Investigators who work for local, state, and other jurisdictional agencies are known as detectives. Initiating investigations, analyzing evidence, and following up on leads are all responsibilities of these professionals. Some detectives specialize in specific areas of investigation, such as auto theft, money laundering, and art theft.
Private detectives are self-employed investigators who work for private companies and individuals. For workers’ compensation attorneys and insurance companies, they frequently conduct surveillance on claimants. A private detective’s other responsibilities include conducting background checks and investigating infidelity allegations for clients. Some detectives work for high-profile clients such as celebrities and government officials as part of a security team.
A missing person detective works with the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) and other law enforcement agencies to investigate missing persons cases. This type of detective investigates missing adult and child cases across all states and jurisdictions. The investigator must examine the case file, interview family members and friends, and ensure that the missing person’s information reaches the media. Detectives who help with missing persons cases may work on recent cases or cases that have been cold for 10 to 20 years.
Narcotics detectives are usually hired local police departments to investigate the sale of illegal narcotics. Undercover operations are carried out these detectives, who meet with suspected drug dealers to confirm drug deals. Narcotics officers also look into cases involving drug offenses to see if there are any ties to other alleged drug dealers. In federal cases, the narcotics detective may be required to testify about what he saw during the drug transaction. In some cases, the investigator may be required to infiltrate groups of people suspected of drug trafficking.
Detectives who work on violent crimes collaborate with state and federal agencies as well as other jurisdictional departments. Homicides, assault and battery, and sexual assaults are just a few of the heinous crimes that these investigators look into. The majority of the detectives in charge of these cases interview victims and witnesses, obtain medical records from hospitals, and gather evidence from crime scenes. Searching computer databases and conducting voice analysis tests are among the other tasks.
Francois Vidocq, for example, has had incredible success as a detective. Francois Vidocq was a detective who founded France’s first police force. Allan Pinkerton, a Scottish American detective, is best known for founding the Pinkerton Detective Agency, the first private detective agency in the United States. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s stories about fictional master detective Sherlock Holmes have sold millions of copies worldwide.