Private Investigator is one of the oldest occupations in history.
Not everyone knows that the profession of Private Investigator has a quite interesting and unusual origin.
Private Investigator profession within Ancient Time
India
The history of the emergence of private investigators originates in the East, in India. In the 3rd century BC the warrior and adviser to the monarch Shanakya hired people to investigate and conduct surveillances on possible enemies of the state and spies. Thanks to his private investigators, who disguised themselves as merchants, artisans and beggars, many threats to the state and ruler were averted.
China
The emperor’s confidants hired private investigators to investigate corruption in government, hire ups and other important persons as well as to provide surveillance in suspicious situations and gather evidence in criminal cases.
Private Investigations within Middle Ages in Europe
During the Middle Ages, private investigation was demand by the Catholic Church during the “inquisitors’ time”. They worked as investigators to gather facts of heresy and other crimes against the Church. These investigators had the power to interview, arrest and imprison suspected of crimes. In addition, they were often hired by wealthy individuals to investigate crimes and to gather information on their behalf, working as private investigators.
Unlike secular courts, inquisitors documented their activities in detail. Basically, inquisitors were educated lawyers because monasteries in medieval Europe were centers of science and knowledge. By occupation they were investigators. They knew how to conduct an investigation and collect evidence. Therefore, the churchmen used investigative procedures getting from the best practice of Ancient Rome: searching for evidence, building a line of accusation, determining the impartiality of witnesses.
The courts of the Inquisition were very different from modern ones. For example, the prosecutor, investigator and judge were the same person. They practiced based on the idea of a presumption of guilt, not innocence. After the investigation was completed and the verdict was pronounced, the Inquisition handed over the arrested person to the secular authorities. They carried out the sentence.
Private Investigations in 19 Century in France
Historically, the first private investigative agency started in France in 1834. Eugene Francois Vidocq who was the founder, used to be a criminal in his youth. To get out of prison, Vidocq became a police informant, and was subsequently recruited into the police service, where he successfully fought crime for many years. Working in the police he developed and organized the famous “Trust Brigade”, which included 12 detectives working undercover.
After 18 years, he retired from the police and opened his own “Bureau of Investigation in the Interests of Trade”, that was the first investigative agency. Eugene Francois believed in the success of his organization because he knew that many people did not go to the police due to fear of publicity and the ineffectiveness of police investigations. He was very successful and during one year he attracted about 4,000 clients to the agency and earned more than 6 million francs.
Private Investigations in 19 Century in UK
In the 50s, in England, a former police inspector of the famous Scotland Yard, Charles Frederick Field opened his own private detective agency.
Police Detective Inspector Charles Frederick Field made significant strides in the burgeoning field of private investigation during the mid-19th century. His innovative approach to criminal investigation emphasized covert surveillance, informants, and forensic evidence. He stressed the meticulous gathering and analysis of evidence, employing methods ahead of his time that laid the groundwork for modern investigative work. Field’s expertise elevated the public perception of detectives and private investigators, garnering respect and admiration.
Charles Dickens had a notable interest in the evolution of the police force in London, occasionally joining police constables on their nightly patrols. This led to a friendship between Field and Dickens. In 1850, Dickens authored three articles for the journal Household Words, recounting stories of the adventures of the new police Detective Branch and providing character sketches of the detectives. One of these articles, titled “A Detective Party” depicted Field under the pseudonym “Inspector Wield”. Wield described as “…a middle-aged man of a portly presence, with a large, moist, knowing eye, a husky voice, and a habit of emphasizing his conversation by the air of a corpulent fore-finger, which is constantly in juxtaposition with his eyes or nose” (Begg and Skinner).
In 1851, Dickens penned the essay “On Duty with Inspector Field” for Household Words, further spotlighting Field’s work. Field likely inspired the character Inspector Bucket in Bleak House, with contemporaries drawing parallels between them.
