Rick Crouch & Associates - Private Investigators

06/05/2026

Need an attorney, call Mark Tomlinson

06/05/2026

Why it's important to only hire a registered/licensed private investigator.

We have been receiving a large number of complaints from people who have been scammed by fake private investigators. Many of these have been found online via Gumtree etc. The reason people have given for hiring these fraudsters was that their rates are far cheaper than legitimate registered private investigators. Many of the complaints involve paying money upfront and never seeing the person again, blackmailing the client that they will tell the person being investigated that they are being investigated and going to the person being investigated and offering them the information about them being investigated for a fee.

The scams sometimes involve large sums of money, we have seen amounts in excess of R50,000.

Here are some tips to consider when hiring a private investigator. Following these simple guidelines will help you hire an investigator or agency or company that provides quality service.

We conduct all types of investigations; Criminal Investigations, Civil Investigations, Cyber Investigations, Matrimonial Investigations and more.

04/05/2026

Mel and Peet Viljoen - currently detained in ICE detention centres - have accused police of stealing their luxury items... Link below 👇 ⬇️

04/05/2026

Caxton Network News | A tracking operation led to the recovery of a stolen SUV in Mpumalanga, while police in Bloemfontein uncovered a vehicle being stripped at a residential property.

More on : https://brnw.ch/21x2amd

04/05/2026

Speeding is one of the main reasons SA has highest annual road death toll in Africa

04/05/2026

The NPA says it is ready to proceed with the racketeering trial of Willah Joseph Mudolo after a court dismissed efforts to halt the prosecution.

21/04/2026

How is being a PI different than what people might expect?

People always ask if I do stakeouts and if I take pictures of cheating wives. When I tell people I work on criminal cases, they don’t generally think about the hours and hours and hours of looking through databases and court records.

Also, I think shows like Law & Order, CSI and Magnum PI have created this mythical world where every witness is at home and ready to talk. The truth is nobody is ever home, the addresses aren’t accurate, and a lot of places don’t even have door buzzers that work. They also don’t realize how much of the job is like a sales job—you’re just constantly trying to get people to talk to you. It’s fun but exhausting.

What is a typical day like?

My days are split between desk work and fieldwork. When I’m at the desk, I’m reviewing documents—some of the murder cases I work on can have tens of thousands of pages of discovery, and hundreds of hours of recorded phone calls (stop talking on the phone people!).

I also spend a lot of time trolling through databases looking for addresses, court records, criminal histories. I look at people’s Facebook and LinkedIn profiles, take screen grabs of their photos— you know, snooping around.

The fieldwork is more fun, it’s when I go out and try to talk to people. I usually don’t announce that I’m coming. I just show up. These interviews can happen in all types of crazy places.

10/04/2026

28/03/2026

Industry experts cautiously welcome the South African government's renewed commitment to enforce SIM card registration laws, stressing that immediate action is crucial to combat the rising tide of crime linked to improperly registered numbers.