Lincoln investigator stresses importance of credibility when working with private detectives

Wednesday morning, 26–year–old Lawson Ballard was arrested for 1st degree assault after stabbing 52-year-old Scott Siemer several time, leaving him with life-threatening injuries.

Police say Ballard told them he was defending himself after he hired Siemer as his private investigator. Ballard told police Siemer kept demanding more money from him, leading him to think he was being scammed.

Now, a local professional investigator with the Nebraska Association of Licensed Private Investigators (NALPI) says it’s pretty rare for someone to claim to be a licensed professional when they are not, due to consequences it carries.

“Honesty I can say it’s rare, I see it happen every couple of years in my position, I get asked these questions. A state licensed investigator will be carrying credentials and they won’t hesitate to prove their identity to you if requested,” says Brett Brodersen, President of NALPI as well as President and owner of The Magnus Group, a licensed private detective agency.

While it is still unclear if Siemer did in fact claim himself to be a licensed investigator, Brodersen says after doing research, he found that Siemer is not state-licensed or associated with and agency in Nebraska.

Brodersen says that anyone can “investigate” a matter, but to claim oneself as an official investigator is a class 2 misdemeanor.

Licensed investigators are overseen by the state and are required to go through background checks, have relevant experience, and pass a variety of proficiency tests. They also are given state-issued ID cards.

Brodersen stresses that hiring someone with a license could protect someone in the long run.

“If they’re acting on your behalf they can expose you to great liability, so it’s not just a matter of the identification or the license, it’s creating a barrier between you and the investigation to make sure that things are safe and they are in fact legal,” Brodersen says. 

For more information, you can visit the NALPI website here.