The Functions of a Private Detective Agency
PRIVATE INVESTIGATORS IN SINGAPORE
You have been walking around the city and have probably noticed several private detective agencies around and wonder what kind of business they conduct. First and foremost, a private detective agency has a collection of detectives, legal assistants, technological wizards, sociologist as well as retired police men and women whose main goal is to help the client get information to verify or disqualify their suspicions as well as do due diligence on their behalf. There are many reasons why individuals will seek out the services of a detective agency but that is a narrative for another day. Most people who love watching action movies as well as crime drama and spy movies and television series have a preconceived notion of what a private detective does and how alluring their lives are. They get to troll around their guns around, wear disguises and at the end of the day they are heroic and come up the winners with the handsome hunk of a guy or the drop dead gorgeous lady to boot. Let me demystify what private detectives do and bring you in on the realistic aspect of what exactly they do. The realities of a private eye’s life are not as glamorous as portrayed in the movies.
One of the main functions of a private detective agency is research work. We can say that research work is their core business. Research work basically involves locating people, searching for information and evidence as well as finding precious artifacts and other valuable things. Research work is done by digging through public records as well as private records obtained from the client; using computers and digging through websites, social sites and email accounts; using reliable informants to professional networks. From the bulk of research work done, the members of the detective agency sift through the information obtained to come up facts relevant to their investigation. Research work is usually conducted by junior members of the agency so as to help them sharpen their logical and analytical thinking. Research can also be conducted by the technological experts and document analysis experts assisted by the junior members. Field work is then done for further clarification of information obtained if a more rational explanation is needed. Field work is whereby the private detective visits various sites of interest in order to hunt for clues or substantiate clues and determination of further places to survey. Field work is mainly done by members in the agency who have a keen eye for detail and have exceptional observational skills.
Apart from field work and research work, another function of a private detective agency is surveillance. Surveillance involves monitoring of people, places as well as situations to examine what happens so as to corroborate of refute suspicions a client might have. This is usually done by taking of photographs, making video recordings as well as listening in to conversations where need be. This is mostly done when clients want to know whether or not their spouse is cheating or if the investor is whom she or she says she/he is. People who are especially investing a large amount of savings want to make sure that the person they entrust their money to has a clean bill of character wealth. Sometimes a private detective will go undercover by assuming a false identity when doing surveillance work so as to obtain first hand information without being caught. This is mostly done when in criminal and fraud cases. The agency also conducts interviews to obtain critical information from the witnesses in the investigation. Retrieving useful information is an art and it requires the interviewer to ask the right questions to get the information that is needed to solve the case. This is mostly done by sociologist as they are apt in reading both the verbal and non-verbal cues. The work private detective agencies do may not be as thrilling as in the movies, but they sure do have a sense of mystery and adventure: each case has its own unique journey!