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Thread: History of Private Investigators/Investigations

  1. #1
    Liz Mason - is offline Private Investigator Forum Member
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    History of Private Investigators/Investigations

    I don't know how many of us in the industry actually know when the first Private Investigator or Investigations was coined, but with that being said, I decided to do some deep research on the subject and came across this very informative article. I rather enjoyed reading and learning the information, therefore thought some of the rest might too, so here is what this investigator found for you! Enjoy!

    History of the Private Investigator


    In 1833 Eugène Francois Vidocq, a French soldier, criminal and privateer, founded the first known private detective agency, "Le Bureau des Renseignements Universels pour le commerce et l'Industrie" (Office of Intelligence) and hired ex-convicts.

    Official law enforcement tried many times to shut it down. In 1842 police arrested him in suspicion of unlawful imprisonment and taking money on false pretences after he had solved an embezzling case. Vidocq later suspected that it had been a set-up. He was sentenced for five years with a 3,000-franc fine but the Court of Appeals released him.

    Vidocq is credited with having introduced record-keeping, criminology and ballistics to criminal investigation. He made the first plaster casts of shoe impressions. He created indelible ink and unalterable bond paper with his printing company. His form of anthropometrics is still partially used by French police. He is also credited for philanthropic pursuits – he claimed he never informed on anyone who had stolen for real need.

    After Vidocq, the industry was born. Much of what private investigators did in the early days was to act as the police in matters that their clients felt the police were not equipped for or willing to do. A larger role for this new private investigative industry to was to assist companies in labor disputes. Some early private investigators provided armed guards to act as a private militia.


    In the U.S., the Pinkerton National Detective Agency was a private detective agency established in 1850 by Allan Pinkerton.

    Pinkerton had become famous when he foiled a plot to assassinate then President-Elect Abraham Lincoln.

    Pinkerton's agents performed services which ranged from undercover investigations and detection of crimes to plant protection and armed security. It is sometimes claimed, probably with exaggeration, that at the height of its existence the Pinkerton National Detective Agency employed more agents than the United States Army.

    During the labor unrest of the late 19th century, companies sometimes hired operatives and armed guards from the Pinkertons and similar agencies to keep strikers and suspected unionists out of their factories.

    The most famous example of this was the Homestead Strike of 1892, when industrialist Henry Clay Frick hired a large contingent of Pinkerton men to regain possession of Andrew Carnegie's steel mill during a lock-out at Homestead, Pennsylvania. Gunfire erupted between the strikers and the Pinkertons, resulting in multiple casualties and deaths on both sides. Several days later a radical anarchist, Alexander Berkman, attempted to assassinate Frick. In the aftermath of the Homestead Riot, several states passed so-called "anti-Pinkerton" laws restricting the importation of private security guards during labor strikes. The federal Anti-Pinkerton Act of 1893 continues to prohibit an "individual employed by the Pinkerton Detective Agency, or similar organization" from being employed by "the Government of the United States or the government of the District of Columbia."

    Pinkerton agents were also hired to track western outlaws Jesse James, the Reno brothers, and the Wild Bunch, including Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.


    The Pinkerton agency's logo, an eye embellished with the words "We Never Sleep," inspired the term "private eye."

    It was not until the prosperity of the 1920s that the private investigator became a person accessible to the average American. With the wealth of the 1920s and the expanding of the middle class came the need of middle America for private investigators.

    Since then the private detective industry has grown with the changing needs of the public. Social issues like infidelity and unionization have impacted the industry and created new types of work, as has the need for insurance and, with it, insurance fraud, criminal defense investigations and the invention of low-cost listening devices.

    In a number of countries, a licensing process has been introduced that has put criteria in place that investigators have to meet: in some cases, a clean criminal record (although there are procedures to permit felons to bypass this requirement). This has combined with modern business practices that have ensured that most investigators are now professional in outlook, rather than seeing the PI world as a second career opportunity for retired policemen.

  2. #2
    John G - is offline Retired Forum Moderator

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    Re: History of Private Investigators/Investigations

    Nice, Liz!

