Call Us in South Bend, IN.

(574) 233-9380

Call Us in Saint Joe, MI.

(269) 930-3015

Call Us in Tampa, FL.

(656) 238-2660

About Brett Coppins

Brett was certified in Michigan as a police officer in 1982, after obtaining the required criminal justice training hours.  He was then hired by the Benton Harbor Police Department in Michigan, which at the time was ranked as the most dangerous city in the US.  In 1985, he attended the Michigan State Police – Supervisor Development School, in order to become a shift supervisor. 

In 1986, Brett accepted a job offer with the Elkhart City Police Department.  During his 20 years there, he spent 17 years in (C.I.D.) the Criminal Investigations Division, 14 years of which, being assigned more than 100 major crimes each year, including burglary, rape, arson, aggravated assaults, robbery, bank robbery, and homicide.  He was fortunate and proud to receive many awards and commendations during that time for solving complex cases, with a better-than 99% conviction rate. 

The 1988 murder of his own brother, Jonathon, in South Bend, Indiana, gave Brett a deep personal understanding of the pain and grief felt by families of murder victims.  A rare perspective for any police investigator to have.  That single act made a significant change in Brett and subconsciously created a deep passion in him to understand why some people commit violent crimes.  While he hid the pain and grieved in private for many years, the grief fueled him as a detective, in every way.  As his passion grew to understand violent crime and violent criminals, he attended more than 50 specialized investigative training schools and received multiple certifications related to all types of investigations.  He also became a trainer/instructor in 1993 in multiple areas within investigations, including Interview and Interrogation.  He would spend the rest of his career striving to master investigative strategy, criminal investigations, human behavior, and the Reid Method of Interrogation.  Over the years, he has strategically interviewed thousands of suspects; hundreds of whom were violent offenders; each and every interview conducted with the goal of gaining a deeper understanding of the person, and more importantly, how, and why they committed their crimes.  This extensive, first-hand knowledge of criminology, with a focus on how and why criminals do what they do, helped Brett develop an even deeper understanding of true crime prevention, investigative strategy, and criminal investigations. 

By 1999, Brett began to notice a service gap, where police departments could not assist businesses or people until an actual crime was committed; caused in part by existing laws, and some caused in part by a lack of police department resources.  So, in 2006, Brett retired to operate Coppins Investigative & Security Group, Inc., the company he founded with the deep desire to assist and consult the private sector with investigative and security support.  While taking on new clients, Brett accepted a contract in 2008, serving the US Department of Defense as an International Police Advisor and was assigned to Iraq.  During 2009 and again in 2010, he was promoted twice to a Senior Criminal Investigations Advisor reporting directly to the U.S. State Department.  His primary assignment was as a Subject Matter Expert (SME).  He trained, mentored, and supported Iraqi and Kurdish forces in Criminal Investigations and the Reid Method of Interview and Interrogation.

After ending his last contract and coming home from Iraq in 2011, Brett returned to serving individuals and businesses by striving to provide the most experienced investigative and security support possible. 

While he was proud of his accomplishments, he said he tributes all of his success to four things; his very first training officer in Benton Harbor, his own father’s example of hard work, the training he received, and the senior detectives and officers, who he watched closely and learned from for many years. 

When asked about the case that he is most proud of, he said, it was his contribution to solving the 30-year-old unsolved murder of Mariam Rice of South Bend.  He and his cold case partner worked on that investigation for several years before solving the crime and being able to identify two important witnesses, who were critical to making two arrests and bringing some level of peace to the family.  Brett said, the uniform officers and detectives from 1988 accomplished most of the work and should be credited with solving the case all these years later.  He said, from reading through all of the original and investigative reports, it was evident they were thorough and dedicated and did an amazing job of documenting their efforts.  He and his partner were blessed to have been able to find the last few critical pieces of evidence and push the case over the finish line.

About Us

We specialize in personalized private investigation services, security consulting, nationwide research and background checks. We are licensed in Indiana and Michigan with our main office in South Bend Indiana but with satellite offices in Granger Indiana, Elkhart Indiana, Valparaiso Indiana and Saint Joseph Michigan.

PRIVATE INVESTIGATIONS & SECURITY CONSULTING

Our agency is structured in a way that can help and serve anyone. Whether you are just one person, or you represent a small or a large business, we can help you resolve the issues that seem to creep into our lives, at any stage or level.

