Detectives /Private Investigators : Job Prospects & Career Options

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As crime and corruption can never be entirely wiped out job prospects in this career is burgeoning. In recent years, a large number of private detective agencies have come up all over the country, whose services are being availed by the private establishments and individuals for private investigation.

Detective career or private investigator is most suited profession for those who love challenges and adventure. It is a field with lot of research and investigation work. Detectives mainly offers services related to matrimonial enquiries, corporate affairs, governmental and financial matters, business dealings, and even personal household investigations, while offering a winning edge over competitors. They work for both international and national clients. They operate in tandem with clients' needs and requirements. Many-a-times the detectives are hired to work for insurance companies to scrutinize apprehensive claims. Detectives also handle industrial and corporate cases such as industrial espionage, theft of patent rights, infringement of trademarks and copyrights, passing out confidential company information, falsifying company accounts by senior executives.

Investigative journalism is another avenue which has recently opened for private detectives. An emerging area for private investigators is internet security, where investigators deal with computer hackers like downloading of copyrighted materials, harassing e-mails and strive to prevent identity theft and unauthorized fund transfers.

Most detectives specialize in a field like homicide or fraud. Various investigators or detectives include computer forensic investigators/detectives, legal detectives, corporate investigators,financial investigators etc.

Computer forensic investigators facilitates the organized and careful detection of computer related crime and abuse cases. Computer forensic investigators specialize in recovering, analyzing, and presenting data from computers for use in investigations or as evidence. A computer forensics investigator determine the details of intrusions into computer systems, recover data from encrypted or erased files, and recover e-mails and deleted passwords. They can work on any form of digital media, examples of which include computers and cell phones.

Legal investigators assist in preparing criminal defenses, locating witnesses, serving legal documents, interviewing police and prospective witnesses, and gathering and reviewing evidence. Legal investigators also may collect information on the parties to a litigation, take photographs, testify in court, and assemble evidence and reports for trials. They often work for law firms or lawyers.

Corporate investigation is an essential practice in the business world that investigates allegations of civil and criminal activities related to a company or organization. Corporate investigators investigate a variety of allegations such civil and criminal fraud, embezzlement, irregularities in accounting, information leaks, electronic crime, and many other activities. Corporate investigators conduct internal and external investigations for companies and organizations. In internal investigations, they may investigate drug use in the workplace, ensure that expense accounts are not abused, or determine whether employees are stealing assets, merchandise, or information. External investigations examine criminal activity from outside the organization such as fraudulent billing from vendors or suppliers.

Financial investigators may be hired to find different types of financial problems within the organization, business or any type of agency. They are experts in the field of financial audits, employee investigation, fraud investigation and loss prevention. These investigators often are certified public accountants (CPAs) who work closely with investment bankers and other accountants. They also might search for assets in order to recover damages awarded by a court in fraud or theft cases.

Work of Detectives are much similar to that of those employed in intelligence bureau, RAW and Police force. In most cases those who retire from the above services start their own private investigative agency or join these type of agencies.