Life as a Private Investigator: Unveiling the Truth
When I walked into the offices of Wright & Wrong Ltd, a predominantly female firm of private investigators, I was a little disappointed. My only previous contact with private detective agencies had been through black and white films from the golden age of Hollywood. So, I was half expecting to see a small, dark, smoke-filled room, a single desk with an empty in-tray, and a long, scruffy raincoat hanging from a hat stand.
Clearly, my romantic image of the profession needed updating. Wright & Wrong Ltd’s offices are light and spacious, and there are no ashtrays in sight on any of the dozen or so desks. These are tidy and free of paper, but concentrated faces at large computer screens give the place a busy feel.
Jenny Wright, founder of the agency, is not surprised at my error, and with a note of irritation in her voice, points to further misconceptions. ‘Cinema and television are mostly to blame for our reputation. Contrary to popular belief, we always work very strictly within the law – there’s no violence, no break-ins, and certainly no guns.
The laws relating to our activities are very tight, and if we don’t stick to them, there’s a very real danger that the evidence we obtain will not be accepted in court.’ The types of cases her agency deals with are varied, but the day-to-day work is often far from stimulating.
Wright & Wrong Ltd handles anything from infidelity in a marriage or tracing a missing person to insurance fraud, employee theft, and advising companies on security measures. ‘Resolving a case is very rewarding,’ says Jenny, ‘but the actual investigation can be rather dull.
When we’re not dealing with paperwork or Internet searches, we’re usually involved in surveillance. And that normally means just sitting around in cars or cafés for hours, waiting for something to happen.’
Not surprisingly, then, patience is an important asset for anyone doing this kind of work. ‘Women don’t have a monopoly on patience,’ replies Jenny, ‘but perhaps it’s no coincidence that they tend to stay in the job longer than men.’
Jenny tells me that people’s perceptions of women make them popular with clients, and also, consequently, with her as an employer. Women are often considered to be more sensitive than men. They’re looked upon as less threatening when it comes to making inquiries. ‘People open up more to a woman on the phone and are more willing to talk to them. We’re also good at breaking bad news. What may be a victory for the agency – filming someone doing something they shouldn’t be doing, for example – tends not to be such a pleasant discovery for the client, and there’s a right and wrong way of handling that information.’
Most of Jenny’s clients are wealthy. The hourly rate is anything between fifty and eighty pounds, so the cost of a single case will often run into thousands of pounds.
Even with the latest hi-tech equipment, such as long-range listening devices, a surveillance campaign can last several days. ‘The technology is freely available and most of what we do could be done by the clients,’ explains Jenny, ‘but they’re reluctant to get involved. Finding out the truth is often just too painful to do on your own.’
I ask Jenny, a former night club owner, how she came to be a private detective. Her face turns red, she gives a slight grin and drops her voice to a whisper so as not to be overheard by her staff ‘I used to read a lot of crime novels,’ she confides, ‘and I started to think “I could do that”. I went on a training course and realized I was in the wrong job.’ I am about to ask her whether she ever wears a long, scruffy raincoat, when her mobile phone rings and she is called away on business.