EVOLUTION OF PRIVATE DETECTIVE AGENCIES IN INDIA & AROUND THE WORLD
“Peace and stability”, this is what every person desires in his personal as well as in professional life. But, it is not very easy to achieve this, as there is so much uncertainty and stress in our everyday life. We need to take certain precautions to stay ahead and alert from those who are planning to create discrepancy & conflicts in our every-day life and in our hard earned success. This is where “PRIVATE DETECTIVES” comes to our rescue.
The word “private detective” has evolved a lot, if we consider our present day scenario. Basically, their work has been the same, which is to “gather information”. But, the ways in which they operate has changed a lot and evolved in true sense, as they are starting to engage in a variety of work.
There used to be a time, when most people knew private detectives only as some mysterious characters appearing in movies, TV shows and books, even though, private detective agencies have existed from the early 1800’s. Many of us didn’t know that the first private detective agency was founded by Eugène François Vidocq in Paris at around 1833.
It is true that the idea of dedicated detectives didn’t arise immediately around the world. It took some time for private detectives to create a certain image and trust in the eyes of society, which is not a shocking fact because if someone among us starts acting like a police officer, trying to solve complicated cases in order to help people, even though he is not obliged to do so, what will you think in such a case? You will wonder what he is getting out of all this. Will he actually help people or is he just trying to fool people? These kinds of questions can arise in anybody’s mind. To prove those allegations wrong, private detectives have proved their importance in our society during all these years and they are still doing so.
If we take a look at the history, private investigators started their job as a way to help those people who were unwilling to go to the law enforcement officials with their problems. While beginning their journey in this area, they have formulated a lot of theories and methods for finger print identification and other methods of criminology, ballistics and other techniques relating to forensic science.
Now, with time the image of private detectives has changed globally. It’s 2019 and most of us are aware about the existence and need of private detectives and how they are serving our society. Now- a- days every private investigator is taking cases according to his specific expertise and knowledge. Some private investigation firms are dealing only in tracing, some are getting involved, only with matrimonial investigations and some others are dealing only with corporate affairs. In this way, every private detective is specializing in his own particular area and helping people at the same time.
Private investigation services are expected to reach around $6.4 billion globally in 2021. If we see in India, the growth rate is already around 30% annually and it is expected to reach 1700 crores by 2020.
Now, at this point of time people are relying more and more on these services than ever before. As we are living in a competitive age, there are many instances, where our privacy is at stake and there is a possibility of our confidential information to be leaked and used as a dangerous weapon by others. It will not be wrong to say that the people in our society are becoming wise enough to know that if:
- They are facing any discrepancy while handling their corporate affairs, they need to consult a corporate investigator.
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· They are looking for a matrimonial alliance, they should investigate about the bridegroom/ bride through a matrimonial investigator, before taking things forward.
and so on.
The point is, that now-a-days people do realize that there are different kinds of private investigators, for different kinds of problems and sometimes, a single private investigation agency deals with all these type of problems. They do realize that it is a wise decision to consult them.
The figure shown above, depicts only some common services provided by private detectives, if we see today the services provided by private detectives are far more expanded versions of the above mentioned ones and many other services in order to help the people in need.
Private Detective Agencies also work hand in hand with law enforcement officials in certain cases.
MOST SOUGHT AFTER PROFESSION:-
Atlast, we can say that private detective and investigation agencies have covered a long path and they have created so much respect and recognition for themselves in the eyes of society .They are turning to be one of the most sought after profession among today’s youth, which is truly appreciable and marvelous. A child who has a special knack for solving puzzles and riddles, from a young age and has a passion and hunger for truth and justice in his adulthood should definitely try to make his own mark in this profession.
Now pan- India network is available if the Agency has credentials, credibility and a platform of recognized association. In India the Association of Private Detectives and Investigation is available. Likewise other nations have their own associations at local level. Then again, there are other international associations like World Association of Detectives and Confederation of International Investigations. Membership of this association, by itself, is a certificate of trustworthiness. These associations try to maintain ethical practices in this profession of private investigation and they also maintain mutual feeling of trust and friendship among all the private investigation agencies across the world.
BREAKING GENDER BARRIERS:-
In the era where, females are shining in each and every field, the profession of private detective is also not far behind. There are many successful female detectives, who have created a special place for themselves in this field, with their hard work and strong determination.
Thus, at last it should be noted that the profession which was started on a small scale, to help people has grown at a wide range. In the beginning, people were not so certain about the abilities of the private detectives and a large proportion of people hesitated to take their service, now people are going to the private detectives on their own in order to seek help, because they know certain things can be well handled only by professionals. Hesitation and uncertainty has been replaced with trust and respect. This is the true evolution achieved by detective agencies.
