24 July is International Detectives’ Day. For two years now Armenia has had its own detective and detective bureau; at present Gabrielyan & Partners Detective Bureau is not only the first but also the only one in the country. “Our aim is for people to understand that a detective is an ordinary person, nothing to be afraid of — he simply has a profession that plays a sanitary role in society. An investigator provides help and services, and their range is endless, from the physical to the psychological,” says Hayk Gabrielyan, co-founding director of the Bureau and a member of the World Association of Detectives.
How an investigator works: digital traces
Be careful on social media: it can sometimes reveal personal details about a particular person. The more active someone is on, say, Facebook, the more digital traces they leave there, and when needed this makes a detective’s job easier, says Hayk Gabrielyan, adding that open sources and digital traces are a detective’s primary tools. Investigations also combine interviews, gathering information from various closed sources and help from investigators in other countries…
“We have partners who have built information systems, and our work has become easier. Interestingly, every step leads to the next. Having taken the first step, the investigator sees the second and the ones after it — provided, of course, that the first step was taken correctly.”
To succeed in business, turn to a private investigator too
Around the world, it isn’t only individuals who turn to investigators — to find relatives, a lost item and so on. It is common practice for businesses to hire an investigator to protect themselves from potential risks and losses: to check information on potential partners and to uncover facts and details about a business that may later prove decisive for a potential investor, entrepreneur or company. Gabrielyan & Partners Detective Bureau has experience here too.
Listen and keep quiet: personal confidentiality matters
Not everyone goes to law enforcement prepared to make a secret public. Instead, they turn to investigators who “listen and forget”. There is the concept of “detective confidentiality”, which the investigator guarantees: he keeps the secret.
Watch at the source (in Armenian): The first and still the only one in Armenia: who turns to a private investigator for help (audio) (ejc.am)