PRIVATE DETECTIVE- MYTHS and REALITY
As you know, who owns the information - that owns the world. And in modern conditions, not only the ability to possess information, but also the ability to obtain it, to do it quickly and efficiently, is becoming increasingly important. Obtaining the necessary verified information allows you to correctly navigate the events and make the right decisions. Is the business partner reliable? Are your employees cheating on you? Who committed the crime against you? What does a loved one hide from you? Law enforcement officers are sometimes unable to answer these and many other questions - in this case, a private detective comes to your aid.
About the most common myths regarding private investigation, and the reality that opposes them - in this article.
Myth No. 1 Most Ukrainians believe that the absence of a legislative framework formulating and regulating detective activity determines the lack of appropriate services, i.e. if there is no corresponding law, then the activity is illegal. But Ukraine also does not have a law “On hairdressing services”, but no one recognizes illegal cutting and shaving ... For example, the STATE CLASSIFIER OF ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES GK 009-96 regulates the permitted types of economic activity in Ukraine, namely the code 74.6 defines: "Investigation and security", where, in turn, code 74.60.0 reveals subclasses:
- investigation activities
- activities of private detectives
- activities for supervision, protection and other types of protection ...
Thus, the state allows private entrepreneurship and detective activities to Ukrainian entrepreneurs and enterprises that are able to work in this direction, and this activity is legal. Final regulation is provided for in the draft Law on Private Detective (Investigation) Activities, which is currently under consideration by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.
Myth number 2. Private investigation and detective activity are concepts that very vaguely characterize the essence of the activity of private detectives. Perhaps this is why ordinary townsfolk are so wary and unkind to modern detectives. Often, philistine skepticism, bordering on distrust and denial of detective activity, is not based on anything and arises on the basis of ignorance: people have no idea about the real possibilities of private detectives and the real results of detective work.
First of all, it should be noted that the detective is not a romantic hero who wants to play Sherlock Holmes and thereby amuse his ambitions. Current detectives are, as a rule, people with a higher legal education, specialists in the field of operational-search activity and possessors of valuable experience in law enforcement agencies.
A private detective is a specialist who, through the duties of his profession, works with information and people. The main task of a private detective is the ability to collect, analyze and use heterogeneous data. To do this, you need to be able to work with sources (open and closed databases, knowledgeable by people, the media, the Internet, documents, etc.), know the law.
Often, private detectives assume the role of intermediaries in communicating with customers with representatives of law enforcement agencies, because they speak the same language and, unlike, for example, a businessman, are able to objectively assess whether law enforcement officers are doing everything to solve the problem. Clearly imagining the principles of work and the capabilities of the authorities, having connections and access to specific officials, a private detective ensures a proper attitude to the business of the customer. In addition, establishing contact with the employee conducting the case allows you to agree with the latter on joint actions, exchange information and analyze information that has come from different sources. The data collected in this way are subsequently legalized and attached to the materials obtained during the official investigation, and the case is successfully brought to its logical conclusion.
Myth number 3. Another point of view is widespread, according to which the detective is the same operational employee, and the difference between law enforcement officers and private detectives is only that the latter do their work for a lot of money. This myth also does not hold water.
The range of services provided by private investigators is growing in the same way as the demand for them from private and legal entities, and the range of services differs significantly from those that law enforcement provides to citizens. Quite often, the management of companies uses the services of a detective to establish facts of internal theft, to verify candidates when hiring, to eliminate facts of unfair competition. Very responsible and time-consuming are cases of the search for missing people. Particularly delicate and scrupulous is the category of family affairs. Increasingly, marriage contracts are being concluded in our country, and people are increasingly concerned about the honesty and sincerity of their chosen ones. Quite often, parents turn to the services of a detective with a request to clarify whether their child is in a bad company. And the tasks of protecting and escorting children are often posed. Many have a need to find a friend, relative or loved one with whom they have lost contact. Most of these tasks cannot be solved by an ordinary operational employee, not only and not so much because such issues lie outside their jurisdiction and do not fall “under the articles of the law” by which they are guided, but also because the solution of such problems lies outside their job opportunities. Modern private investigators, on the other hand, are delving deeper into everyday life and everyday life, and their services are becoming more and more in demand, and the results of their activities in many cases are decisive.
