Today, July 24, we celebrate National Private Investigators Day. July 24 marks the birthday of Eugène François Vidocq, one of the first private detectives and founder of the earliest known private investigations agency in the 1830s. Vidocq is considered to be the father of modern criminology, as he shaped the way investigations are conducted to this day. His approaches to investigations during his career were decades ahead of their time. He pioneered investigative techniques, theories, and concepts such as ballistics, criminology, undercover operations, and crime scene forensics. Vidocq, an ex-criminal himself, often hired other former criminals to help him solve cases such as theft, burglary, and fraud.
Today, private investigators are an important component in solving complex questions and cases for nearly every industry. Private investigators work closely with attorneys, business owners, financial professionals, insurance adjusters, and individual consumers to help them find answers, solve problems, and uncover hidden information. Private investigators use proprietary tools and skills to find information that is not readily available to the public. The changing nature of the way we communicate – through the internet, social media, mobile apps, and more – has created even more demand for skilled private investigators who understand these new technologies and how they can be applied in investigations. Much like Vidocq, today’s private investigators must be adaptable, innovative, and entrepreneurial in order to deliver the best results for their clients.
What can the public do to support National Private Investigators Day?
Private investigators work on more cases than you might think. Talk to a local investigator to learn more about the types of cases they solve. Establish a connection with an investigator — you never know when you or a friend may need one. Read up on investigative techniques and tales of the trade in publications such as Pursuit Magazine and PI Magazine. Also, be sure to visit your local private investigators’ Facebook Pages, follow them on Twitter, and bookmark their websites for future reference. At Nighthawk Strategies, we often post useful tips and free information for the public on our blog, so be sure to subscribe.
Happy Private Investigators Day!
