The police may be of tremendous service to the prosecution in terms of finding witnesses to a criminal offense and to following the proof to a suspect. At times, the defense might realize that some important evidence is missing or key witnesses have not been presented. In such circumstances, the criminal defense attorney will find a cause for reasonable doubt. In order to prove whether their assumptions regarding their client's innocence are indeed true, they will need to carry out a criminal defense investigation. Such investigations are better performed by none other than a private investigator. Read on to find out how a private investigator can be of help to a criminal lawyer.

Understand the case

When your criminal lawyer chooses to use a private investigator in your criminal defense investigations, first the investigator will seek to understand the accusations and the laws pertaining to the crime. Next, the investigator will ask to see the evidence materials that your defense lawyer has received from the prosecution team.

Comb through the evidence materials

The private investigator combs through the police reports, paperwork and copies of evidence, phone messages, photographs and witness statements related to your case. The objective of this is to find out whether or not there exist any inconsistencies from various witnesses or between the assumptions drawn and the tabled evidence.

Visit the scene of crime

Additionally, the investigator may re-visit the scene of crime to ascertain whether there's anything that was not looked at in the beginning. He or she may also have discussions with witnesses to check whether or not their narratives have changed or to ascertain that they don't have anything else that might have inspired their declarations against the accused.

Look further into any inconsistencies

If the investigator discovers any inconsistencies or ulterior motives during the criminal defense investigations, he or she will further probe to get to the bottom of everything. For example, if the investigator finds out that there are several witnesses who have not come forward, then he or she will conduct a search to locate these other witnesses.

While carrying out criminal defense investigations, private investigators can make sure that an innocent defendant will not be declared guilty. While the investigator is handling the defense investigations, your criminal lawyer will be able to concentrate on the court system. This working partnership may help yield a successful court ruling in your favour.