you the individual attention you need in this situation. Don't sit there wondering if you can find someone. A call is free, click here to read about how Richard helps find missing persons.
I'm an attorney. Can you serve papers?
Speaking of finding people, many attorneys turn to private investigators to serve litigants and witnesses with legal papers including summons and subpoenas. The state of Alabama requires that the papers be served by someone that is not a party to the lawsuit or criminal proceedings. Also, serving papers can be a dangerous endeavor as some people become agitated when they are served legal documents. PIs can use their skills and resources to locate people who do not want to be found and serve them legal documents so your case can continue through the justice system.
I need an extensive background check performed.
Background checks have become part of our cultural landscape in the last 20 years and PI's have access to the information that will paint a portrait of someone’s past that you don’t really know. This is invaluable information for employers seeking to hire new employees. This is especially true for parents who are hiring a new nanny or baby sitter. No one wants to leave their child in the hands of someone they didn’t know was a dangerous criminal. If you are an investor, perhaps you should do some due diligence research on the partner or partners you are seeking to do business with. They may have judgment liens against them or, worse, a history of fraud. You may be interested to know whether or not they have filed for bankruptcy in the past. Unmarried men and women may wish to discreetly learn about the past of someone that they may be considering moving to the next step of their relationship with. The comparatively small cost of a background check can save you lots of heartache and money down the road, not to mention the value of your safety. Many of us hire contractors to do work in our homes. It may be wise to get a background check on any potential contractors before letting someone into the safety of your home. Also, when hiring anyone, it is always wise to follow up on any references. A good PI can do all of these things and help you to ensure that you are hiring the person that they say they are. Click here to fill out a contact form to request a background check or give us a call. Click here to find some of the information you may need when requesting a background check.
Can you track someone with GPS technology?
Private investigators do some things that most people aren’t aware of. Hawkeye Intelligence can attach a GPS device to a car owned by a qualified client and help the client keep track of the vehicle. Teens are often dishonest about where and how they are spending their time. The only way to verify what they tell their parent is to track and follow them. Attorneys often hire PI's to interview people who witnessed a crime or accident. PI's can be trusted to deliver sensitive or personal items or information quickly and at short notice, safely and securely. If you suspect that your phone is tapped or your home or workplace is bugged, many PI's have the equipment and expertise to detect taps and bugs. As a business owner, how your employees treat customers may be valuable information for you. Customer and vendor complaints can be investigated by a PI acting as an undercover customer or vendor to learn exactly how your employees are treating customers or vendors. Other business owners may hire a PI to pose as an employee when they suspect something nefarious is going on in the workplace. When an investigator gets inside the business, they can learn information from the inside that the owner isn’t always privy to. Finally, there are many people who live far away from their loved ones. It can become alarming when we can’t get in touch with the people we care about, especially if they are elderly or handicapped. A private investigator can go to the home of your loved one and physically knock on the door to check on the wellness of the person you care about and report back. They can also help and call the proper first responders if that person is in need of medical attention. Some people own property far away from where they live. A PI can check on the condition of the property and report back to you. Click here to see our special on GPS tracking.
Everyone needs help at least once.
Private Investigators do not only hide in the bushes with a camera, hoping to capture a photograph of a spouse kissing someone. They perform a variety of tasks that most people would rather not or cannot perform themselves. The truth is that most people will be in at least one and probably many situations at some point in their lives where a private investigator can help them or at least make a situation easier to deal with or a goal easier to accomplish. Be sure you call Hawkeye Intelligence when those times come.
Contact: Richard Boyd
Serving Birmingham, Pelham, Trussville, Mountain Brook, Chelsea, Homewood, Gardendale, Hoover, Vestavia, Inverness