Female private investigators in the news.

Women will use persuasion, intuition and co-operation, skills their boss, Chris Butler of Concord-based Chris Butler & Associates, said male investigators often lack.

"Male investigators have an alpha mentality. They're competing, not acting as a team," said Butler, a former Antioch police officer and SWAT team member who took over the Concord company in 2002. "They have a law enforcement mentality and see themselves as authorities. In private investigation, you live by your wits. Moms are used to dealing creatively with unexpected developments."

Truer words were never spoken, as Charmagne Peters and Denise Altoon, two of Butler's employees, demonstrated on that night in April, when they helped nail the man in the Mustang. That's why all but one of Butler's 11 investigators are women, and seven are mothers.

The strategy seems to be paying off; Butler's 14-year-old firm earned about $500,000 US in revenue in 2009 and is on track to top that in 2010. Clients pay $150 an hour for sting operations such as the one planned for the Danville man, and $75 for surveillance. The agency has garnered much media attention, with an appearance on the "Dr. Phil" show and stories in publications including People magazine.


Link: http://www.thespec.com/News/Business/article/796852