  3. #3
    Richard Moschetti Jr's Avatar
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    Re: History of Private Investigators/Investigations

    Very interesting. President Lincoln used Mr. Pinkerton as his personal bodyguard during the civil war before The US Secret Service was initiated.
    RICHARD MOSCHETTI JR
    Licensed Private Investigator (FL# C2300844)
    Florida - USA

  4. #4
    Carlina Aldridge's Avatar
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    Re: History of Private Investigators/Investigations

    That is very wonderful information. Im very interested in learning more.

  5. #5
    Liz Mason - is offline Private Investigator Forum Member
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    Re: History of Private Investigators/Investigations

    Thanks everyone,

    As I continue deep research into this topic, I will be posting it here with reference to the actual source. I am now into trying to locate the history for each state & or territory as it applies. I hope this will actually be of benefit to those who are interested in history.

    Thank you to all who stop by to take a gander at my musings here.

    Latest find:

    A Brief History - Basically California

    Regulation of the private security industry began in 1915, when California enacted a licensing requirement for private investigators. The history of the industry in the United States, however, dates back nearly another century. One of its founders was Allan Pinkerton, who immigrated to this country in 1843. By 1850, he had founded the Chicago-based Pinkerton National Detective Agency, which would quickly become the industry's largest private security companies. Among the Agency's main customers were the railroads, which had to contend with outlaws who robbed trains of cargo and passengers of personal possessions. In the mid-1800s, there were no federal authorities to chase outlaws across state and territorial lines, and local law enforcement was too poorly equipped to pursue fleeing gangs very far. Therefore, the job fell to crime victims and their hired agents. The Pinkerton Agency's work for the railroads helped build an international reputation for the company.

    In addition to tracking down and apprehending criminals, the early private security industry performed many other duties now associated with federal and state law enforcement:
    guarding interstate railroad and stagecoach shipments , investigating crimes and providing security advice to banks and other businesses that were frequent targets of outlaws. Much of this work diminished when federal and local agencies improved their law enforcement capabilities shortly after the turn of the 20th century. However, the industry had grown considerably by that time, with large numbers of people working as private guards, detectives and other security-related jobs, many of them armed. That growth was part of the reason that regulation became necessary.

    Chronology

    1915 California moves to license and regulate private detectives under the Administration of the State Board of Prison Directors.

    1943 A new category for Private Patrol Operators is added to the Private Investigator Act.

    1949 Repossessor agencies are added to the licensing categories under the Collection Agency Act

    1950 The Detective Licensing Act is renamed the Private Investigators and Adjuster Act.

    1959 Repossessor agencies, formerly regulated under the Collection Agency Act, are transferred to the Private Investigator Act

    1973 The Bureau of Collections and Investigative Services is mandated to register uniformed employees of Private Patrol Operators.

    1974 The firearm program is established, requiring applicants for exposed weapon permits to complete Bureau-approved training.

    1977 Alarm companies and agents are required to be licensed.

    1981 Repossession employees are required to be licensed.

    1986 Locksmiths are required to be registered.

    1993 The Locksmith Act is expanded to require separate licenses for locksmith companies and their employees.

    Source: www.bsis.ca.gov/about_us/history.shtml

  6. #6
    Jason Lawson Guest

    Re: History of Private Investigators/Investigations

    pretty cool man..i like the hiring of x-convicts..to catch a thief

  7. #7
    Richard Moschetti Jr's Avatar
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    Re: History of Private Investigators/Investigations

    Actually The US Marshal's is the oldest Law Enforcement Agency initiated by George Washington in the 1700's....I believe in 1789.

  8. #8
    Jason Lawson Guest

    Re: History of Private Investigators/Investigations

    Thank you for the information Mr. Moschetti. Check PI stories in the next couple days and you will see mine that will blow you away. Jason

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    Jan Karn is offline Lifetime Professional Management Member

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    Thumbs up Re: History of Private Investigators/Investigations

    Very nice article!!

  10. #10
    Jan Karn is offline Lifetime Professional Management Member

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    Re: History of Private Investigators/Investigations

    Very nice article

  11. #11
    Adelaida Santana's Avatar
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    Re: History of Private Investigators/Investigations

    Very interesting.

