CPI Professional Standards & Ethics 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: An investigator is offered a bonus by a client if the investigation yields a result that supports the client's legal case. What is the most appropriate response?
- Accept only if the bonus is documented in the contract
- Decline and explain that investigative findings must be objective and unbiased (Correct answer)
- Accept the bonus after the case concludes to avoid bias during the investigation
- Consult legal counsel before deciding whether to accept
Correct answer: Decline and explain that investigative findings must be objective and unbiased
Investigators must maintain objectivity; accepting contingency-based fees tied to outcomes compromises impartiality and violates professional ethics.
Question 2: Which principle requires a CPI to disclose potential conflicts of interest before accepting an assignment?
- Confidentiality
- Transparency and disclosure (Correct answer)
- Chain of custody
- Non-maleficence
Correct answer: Transparency and disclosure
Transparency and disclosure obligate investigators to reveal conflicts of interest so clients can make informed decisions about representation.
Question 3: A CPI discovers during an investigation that the client's employee is engaged in illegal activity unrelated to the original assignment. What should the investigator do first?
- Immediately report the activity to law enforcement
- Ignore it as it falls outside the scope of the assignment
- Document the finding and consult with legal counsel before taking further action (Correct answer)
- Confront the employee directly
Correct answer: Document the finding and consult with legal counsel before taking further action
The investigator should document the discovery and seek legal guidance to understand reporting obligations and client confidentiality duties before acting.
Question 4: Under the ASIS International Code of Ethics, what is the investigator's duty regarding competence?
- Accept all assignments regardless of expertise to build experience
- Only accept assignments for which the investigator is qualified and maintain current knowledge (Correct answer)
- Delegate complex assignments entirely to subcontractors
- Competence is self-assessed; no external standard applies
Correct answer: Only accept assignments for which the investigator is qualified and maintain current knowledge
ASIS standards require CPIs to accept only those assignments within their competence and to engage in continuing education to stay current.
Question 5: An investigator's surveillance of a subject incidentally captures images of a third party engaging in an embarrassing but legal private act. The ethical course of action is to:
- Include the images in the report as supplemental documentation
- Retain the images indefinitely in case they become relevant later
- Exclude or redact the images from the report to protect the third party's privacy (Correct answer)
- Share the images with the client and let them decide
Correct answer: Exclude or redact the images from the report to protect the third party's privacy
Investigators must minimize privacy intrusions on uninvolved third parties; images capturing legal private conduct should be excluded from reports.
Question 6: Which action best demonstrates adherence to the principle of proportionality in an investigation?
- Using the most advanced surveillance equipment available for every case
- Matching the level of investigative intrusiveness to the seriousness of the matter being investigated (Correct answer)
- Maximizing information gathered regardless of relevance
- Conducting thorough background checks on all family members of the subject
Correct answer: Matching the level of investigative intrusiveness to the seriousness of the matter being investigated
Proportionality means the investigative methods employed should be no more intrusive than necessary to achieve the investigative objective.
Question 7: A CPI working for a defense attorney learns information that would exonerate a defendant in an unrelated criminal case. What ethical obligation applies?
- No obligation exists since the investigator works for the defense attorney, not the court
- The investigator must immediately disclose the information to the prosecutor
- The investigator should advise the attorney of the finding and let the attorney determine disclosure obligations (Correct answer)
- The investigator should destroy the information to avoid complications
Correct answer: The investigator should advise the attorney of the finding and let the attorney determine disclosure obligations
An investigator engaged by an attorney works under attorney direction; the ethical duty is to report the finding to the attorney, who then determines legal disclosure obligations.
CPI Professional Standards & Ethics 2
An investigator is offered a bonus by a client if the investigation yields a result that supports the client's legal case.
What is the most appropriate response?