The world of private detectives has been glorified or hyped up too much in movies and TV shows, which sets unrealistic expectations among the people when they approach us. The dramatisation of our profession results in people believing that 24/7 we chase criminals in a car chase and eventually arresting them. This is very far from our reality.
Our occupation is exciting and extremely challenging sometimes but not to the extent which is portrayed in today’s dramas. We are extremely careful of the boundaries of law and research extensively in order to get hold of any information. The sole purpose of our work is to gather facts that are not biased and obtained through legal methods. In our profession, we do not belittle anyone or involve our personal opinions but instead, offer you comprehensive information backed with hard evidence.
So in order for you to understand our work let us look at some of the most common misconceptions or myths that people have about private detectives:
We are not above the law:
I can surely tell you if that were the case then our jobs would have been drastically different and way easier than it is now. Private investigators have no special privileges and have to work strictly in accordance with the law of the land. We cannot get our hands-on information that is not available to the public domain. Only with proper consent, we can access information. We do conduct surveillance and video record people but only in public places because we are not trespassing onto private property, threatening or assaulting anyone.
Private detectives can arrest criminals:
We have no authority or right to arrest anyone. That is the job of the authorities. Even if we gather incriminating evidence against an individual during a private investigation, we are still not allowed to arrest him. Our role is strictly based on gathering information. In some cases, we do work with local authorities in order to serve justice but even in that scenario we hand over the evidence to the police and they arrest the individual/individuals in question.
Private detectives are only hired to catch criminals or offenders:
This is one of the most common misconceptions amongst the masses. We do conduct private investigations to gather information about criminals but that is a very small part of what we do. Apart from this we also work with corporations and conduct due diligence. Asset verification, risk analysis, employee background checks, etc. Other services also include matrimonial investigations, litigation support, etc. The list is very long and varied. So all our work is not related to uncovering incriminating evidence but also conducting personal or corporate investigations that require aptitude and large amounts of paperwork.
Hacking laptops, social media accounts:
This is far from the truth. Invading someone else’s privacy or obtaining it through means such as hacking is strictly illegal and there can be serious repercussions to it. Information about bank accounts, social media and computers can be obtained only if we have the consent of the individual whose information we require. There are other legal methods of accessing personal information which is very tedious but that is our only way because we have to work under the law.
The life of a private investigator is exciting and filled with action:
The life of private detectives is exciting but not in the context that you might be referring to. We do have to travel from one place to another but most of our work is done inside our closed office space. Like we have mentioned before our primary goal is to gather information so during any private investigations, we sit in our cabins, conduct extensive research and come up with leads. We do question individuals to gather as much information as we can to move forward in the investigation but most of our profession demands patience and a calm demeanour. We have to work for days and days from one place just to gather enough detail. We have more in common to research than the kind that are depicted in movies.
So I believe that now you have a basic understanding of how private detectives work in the real world. So now when you approach them in the future, you will not be let down by the nature of their work or have unrealistic expectations from them.