    QUOTE=Liz Mason -;522699]I don't know how many of us in the industry actually know when the first Private Investigator or Investigations was coined, but with that being said, I decided to do some deep research on the subject and came across this very informative article. I rather enjoyed reading and learning the information, therefore thought some of the rest might too, so here is what this investigator found for you! Enjoy!

    History of the Private Investigator


    In 1833 Eugène Francois Vidocq, a French soldier, criminal and privateer, founded the first known private detective agency, "Le Bureau des Renseignements Universels pour le commerce et l'Industrie" (Office of Intelligence) and hired ex-convicts.

    Official law enforcement tried many times to shut it down. In 1842 police arrested him in suspicion of unlawful imprisonment and taking money on false pretences after he had solved an embezzling case. Vidocq later suspected that it had been a set-up. He was sentenced for five years with a 3,000-franc fine but the Court of Appeals released him.

    Vidocq is credited with having introduced record-keeping, criminology and ballistics to criminal investigation. He made the first plaster casts of shoe impressions. He created indelible ink and unalterable bond paper with his printing company. His form of anthropometrics is still partially used by French police. He is also credited for philanthropic pursuits – he claimed he never informed on anyone who had stolen for real need.

    After Vidocq, the industry was born. Much of what private investigators did in the early days was to act as the police in matters that their clients felt the police were not equipped for or willing to do. A larger role for this new private investigative industry to was to assist companies in labor disputes. Some early private investigators provided armed guards to act as a private militia.


    In the U.S., the Pinkerton National Detective Agency was a private detective agency established in 1850 by Allan Pinkerton.

    Pinkerton had become famous when he foiled a plot to assassinate then President-Elect Abraham Lincoln.

    Pinkerton's agents performed services which ranged from undercover investigations and detection of crimes to plant protection and armed security. It is sometimes claimed, probably with exaggeration, that at the height of its existence the Pinkerton National Detective Agency employed more agents than the United States Army.

    During the labor unrest of the late 19th century, companies sometimes hired operatives and armed guards from the Pinkertons and similar agencies to keep strikers and suspected unionists out of their factories.

    The most famous example of this was the Homestead Strike of 1892, when industrialist Henry Clay Frick hired a large contingent of Pinkerton men to regain possession of Andrew Carnegie's steel mill during a lock-out at Homestead, Pennsylvania. Gunfire erupted between the strikers and the Pinkertons, resulting in multiple casualties and deaths on both sides. Several days later a radical anarchist, Alexander Berkman, attempted to assassinate Frick. In the aftermath of the Homestead Riot, several states passed so-called "anti-Pinkerton" laws restricting the importation of private security guards during labor strikes. The federal Anti-Pinkerton Act of 1893 continues to prohibit an "individual employed by the Pinkerton Detective Agency, or similar organization" from being employed by "the Government of the United States or the government of the District of Columbia."

    Pinkerton agents were also hired to track western outlaws Jesse James, the Reno brothers, and the Wild Bunch, including Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.


    The Pinkerton agency's logo, an eye embellished with the words "We Never Sleep," inspired the term "private eye."

    It was not until the prosperity of the 1920s that the private investigator became a person accessible to the average American. With the wealth of the 1920s and the expanding of the middle class came the need of middle America for private investigators.

    Since then the private detective industry has grown with the changing needs of the public. Social issues like infidelity and unionization have impacted the industry and created new types of work, as has the need for insurance and, with it, insurance fraud, criminal defense investigations and the invention of low-cost listening devices.

    In a number of countries, a licensing process has been introduced that has put criteria in place that investigators have to meet: in some cases, a clean criminal record (although there are procedures to permit felons to bypass this requirement). This has combined with modern business practices that have ensured that most investigators are now professional in outlook, rather than seeing the PI world as a second career opportunity for retired policemen.[/QUOTE]

  12. #12
    Kim Collins - is offline Lifetime Corporation Member

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    Re: History of Private Investigators/Investigations

    Thanks Liz, I love to know history if fields I practice in. Good reads and very good knowledge this helps a lot for me now I understand the industry better verses criminal justice work. I love the logo . Lol

  13. #13
    Chaquetta Kane's Avatar
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    Re: History of Private Investigators/Investigations

    Thank you for the informative reads. It's always good to know the back story of how things actually get started.
    The pioneers so to speak.

    Chaquetta

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