The demand for the services of a private investigator all over the world is constantly growing. According to the latest data, about 70% of American entrepreneurs prefer a private investigation to the police, and in Europe, every tenth person has approached private detective agencies at least once in their life with a request for surveillance or search. Ukrainians also use the services of a private detective: according to statistics, more than 15% of our compatriots turned to detective agencies, and every fifth resident of Ukraine planned to order the services of a private detective at least once.
Who owns the information — he owns the world. This well-known phrase perfectly characterizes the principle by which the entire detective business is built. There will always be a need for the services of private detectives, and not at all because something illegal is required to be done. It’s just that often the problems that people deal with either seem too insignificant for law enforcement agencies, or simply do not fall within their competence.
So, what services does a private investigator provide in Ukraine today? The list of them is small, but varied: it is a search for people, property, heirs, burial places; detection of adultery; collection of information, verification of the accuracy of the information provided by the customer; photography and video surveillance; as well as business intelligence. Of course, family problems are in the lead in terms of the number of orders, and specifically — the proof of the spouse’s betrayal. Moreover, if in the West such a service is ordered out of mercantile motives — in order to terminate the marriage contract on favorable terms — then here people want to follow the partner just for their own reassurance.
Tracing services, according to a private investigator, are also in great demand. And they are looking not only for classmates, a girlfriend or a missing dog. Often, citizens who are desperate to find missing relatives with the help of the police turn to detective agencies. They also often ask to find witnesses of a traffic accident or other incident necessary to protect the interests of the customer in court.
Video surveillance, as a rule, is ordered in your own apartment or house. The main goal is to keep track of the babysitting or maid’s work. Although recently, many firms have been asking for the installation of video cameras in the office in order to monitor the work of the staff.
Companies often turn to a private investigator to collect or verify information. For example, a request for information about a specific person is increasingly being done by large companies recruiting personnel for financially responsible or managerial positions. After all, the owners of these companies, before signing an agreement with new top managers, want to be confident in the honesty and professionalism of new employees.
But the legislative lack of regulation of the Ukrainian market for detective services leads to legal collisions and conflicts with law enforcement agencies. Unfortunately, often a simple lack of licensing becomes the reason for the emergence of fraudulent firms, aimed either at providing illegal services, or — which happens even more often — to simply rob a client. Already, there are many ads and sites on the Internet offering detective services, providing for the receipt of funds from customers. At the same time, if you analyze all these variegated ads, you can see that they all come from several persons who do not indicate either the name of the company, or its address, or complete information about themselves, and only mobile phone numbers are left. While companies and individuals who actually offer the services of a private detective in Kyiv, refrain from providing illegal services (wiretapping, printing telephone conversations, hacking e-mail, etc.) indicate landline phones, mailing addresses, and they are members of reputable professional detective and search associations and public organizations.
