As everyone knows, thousands of divorce actions are brought every year throughout the country and many detectives find employment in connection with such cases. The custom is that when the husband, for instance, suspects his wife of infidelity, he has her placed under surveillance for a month or so, which usually develops whether or not his suspicions are well founded. However, information and corroborative evidence is obtained by the husband, or by the wife, as the case may be, in a hundred other ways. While detective work of this nature has no doubt always been profitable to detectives, my opinion is that it has never been any too creditable, and my advice to the detective is to keep as clear of this kind of work as possible, because such cases require skillful work and handling, and often when handled successfully, the results do not offset the undesirable notoriety that may be given the detective.
ARSON
As is quite well known, the fire losses in the United States run annually into millions of dollars, and if one would take the trouble to have half an hour’s talk with any fire insurance expert it will be found that a surprisingly large percentage of fires are no doubt the results of schemes to defraud fire insurance companies. Much detective work is directed in an effort to lessen these losses, and to bring about the arrest and conviction of the offenders, but my knowledge of conditions is that the crime of arson continues on the increase rather than on the decrease.
Life and accident insurance companies throughout the country employ hundreds of detectives the year round to investigate risks and fraudulent claims. Many individuals somewhere daily place in the hands of private detectives, various kinds of cases to be investigated, and in conclusion I will say that when a case is submitted to the detective for investigation it should be made the subject of careful thought and consideration. As a rule, every case differs in some way, but if good common sense methods are applied, results can be secured, no matter how difficult or how complicated the case may be at the start.
A New Handbook of the Science of Finger Print
Identification
By JAMES HOLT
CONTENTS
I The Uses of Finger Prints:—Banking—Military Uses—Family Records—Loss of Identity—Criminal Work—Opportunities for Students.