What does a private detective do?

What does a private detective do? The work of a private detective is shrouded in a light aura of mystery. Adepts of this craft owe such a state of affairs to books and movies, but the reality is usually very different from the reality of the movies. Detectives from Wrocław deal with much less spectacular cases than those created by writers or screenwriters.

How to become a detective?

Before you answer the question about what a detective actually does, it is worth telling you how to start a career in this profession. Former police officers or other services often end up here, but they are not the only ones who are passionate about this profession. Due to the multitude of specializations that a detective can choose, this profession can also be dealt with by lawyers or finance specialists. It all depends on what customers the person wants to serve. In terms of legal requirements, in order to start working in the profession, you need to obtain the appropriate license. This can be done by passing a preparatory course, and meeting the restrictive requirements regulated by the Act.

The basic requirements are the age of twenty-one, secondary education, unblemished reputation, and no criminal record for intentionally committed crimes. Of course, you also need to pass the appropriate medical examinations, which certify that the candidate is fit to work in the profession. Such tests take into account both physical and mental predispositions.

After obtaining a license, you can start working in the profession. Importantly, the detective has only extended powers when it comes to collecting and processing information about natural and legal persons, but he does not have additional powers in terms of how information is collected. This means that in his daily work he must be guided by civil law, and only state services have additional powers.

A licensed person also does not have extended rights when it comes to the scope of self-defense. Such a person can only defend himself with the means that are provided for every citizen. The license also has nothing to do with the right to use any weapon, including firearms, for which you need a firearms license for personal protection purposes. Both issues are governed by different laws that have nothing to do with each other.

Daily work in civil matters

Everyday work related to civil cases often boils down to searching for information about people (person observation). Often, these are, for example, evidence collected for divorce cases. It can also be information related to the customer’s desire to find out with whom a given person contacts or in what places he visits. The scope of the detective’s work is, of course, very limited here, because he cannot exceed the civil law while performing official duties. Like the uniformed services, it cannot search natural persons, rooms or vehicles.

All information obtained must be protected and may only be made available to the client. Before starting work for a natural person, the detective agency must also thoroughly check whether the person is involved in any criminal activity, and check whether the case itself does not go beyond the limits of the law. If such a situation occurs, the agency is obliged to refuse to execute the order.

What does a detective do in business cases?

Detective agencies also deal with economic matters. This is very common, because along with the rapid development of the Polish economy, many private entrepreneurs have also arrived who have their problems with contractors, clients or unreliable subcontractors, and even employees. In such situations, detectives can carry out internal audits in companies, as well as collect economic information on entities that are of interest to their client. Often these are, for example, financial statements or how a company is run. Not infrequently, detective agencies are hired to check the reliability of the work performed by subcontractors.

Work in this area can be performed both during ongoing court proceedings, and the agency’s goal is to find relevant evidence in the case, as well as preventive action, which is only aimed at avoiding potential problems.

Criminal Detectives

Most of the cases that private detective agencies in Poland deal with are the laws regarding the collection of economic information or information about individuals for individual clients. However, some clients also commission tasks related to criminal matters. In Poland, this is a definite minority, because such matters are the responsibility of state authorities, such as the police, the Internal Security Agency or the CBŚ, and private companies are rarely employed in such situations.

After all, sometimes this happens, but you have to remember that the detective does not have the powers of a policeman, which significantly reduces his room for maneuver. It is also worth mentioning that any evidence in a criminal case should always be provided to the relevant services.