David DeSpain and Chuck Selent have pooled their years of expertise in the fields of law enforcement, juvenile transport and investigations to provide Boundary County with its only private investigations service.

Advantage Investigations and Security Services, Inc. was founded several months ago when Chuck and David decided to expand their investigations service based on their years of combined experience. David himself has investigated literally thousands of criminal defense cases and Chuck has many years of experience investigating and transporting juvenile runaways.

David explained, "As more and more people come here to Boundary County, along with the people who live here, there are always criminal and civil actions being done, and independent investigation needs to be here to cover all aspects. There are times when the police do not get the full story. They have some constraints that we don't have as independent investigators. I believe there is a real need for our service here in Boundary County because there isn't another service like us."

David has been a deputy sheriff in Boundary County and out of state. He was also a reserve police officer with Bonners Ferry City. After leaving law enforcement, he worked for several years as a private investigator for an agency and then went solo with his own investigations company.

Chuck was a Level 1 reserve police officer with Bonners Ferry City and Boundary County for 18 years. He ran his own business investigating runaway adolescents since 1994. He worked for CEDU as special services manager as well as for the Brown Schools. Since 2005, he has owned his own business transporting adolescents and providing interim services for them as well.

Advantage ISS can handle any kind of investigation. The services they provide include surveillance, pictures, fugitive recovery, bail enforcement, process service, workmen's compensation/ insurance fraud and defense, criminal defense, returning juvenile runaways, personal injury, missing persons, genealogical research or property disputes. Clients have even requested that they investigate an event that happened in the 1960s in order to settle a family matter.

"The advantage to hiring us," said David, "is that we will never make things up. The truth is the truth."

Advantage ISS can be employed through an attorney or privately. They offer free, confidential consultations to discuss the situation with the client beforehand and see if their service is a good fit for the client's needs. Fees vary on a case-by-case basis.

"When we are hired to investigate a case, that's our primary focus," said Chuck.

David said that, although Advantage ISS, Inc. is located here in Boundary County, they will travel anywhere to serve the entire country.

"We just completed a federal investigation in Coeur d'Alene," he said. "In a nutshell, I'm not aware of any investigations service in this area where someone can pick up a phone and call for help in finding out the truth."

An additional branch of Advantage ISS, Inc. is Advantage Adolescent and Interim Services. This includes youth transports, interim care, runaway interventions and recovery. Parents or programs can use the Advantage AAIS service for the transitional period between home to program, program to program, or any time a young person might benefit from the extra security and safety of transport professionals. They also provide short-term care for adolescents needing a safe environment during the interim period to or from a program.

"My philosophy has always been that if we want to have a better society and make a difference, it's in the lives of the children and their families," concluded David. "If I can have an impact on someone's life, if we can have an effect on our children, then that is a very positive influence. Both Chuck and I have children. We want to make sure that our community is a safe place for our own families."

Both Advantage ISS, Inc. and Advantage AAIS can be reached at 267-5807 or via email at advantageiss2@aol.com. The website is www.advantageiss.com.