How does the profession of a detective differ from that of a police officer?
— “Around the world, for more than 100 years the private detective, as a party conducting alternative investigations, has been an integral part of the law enforcement system. Internationally, a private detective may carry a service weapon and carry out phone interception, video recording and photography in public places. Any information obtained in the course of a detective’s work that concerns a crime is immediately passed to law enforcement, who see the case through to its logical end. Not everyone goes to law enforcement, fearing their problem will become public. So they turn to detectives who ‘listen and forget’. There is the concept of ‘detective confidentiality’, which guarantees privacy.”
What is your line of work based on?
— In particular, as someone conducting an alternative investigation, a detective can help uncover the truth and give you the evidence you need to make well-founded decisions. The range of a private detective’s services is very wide: from finding a stolen car to locating and bringing back an abducted child, from tracking down the author of a “nasty comment” on social media to searching for a missing person, exposing dishonest employees, and so on.
As a member of the World Association of Detectives, our bureau provides a range of services to Armenian citizens and organisations not only in Armenia but in some 160 countries, including legal support on matters involving those countries’ law enforcement systems.
In fighting crime in Armenia, Gabrielyan & Partners Detective Bureau already practises a culture of cooperation and partnership with the Police of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Investigative Committee and other parts of the law enforcement system. Close international cooperation is at the very highest level. We always support our law enforcement partners with our experience in combating fraud and extortion and the distribution of psychotropic substances and drugs.
What legal working tools do you have?
— “From the mid-19th century, when the institution of private detectives was just taking shape, until the 1990s, detectives’ main tools were a magnifying glass, a bulky camera or, at best, a film camera. They had to follow a person to obtain information and evidence. The detective with a pince-nez, a pipe and a magnifying glass has become the symbol of detective work.
The main helpers of the 21st-century private detective are the internet, social media, modern digital tools and the ‘abundance’ of information available from open resources.” Open sources and digital footprints are a detective’s main tools. Investigations also add inquiries, gathering information from various closed sources and support from detectives in other countries…
What skills does this profession require?
— In my view, only someone who can keep secrets, who is honest at heart and has an impeccable record and a good reputation in society can be a private detective.
Tell us, how realistic is it to find a person from a photo?
— Finding someone from a torn, blurred photo only happens in the movies.
In real life you need a good-quality photo that shows at least some details of the location, or additional information — at least one social media account, a few phone numbers.
Add the digital footprints of people and organisations, and the chances of success become almost 100%.
To investigate is to find cause-and-effect links, not to invent them.
What is the hardest part of your job?
— Uncovering information that could cause a client deep and irreparable pain and harm.
In that case we prefer simply to decline the order.
Have there been any funny incidents at work? Please tell us about them.
— There are funny cases, but given our line of work and the principle of client confidentiality, I won’t share them. Maybe in twenty years I’ll write my memoirs. Better to tell a joke on the subject:
Two friends are talking.
— Do you know cleaning our apartment costs us 50 dollars a day?
— Why so expensive?
— I pay our young maid 10 dollars, and my wife pays a private detective 40.
And failures?
— Thank God, there have been no failures so far. In his work a detective walks an invisible line between law and lawlessness. Without professionalism, the right tools, relevant experience and knowledge, he will cross that line very quickly. Most importantly, a detective has no right to make mistakes.
Are infidelity investigations your most common service?
— Here’s an interesting fact: according to World Association of Detectives statistics, the most frequent orders concern marital infidelity, and most clients are women. As for statistics in Armenia, I’ll keep those secret. I promise to give you exclusive statistics personally in 15 years.
Would you climb into a thorn bush for evidence?
— If that evidence would solve the mysterious crime of the century, then yes.
Have you taken on cases with an obvious risk to life?
— I haven’t yet been “lucky” enough to have such an investigation…
Monitoring social media is no easy task, given that people try not to advertise their private lives…
— Social media monitoring can reveal even personal details about anyone.
The more active a person is on, say, Facebook, the more digital traces they leave there, which makes a detective’s work easier when needed. Investigations also add inquiries, gathering information from various closed sources and support from detectives in other countries.
By the way, jealous women are now actively using social media monitoring techniques.
Still, there is romance in your work…
— In my view, any young person who read the masterpieces of world detective fiction as a teenager imagined himself as Sherlock Holmes, Poirot or another hero. I was no exception.
To put the romance in a nutshell: as a blend of a youthful dream and professional experience, seasoned with romanticism, the first investigation organisation in Armenia’s history became a reality.
Please tell us about your participation in the recent exhibition at the Mantashyants centre.
— Our participation in Mantashyants Global Expo 2024 gave us the chance not only to present GABRIELYAN & PARTNERS DETECTIVE BUREAU and the best security solutions we offer, but also a great opportunity to talk directly with our current and potential partners and representatives of the business community, learn about their security interests and needs, and help them choose the most reliable security systems.
We presented our most in-demand services:
- protecting personal phones and computers from malicious eavesdropping;
- assessing the legal and financial integrity of business partners;
- employee integrity checks;
- lie detector or polygraph services, etc.
Over the two days of the expo, hundreds of interested visitors learned about the Bureau’s services and the latest security systems at the welcoming Gabrielyan & Partners Detective Bureau stand.
During the exhibition, memoranda were signed with partners and many cooperation agreements were reached.
Bluff and deception: what’s the difference?
— To me they are the same. Maybe that’s because I don’t like gambling. I think bluffing is used more in games…
And how often does investigation resort to them?
— In exceptional cases a detective may use bluff or deception to obtain valuable information and succeed in an important investigation.
But that would be a last resort…
The call of the heart or the call of blood?
— Perhaps it shows differently in everyone: feelings, a bond with the homeland, loved ones, family…
In my view there is an invisible logical link here, because blood and heart are deeply interconnected and inseparable…
What main piece of advice would you give your seven-year-old self?
— I started reading when I was five. Books have always been my companions in life.
Here’s the advice I’d give my seven-year-old self:
Follow the same path, but read twice as many books and learn many languages.
Does the end justify the means?
— Yes, as long as that end does not go beyond the bounds of humanity and humanism.
Mr Gabrielyan, thank you very much for an interesting conversation. All the best to you and prosperity to your firm! What would you wish our readers?
— Thank you for the interesting questions, dear Mikael!
For my part, I wish your magazine a million subscribers and many years of success.
And I wish your readers good health, success, and smooth sailing on an ocean of wellbeing and safety.
Read at the source (in Russian): Hayk Gabrielyan — Vecher