The range of services offered by private investigators in the Ukrainian market is quite wide. The main ones are:
- SEARCH FOR PEOPLE LOST WITHOUT NEWS
- HELP IN THE INVESTIGATION OF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFENSES, CIVIL AND CRIMINAL CASES
- INDEPENDENT PRIVATE INVESTIGATIONS
- ENTERPRISE SECURITY AUDIT
- COMPETITIVE INTELLIGENCE
- CHECK FOR RELIABILITY OF EXISTING EMPLOYEES OF THE ENTERPRISE AND CANDIDATES FOR POSITION
- COMPREHENSIVE PERSONAL CHECK
- SOLVING FAMILY PROBLEMS
- PREVENTION OF MARRIAGE SCAMS
- UNSUPPORTED ACCOMMODATION OF PERSONS RELAXING ABROAD
- IDENTIFICATION OF LISTENING DEVICES AND HIDDEN CAMERAS
As can be judged from the above list, the range of services provided by private investigators is very wide, and each of the activities has its own specifics.
SEARCH FOR PEOPLE LOST WITHOUT NEWS
Representatives of a private investigation, as a rule, carry out this activity in parallel with representatives of law enforcement agencies. However, the measures taken on the one and the other hand are significantly different. Sometimes it’s not worthwhile to postpone a person’s search, having waited three days according to the law, and it’s better to start him immediately. The more mobile a person searches for a missing person, the more likely they are to find that person, and in some cases even save him from possible danger. Often, operational-search measures that are carried out by operational employees end with the collection of formal information, documents and the establishment of a case to search for a missing person. A private detective is not limited to collecting information, his main task is to obtain the most reliable information about the missing person and establish his whereabouts.
A person who disappeared for no apparent reason is considered missing.
To implement the search organization, you first need to determine:
- surname, name and patronymic of the missing person;
- the full date of his birth;
- registration address, place of residence;
- time and date of disappearance;
- last known location;
- the proposed route and location;
- his emotional state, character, disease (if any);
- communications, hobbies, activities;
- relationships with others;
- appearance (biometric data);
- individual signs (birthmarks, tattoos, scars, etc.);
- special signs (clothing, items, things that a missing person has);
The established exceptional personality traits, as well as actual data on the location, route, possible travel companions, etc. provide an opportunity to draw up an individual plan of search activities.
Losses of people are usually associated with a number of the most common reasons:
- accidents (drowning, accident, fall from high altitude, etc.);
- intentional non-disclosure by a person of his whereabouts or inability to report it;
- a crime committed against a person (for the purpose of seizing property, robbery, etc.).
According to statistics in major cities, about 96 allegations of missing people are received monthly by the police. As a rule, “losses” are found in the hospitals of the city or return on their own, but there are also enough cases when the missing person must be persistently sought to help get out of danger.
ASSISTANCE IN THE INVESTIGATION OF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFENSES, CIVIL AND CRIMINAL CASES
Often, a private detective is attracted as a person conducting an independent investigation of the circumstances of a criminal or civil case. This happens in cases where the participants in the process do not agree with the opinion of the official investigation, do not plead guilty (a relative, friend, loved one) or believe that the investigation of the case was carried out extremely carelessly. A private detective investigation by written agreement with a lawyer is carried out in full, additional evidence and evidence are collected, witnesses are questioned, significant facts are revealed, etc. The resulting materials can be attached to the case file and play an important role in making the final decision on the case. The lack of a legislative framework for a private investigation often does not allow us to fully provide quality service in this direction on the territory of Ukraine.
INDEPENDENT PRIVATE INVESTIGATIONS
This type of service provides for an unofficial investigation of various circumstances of the incident, the disclosure of previously unknown facts and details of the incident. Independent investigations, as a rule, are carried out in cases when it is impossible to do without the help of a qualified specialist, and the interested parties do not want to contact law enforcement agencies.
ENTERPRISE SECURITY AUDIT
Increasing competition in business makes the security check service of an enterprise more and more relevant and in demand, namely:
- verification of the capacity of the security service;
- conducting comprehensive business audits;
- conducting internal investigations;
- the identification and documentation of offenses, the collection and recording of evidence, the preparation of documents for appeal to law enforcement agencies, the court;
- investigation of accounts receivable;
- collection of information about the organization from its counterparties (dealers, suppliers, etc.).