Brett Coppins has assembled a blended team from different backgrounds, allowing us to tailor our work to almost any request or need. Of course, we still handle the traditional surveillance requests, but over the last 20 years we have expanded our services as our growing list of clients began to request more from us.

So, if you need help seeking truth consider contacting our office.

SERVICES

Private Investigations
General Assistance
Investigative Consulting
Nationwide Background Checks
Preemployment Background Checks
Surveillance
Theft Investigations
Internal Investigations
Executive Protection Services
Threat Assessments
Residential Vulnerability Assessments
Commercial Vulnerability Assessments
Active Shooter Training
Workplace Violence Training
Personal Safety Training

Whatever information you might need, but don’t have the expertise to handle on your own, give us a call. You can rest assured that when we’re on the case, you’ll receive the absolute best results possible.

Our Dedication to Customer Service

We understand that life can be crazy and stressful sometimes; our job is to help you solve that. Whether you’re coming to us for private investigator services or security consulting, we can assure you that we’re here to provide you with the positive, helpful experience that you’re looking for.
When you call us, we put you directly in contact with Founder & President Brett Coppins. Rest assured that you’ll receive our full attention and care, right off the bat.
We don’t want to compromise the safety of your business, or jeopardize your potential battles in court. If you’re looking for the best, give us a call to see what 30 years of experience can do for you.

Nationwide Database Research

Our researchers offer a wide variety of nationwide database research services to clients of all backgrounds and needs.  Business owners, professionals, and individuals. If you need information that isn’t available to the public, or if you simply don’t like navigating the internet, let them do the research for you. Our ladies combine their passion for online database searching, with our agency’s credentialed access to the largest database, which is a nationwide clearinghouse of more than 80 billion different databases, all in one.  They dig, so you don’t have to.  

On any given day, they may be asked by people just like yourself, to do many different types of research.  One moment they could receive an email from someone requesting a nationwide search to locate a client, a witness, an old classmate, or even a long-lost friend.  Then another client may request a search for nationwide criminal or civil records for preemployment, a potential new business partner, or something as simple as a daughter’s new boyfriend.  The next minute they could be asked by a widget maker, who wants to expand to the east coast, to search for more information about the current competition there, and some background on that company and the owner.  Then, still another person, who is a mature adult, needs help searching for the best bicycle seats for a man over 75.  I hope you’re getting the picture.  Our ladies love helping people and they love database searches and analyzing information.  No request it too small.

We charge an affordable hourly rate of $85 per hour, with a one hour minimum, then charging in six-minute increments after that.  A simple, straight forward rate, which covers their time and the database access fees.  Simple and fair with an agreed upon limit set by you.  Many of our searches already have a fair, affordable, flat rate.

So, if you need research done, and you’d rather delegate that work to someone who loves research and analyzing information, and who has access to the most powerful all-in-one database in the nation, contact us.  Let one of our ladies remove the headaches associated with trying to navigate the world wide web, while allowing you to do more productive things.  We get fast, affordable results. Most times in the one day. 

Safety Training & Loss Prevention

Theft and insurance fraud cost business owners billions of dollars in a year, and much of the time can be prevented Insurance fraud is one of the most common scams, and it’s a terrible problem for insurance companies of all sizes; as licensed private investigators, that’s where we can help.
Whatever industry you’re in, from insurance to retail, there are almost certainly unscrupulous individuals who are looking to take advantage of you for financial gain. Our mission is to stop that from happening, and guarantee the full safety and security for you, your clients, your customers, and your overall brand.
Security issues like this can plague the financial or even physical safety of business owners and employees. This is particularly true for small local businesses that may not have the resources to invest in high-quality surveillance, tracking, and accounting equipment. When you contact Coppins Investigative & Security Group, we’ll work together to personalize a solution that’s right for you.

Personal Private Investigator Service

Private investigator work is not just for businesses; it’s also an important tool for many individuals, especially those who are needing additional help. We’ve worked closely with many members of the South Bend community to resolve all kinds of problems, getting them the results that they need.
Some common situations when a private investigator can drastically improve the life of a private citizen are:
Child Custody Disputes
Divorce Cases (e.g. catching a cheating spouse)
Surveillance
Locating Missing Persons (e.g. private debt collection)
There are many other possible scenarios in which you could benefit from our private investigator services. Give us a call today to set up a consultation to discuss how we can help you take the best course of action.

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Email: CoppinsPI@icloud.com

Call Us: (574) 233-9380

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