Process Serving
The first line of Legal Support Service are process servers who operate 24/7 in the UK.
Professional Investigators have to be conversant about Civil and Criminal Procedure Rules.
Whilst electronic service can work to a certain extent, the courts require a level of confirmation of undisputed proof that documents have been received.
There is no substitute for professional process serving. Professional Investigators, ex police officers and bailiffs make excellent process servers.
Clients can be members of the public issuing their own Divorce Petitions or Statutory Demands.
Local Solicitors are the mainstay of Process Serving – all the family law, child act, litigation and debt recovery departments instruct process servers in their region.
The national solicitor firms use a mixture of national and local suppliers of process serving expertise.
Outside of legal firms, Local Authorities, Local Government, Commerce and Industry are the main supplier of process serving work.
Ensure your process servers are instructed in a clear, unambiguous manner and that timescales, budget and expectations are clear. Check that your investigators hold Professional Indemnity Insurance. They should be established and accredited with a blemish-free operational record.
Civil Recovery or Legal Proceedings
Properly aligned and accredited investigators in the Private Sector are permitted to access both personal data and “Sensitive” personal data in certain, specifically designated instances, such as when a Legitimate Interest is established under Article 6(1)(f) of GDPR and/or Schedule 2, para 5(3) of DPA 2018.
The legal profession, commerce and industry rely on tracing agencies to locate and investigate witnesses, debtors, beneficiaries and fraudsters.
Of course detective agencies have to maintain a “Blemish-free” record or they will lose their access to data…so, remember that professional investigators in the sector will not work outside their legal framework.
“Post-trace Consent” will always be sought from the traced person, before any personal data is reported in “missing persons” enquiries.
We all share a common interest in addressing fraudsters, perpetrators of malpractice, asset disposers, thieves, financial liability evaders – Professional Private Investigators are the 4th Emergency Service in the UK!
Surveillance
The Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act became law in 2022 and fully confirmed that divorce proceedings no longer require proof of infidelity or adultery. Matrimonial surveillance is almost extinct these days.
Some professional private investigators will get involved with child welfare, even animal welfare cases – here, very specialist surveillance operatives carry out the largest “health and safety” assessment before deploying.
Again, you need to be careful with the agency that that you engage with – certainly professional surveillance firms will vet and screen you very carefully, before they engage – this is a voluntary initiative from the professional investigator sector to ensure the health and safety of all and that all surveillance activity is lawful and fully justified.
It is really about ethics, probity and standards. The surveillance-specific professional private investigators already know that evidence gathered in any form is subject to strict regulation.
If the investigation firm is involved in an insurance investigation, they know that every frame of evidence they obtain will be subjected to the “fine-tooth comb” of experts who seek to discredit the gathered evidence and try to have it “Thrown out” because the surveillance operative breached DPA / GDPR or “Human Rights” under RIPA legislation.
Always use a professional and conduct your due diligence when engaging a supplier of service.
The UK’s Number 1 Private Investigators
Provenance
Regan has been a full time, front line, Private Investigator since 1988.
The proprietor of Burton Regan limited, Private Investigator Training UK and the Managing Editor of the Varsity Directory of Investigators and Process Servers.
Private Investigator Training UK
Varsity Directory of Investigators and Process Servers
Origins
After obtaining his BA (Hons) Degree in 1984 Kevin gained valuable experience as a youth worker and as an aspiring probation officer he managed two hostels housing ex-prisoners.
After working for the Probation service he gained his formative investigations experience in the late 1980’s, joining a Civil Service Benefit Fraud team.
He learnt quickly – gaining knowledge and experience that has formed the basis of his investigation career.
It was difficult to leave a secure, rewarding job, but Kevin’s entrepreneurial mind meant that he should transit to the Private Sector.
Regan became one of the most sought out UK private investigators in the late 1980’s working for the Nationwide Investigation Group and Associated Detectives (Manchester and London).
Moving into the 1990’s, Regan transited into one of Europe’s top investigators with Anglo European Private Detectives Limited (Leeds)
It’s all about adapting, learning and evolving.
The basic skill set never changes – a sturdy and proven methodology will always triumph over the chancers and time wasters that predominate in the profession.
Burton Regan Detective Bureau / Burton Regan Limited formed in Leeds in 1998 – to meet the needs of a fast-evolving legal sector that boomed in Yorkshire around that time.
After12 years of business success with Burton Regan Limited, he built up a training division and has been the main tutor and Centre Manager of Private Investigator Training UK since 2010.
PITUK offers OFQUAL-approved qualifications for Professional Investigators.
Pearson PLC selected Kevin as their Lead Examiner for the Private Investigator Sector in October 2013 developing their suite of qualifications for the sector. Kevin retains the “Honorary” title as the Pearson PLC Lead Examiner for the PI Sector.
Nowadays, Kevin is collaborating with a team updating the SFJ Awards Level 3 Award for Professional Investigators – to fit the needs of our (non-licenced) professional private investigator sector.
Kevin’s arduous work setting up the Academy for the Association of British Investigators and chairing the Northern Branch resulted in the Frank Martin Award in 2019.
The publishers of the Varsity Directory of Private Investigators and Process Servers sought Kevin out in 2024 to take on the directory upon their retirement – perhaps the most important and singular endorsement by his peers that could be given to a career private investigator, trainer, academic and now editor.
Kevin J Regan (BA Hons)
Burton Regan Limited
Vicarage Chambers, 9 Park Square East, Leeds, LS1 2LH
M 0772 1751860
T 0113 270 7500