- the study of information about the organization from official sources (directories, the Internet, the media and other open access databases);
- verification of business partners.
Obviously, the fulfillment of these tasks and the provision of the stated services is impossible without observing the fundamental principles of corporate integrity. Worthy detectives and private detective agencies guarantee adherence to these principles. The observance of confidentiality is of great importance: decent detectives guarantee that trusted information will not become the property of third parties and will not be used to the detriment of anyone.
COMPETITIVE INTELLIGENCE
The concept of competitive intelligence is inextricably linked with the concept of competition in business. Most often, this type of service involves:
- collection and processing of information necessary for the development of management decisions in order to increase the competitiveness of a commercial organization;
- collection of information about the alleged partner, opponent or competitor to ensure security and gain advantages in a particular area of the economy.
CHECK FOR RELIABILITY OF EXISTING EMPLOYEES OF THE ENTERPRISE AND CANDIDATES FOR POSITION
This service is a kind of assistance to enterprise managers in the following areas:
- verification of candidates for employment: ascertaining (with the written consent of the candidate for the position) biographical and other personality-characterizing data, checking communications in government agencies and competing firms, checking previous employment, including reasons for dismissal;
- employee trustworthiness check.
COMPLETE INSPECTION OF AN INDIVIDUAL
Very often, to prevent unlawful acts of individuals or for reasons of personal and public safety, it is necessary to establish the identity of a particular person, in particular: last name, first name, middle name; time of birth; nationality; passport data; Registration get information about the presence of a person's children, relatives; find out whether he is the owner of tangible property (cars, companies with equity participation, etc.); get contact details of a person - his home or mobile phone; to find out other information about the person (education, place of work; criminal record, offenses; attitude to criminal structures), analyze information about the person obtained from various sources (opinions of neighbors, former leaders, and colleagues, etc.); get a portrait image of a person of interest.
SOLVING FAMILY PROBLEMS
As part of the provision of services to solve family problems, representatives of a private investigation offer the following services:
- verification of the validity of marital status, identification of biographical and other data characterizing a person;
- assisting parents: observing a teenager, establishing a circle of friends, analyzing the behavior of a teenager in order to prevent negative consequences (leaving home, committing offenses, drug addiction, etc.);
- quality control of the performance of their duties by nannies, governesses, housekeepers;
- resolution of other situations on an individual basis.
PREVENTION OF MARRIAGE SCAMS
Online dating, including meeting with citizens of foreign countries, is a widespread phenomenon today. If there are doubts about the identity or intentions of the partner with whom you met, it makes sense to contact a private detective, so that later you do not regret lost material wealth or property stolen by fraud. And just to be safe in advance - even before a personal meeting (having, for example, serious intentions to establish a relationship with a person living, unfortunately, very far away) - in our time will not be superfluous.
UNSUPPORTED ACCOMMODATION OF PERSONS RELAXING AT FOREIGN RESORTS
Such events are carried out, as a rule, in order to ensure the safety of the vacationer abroad and at the same time not to interfere with his presence to his full rest. Covert escort of persons is often carried out with the involvement of foreign colleagues with whom serious detective agencies of Ukraine have business contacts.
IDENTIFICATION OF LISTENING DEVICES AND HIDDEN CAMERAS
The desire to learn someone's secrets is inherent in the very nature of man. Despite all the reprehensibility of this activity, eavesdropping on someone else's conversation has always been very attractive. It is possible to prevent actions and find out the plans of a competitor, to neutralize someone’s intrigues with the help of people who are knowledgeable in this area. Most often within the framework of this complex of measures it is proposed:
- verification and identification of listening devices and covert video cameras in the premises before responsible negotiations, meetings, meetings, etc .;
- search for listening devices that are in active mode, using a radio channel, power supply, telephone network, security and fire alarms, transit cables;
- search for listening devices that are inactive and located in walls, floors, engineering structures, and interior items;
- search for listening devices in ventilation systems, heat supply, using the disadvantages of soundproofing the room - stethoscopes.
- checking vehicles for listening devices.
This publication presents a generalized view of the current state of detective work in Ukraine. Subsequent publications will cover in more detail the most interesting and relevant topics regarding private detective work.
June 2011 Newspaper "E" (Khmelnitsky)