Private Investigators in Canada: 17th and 18th Centuries
During the 17th and 18th centuries in Canada, informal law enforcement was upheld by watchmen and citizen patrols, who relied on vigilantism and community-based “policing” to maintain order, particularly in Ontario and Quebec. However, the formal industry of private investigations emerged in the 19th century.
John Wilson Murray (1840 – 1960) emerged as a prominent figure in this era, often likened to a Canadian Sherlock Holmes. While serving as a provincial investigator for Ontario, Murray’s methods laid the groundwork for the burgeoning field of private investigations in Canada.
Murray’s career trajectory exemplifies the evolution of private investigations in Canada. Beginning in 1864 as an acting gunner on the Michigan in the United States, he transitioned to the police force of Erie as a detective in 1868.
The First Investigator of the Canada Southern Railway
In May or June 1873, Murray assumed the role of Investigator for the newly completed Canada Southern Railway (CSR). During this period, corporations, particularly railways, began employing private security services, possibly among the earliest forms of private investigators, to address labor disputes and combat theft.
Investigation of Counterfeiting Operations
Murray’s investigative prowess earned him recognition in Ontario government circles, leading to his involvement in tracking down a counterfeiting operation in 1874. His success in this case led to a full-time appointment as a “government Detective Officer” in May 1875, granting him jurisdiction across every county and district in Ontario.
Murray’s appointment addressed weaknesses in the existing policing and prosecution system. Prior to this, the responsibility for prosecution lay with county crown attorneys, who relied on police-provided information. The provincial government sporadically employed private investigators, mainly for political purposes and the investigation of specific crimes like counterfeiting. By the 1870s, police had perceived three principal weaknesses in this system, especially in rural areas.
First, in the words of Hugh McKinnon, chief of the Belleville police, the constable, who was “usually a poor man,” could afford only to “take a look about the immediate neighbourhood”. Secondly, localism resulted in patronage, corruption, and jurisdictional disputes, which hampered the investigation of crimes involving prominent figures and of many major crimes. Thirdly, there was an increasing perception that rural constables were simply not capable of investigating anything but minor offences. As a result, in 1897 the first criminal investigation branch of the attorney general’s department formed, and the three men took the title of inspector, with Murray as the chief inspector.
Overview of Murray’s career
Murray’s career represents a significant moment in Canadian police history, reflecting the growing importance of detection in law enforcement. His appointment addressed a perceived gap in the policing and prosecution system, providing an officer who could work across jurisdictional boundaries without the constraints of local prejudices and fees.
In the context of evolving detective techniques, Murray’s methods included basic yet effective approaches such as footprint analysis, vehicle tracking, and suspect descriptions. He often worked alone, developing personal strategies that laid a foundation for the future private investigative industry.
Murray distinguished between policing and detection, considering the latter as a higher branch of police work. He emphasized the importance of individualized approaches to each case, recognizing the role of human intelligence, efficient organization, and intuition in successful investigation.
While many of Murray’s cases were routine, involving theft and burglary, his memoirs focus on more sensational crimes, including murders, counterfeiting operations, and politically motivated terrorism. These cases required a combination of energy, intelligence, and persistence to apprehend the perpetrators.
Private Investigations in USA in 19th century
In 1842, another private investigative agency founded in the United States, specifically in Chicago. This agency would later transform into the first network of its kind in history. Alan Pinkerton, the son of a Scottish emigrant, established the Pinkerton National Detective Agency in 1850. Initially, the agency focused solely on apprehending thieves. However, as the agency gained recognition, Pinkerton expanded its scope of activities and established branches throughout the country. Pinkerton detectives were soon sought after to investigate various crimes.
During the Civil War, the agency’s team provided surveillance on the Confederates, and investigators even became part of Abraham Lincoln’s guard. They prevented an assassination attempt on the president in 1861. The enduring success of this pioneering detective agency, the founder of the first network, is evidenced by its continued existence to this day.
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