Become a Private Detective

If you ever get to meet a real live private detective, you might be disappointed. Most of us paint a mental picture of Humphrey Bogart reincarnated, tough and mean, five o'clock shadow and belted, white raincoat. However the reality is usually very far away from that.

Private detectives today if you told them that they were going for a stake out would think that were being invited for a barbecue. They would put on a Hawaiian shirt instead of a white raincoat.

The majority of private detectives of today spend their time in a computer laboratory and not pounding the pavements. Not that a lot of private detectives began their careers as investigators as detectives in the police force. Statistics show that that number is dwindling and that more and more young people are choosing to become private detectives as a profession and actually study at college. Lawyers and accountants who see a limited future in these professions are bringing their knowledge to the profession whilst they are still relatively young.

The question is why would anyone want to become a private detective?

The fact is that the profession does offer a certain level of excitement, lack of monotony and freedom from the confines of a normal job or profession.

Anyone in the profession will tell you that to become a private investigator requires a blend of cunning, curiosity and investigative creativity. The reason that many retired police detectives become private detectives when they can happily afford to retire, is that the miss the "buzz." They need the attraction of probing into some situation, be it in real life or on a computer screen.

Retired detectives are becoming the minority in the profession of private detectives. Although they bring with them years of experience, many of them have been left behind as a result of the computer age in which we live.

Instead a marked increase is being shown in the last few years in those who become private investigators immediately after they have graduated from college, either with a degree in criminal justice or forensic science.

The large insurance companies are a very major target for fraud, and for this reason they are always on the look out for young, talented an private investigators. The private investigator will be sent to the claimant's home neighborhood to quietly and unobtrusively observe the claimant's movements, They will sniff around for details, try and engage the neighbors in conversation What a private investigator will try to unearth is if the injury claim was genuine, and as soon as the insurance company's back is turned, the claimant doesn't throw down their crutches and start dancing.

Divorces are another area where lawyers and attorneys will use the services of a private investigator. The private investigator can be used to investigate and prove cases of infidelity in marriage, as well as civil claims of damage and injury.

As the internet age gathers momentum, more and more private investigators are gravitating towards this field, and acquiring the necessary skills to handle many of the new generation of crime being generated by it. Computer fraud is becoming increasingly widespread. The rewards for cyber net criminals who find a gap can be in the system can be huge. For this reason, more and more web criminals are attacking the public online. Private investigators that are capable of putting a stop to this fraud and bringing the perpetrators to justice stand to earn massive rewards.

All in all employment prospects for private detectives looks to be strong at least for the foreseeable future.

Computer wise and up to date with all the current methods of electronic surveillance, and as the wave of computer crime on the Internet continues and spreads, the new generation of private investigators will be there to combat it.

Scott Elliott owns and operates http://www.private-eye-guide.com



 By Scott Elliott



Article Source: Become a Private Detective