ION Incorporated and the ION Network were founded in 1987 by Leroy E.Cook. Leroy Cook's background is 10 years insurance adjusting, 13 years of private investigation, and independent travel in over fifty countries. The Investigator's Anywhere Resource LineŽ, a referral service, was introduced in 1990 as a service of ION Incorporated. ION's Online Referral Site was established in 2000 and completely revised in September, 2001.

ION's first goal is to serve clients by providing an easy way to contact a competent, professional private investigator based close to where the client needs work done. This generally gets clients better results at less cost. The second goal is to obtain paying cases and new clients for local private investigators. No referral fee is charged to ION members for cases received through the automated Online Referral Site but all other referrals from ION to any investigator, member or non-member through the phone in Referral Line or automated to non-members, are subject to a 20% referral fee.

Clients are given the opportunity to rate referred investigators for professionalism and competence and investigators.

ION's database contains information on over 10,000 private investigation agencies in over 100 countries. About 5000 of these investigators are available through the online Referral Site and about 1,000 of them have earned the confidence of ION staff members enough to be referred to clients. The Investigators Anywhere Resource LineŽ has referred over 33,000 cases since 1990.

The Investigators Anywhere Resource LineŽ (The phone in Service) is a referral service for the users of private investigators who prefer talking to a staff member instead of making selections online. It is operated separately from the Online ION Network. ION looks to ION Members first when possible. The criteria for who is called first by ION is: "how to get the client taken care of the best and fastest way possible". ION Members and local professionals who have demonstrated professionalism are obviously the ones we think of first when good cases need to be referred.

Improving Investigation, for clients, investigators, and society.