How do private detectives work in Armenia?
What is a private detective’s job really like, how does their day begin, what does the law allow them to do and how much do their services cost? operativ.am discussed these and other questions with Hayk Gabrielyan, president of the first bureau engaged in detective work in the Republic of Armenia and a member of the World Association of Detectives (W.A.D), the International Association of Private Detectives (IAPD) and the International Police Association (IPA).
— Mr. Gabrielyan, who is a private investigator? Please tell us a little about it.
— For the client, a “psychologist” and a problem solver. It turns out that before we set up our business, detective services were provided to Armenian citizens by people of all sorts of professions: psychics, fortune-tellers, “curse removers”, fake detectives (most of whom were fraudsters) and so on.
— Why did you decide to become a detective?
— The reasons come down to wanting to use the experience and knowledge gained over my career for everyone’s benefit, and to the often-heard phrase “if only a detective company would open one day…”. Thanks to this, Armenia’s first-ever detective organisation became a reality.
— How does a detective’s day usually start?
— With the gym in the morning, then a cup of coffee at the office while going through the day’s news and work correspondence…
— What kind of cases does an Armenian detective handle?
— We mainly help individuals and companies solve problems that arise in their personal lives and businesses, not only in Armenia but abroad. A private detective’s range of services is very wide: from finding a stolen car to locating a child abducted abroad and bringing them home, from identifying the author of a “nasty comment” on social media to searching for a missing person.
Our organisation is a member of the World Association of Detectives, which allows us to provide Armenian citizens and organisations with a range of services in some 160 countries, including legal assistance on matters involving those countries’ law enforcement systems.
Our motto: never lose a detective’s business card — it is the last key that opens the door you need.
— Are there moral limits for a detective?
— We do not carry out wiretapping, covert video or audio recording, or itemised phone-call records;
— we do not get involved in domestic quarrels and scandals;
— we do not use the services of psychics or fortune-tellers.
We work strictly within the law and our moral values.
— What are your moral boundaries? What would you never do?
— Use intelligence or spying methods within my own family or against people close to me, or take any order against the state. For my family and friends, I am an adviser on everyday and business matters.
— The detective in real life and in the movies.
— In the movies, the detective is helped by the director and screenwriter, and the hero can even break the law. In real life, you are the director and the screenwriter, and your main helpers are the internet, social media, modern digital tools and information from open sources. In reality, a detective walks an invisible line between law and lawlessness. Without professionalism, experience and knowledge, you will cross that line very quickly…
Most importantly, you have no right to make mistakes.
— Are there guarantees of confidentiality?
— The one absolute rule all private detective agencies must follow is guaranteeing the confidentiality of client data. Trust is the most important condition of the detective profession and the key to success. I hope this doesn’t sound immodest, but a detective’s work is like a priest’s ministry: in both cases a visitor entrusts you with a secret that you must keep and never allow to be made public.
— Who in Armenia uses detective services most often?
— Our clients are both individuals and companies, who mainly come to us for information and analysis services related to security. Citizens and organisations from other countries also use our services.
Our organisation cooperates with Armenia’s law enforcement system and stands on the front line of the fight against crime.
An interesting fact: according to the World Association of Detectives’ statistics (kept since 1925), the most frequent orders concern marital infidelity, and about 60% of clients are women.
— Can a client take part in the detective’s work?
— Absolutely: the client’s involvement throughout the investigation is one of the main keys to a successful outcome.
— Can a detective hide something from a client for the sake of their own conscience?
— Certainly, if that information could cause them very deep and irreparable pain and harm. In that case we prefer simply to decline the order.
— Do detectives have a code of ethics?
— Yes. The World Association of Detectives has such a code and an ethics committee. If a complaint is received about a member detective, proceedings are opened, and if the complaint is upheld, the detective is expelled from the Association for good.
— The prices of your detective services…
— Are democratic…
The cost depends on how complex the case is. The first stage is a free consultation, in which we talk with the client.
Based on that conversation, we estimate the time and resources the investigation will need and then set the final price.
— How can you tell whether you are being bugged or followed?
— If a professional is following you, you won’t even find out… Checking a phone for bugging takes certain skills, which we often share on our Facebook page. In addition, our company represents respected international organisations in Armenia, and we offer clients a range of accessories that protect phones from “prying eyes and ears”.
— What are your favourite films and books?
— Among Armenian films: “We and Our Mountains”, “The Triangle”, “The Big Win”, “The Tango of Our Childhood”… I am currently rereading Sparapet Vazgen Sargsyan’s collection “What Are You Doing, Guys”.
— How can clients find you?
— Our company has an official website and official pages on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn, and is listed on the Google and Yandex search engines. Information about us is also posted on the business platforms of the World Association of Detectives and the CIS Association of Detectives.
Finally, a few jokes about detectives.
• A rich businessman’s wife is outraged when she accidentally learns that her husband suspects her of cheating and has hired a private investigator to follow her.
But when she hears how much the detective is being paid, she offers to tell her husband everything herself for half the price.
• Advertisement:
An experienced private investigator will quickly find out — and prove — why your husband is so happy.
• Two detectives are talking:
— The murderer was a very well-mannered, cultured person.
— What makes you think so, colleague?
— The knife wounds were on the right and the fork wounds on the left.
• A wife to her husband:
— I’m sick and tired of your jealousy! Do you think I don’t know you’ve hired a detective to follow me — tall, blond, green-eyed, very pleasant and a little shy… at first…
Read at the source (in Armenian): Operativ.am | “Never lose a detective’s business card — it is the last key that opens the door you need”: detective Hayk Gabrielyan