Is our industry really out of control or are we suffering from the effects of media hype? I lament the article in today’s Daily Telegraph entitled ‘Private detectives are out of control in Britain’. Although the article, written by Jake Wallis Simons, a well-respected journalist and author, is an effective piece of persuasive writing; for me, [...]
Figures released today by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) show the devastating impact of online crime to UK businesses. As the cost of online crime rises year on year confidence in the police’s ability to tackle e-crime is decreasing. The BRC’s Counting the Cost of E-Crime report estimates that e-crime cost retailers £205.4 million in [...]
Anyone who conducts research online knows about deep web searches, but there is an even deeper underground of evil on the Internet and unfortunately, it isn’t so secret anymore. Anarchists, criminals and people who think it is the right of everyone to have access to certain illegal sites are providing tips on how to access [...]
The description of physicist Paul Frampton by his ex-wife paints a sympathetic, if somewhat comical picture of a man who now languishes in an Argentine prison on charges of drug smuggling. She told newspapers: “He has an emotional age of three. The only thing he understands is science.” The caricature is likely to foster sympathy [...]
The House of Commons Home Affairs Committee today released its long awaited findings on private investigators. It will come as no surprise to many in the industry that the committee recommends full licensing and regulation of the industry by 2015, but whether the political will exists to do so remains to be seen. The report [...]
Draft proposals have been published today outlining plans to give police and intelligence agencies increased access to the public’s internet records. Initial reports suggest the plans amount to a blank cheque from the government for ISPs to keep records of emails, instant messaging and social media usage for a year. It is hoped the records [...]
Information brokers are all criminals and have nothing to do with the private investigation industry – according to a statement released by the Association of British Investigators (ABI). A rather surprising and sweeping over-simplistic and incorrect statement made by the UK’s longest running PI association – a statement that is bound to ruffle the feathers [...]
The ABI, the longest established organisation representing professional Private Investigators in the UK, has proposed that in order to practice as a professional investigator candidates must adhere to certain strict and far-reaching conditions. A statement published on the Association of British Investigator’s (ABI) website details proposals for the industry to move towards Chartered Institute status by [...]
Channel Four’s Watching the Detectives documentary last week stirred up the age-old debate on industry regulation. Or at least, it did in our office. The Home Affairs Committee Seminar on Private Investigators (HACSPI) met days after the documentary was aired to discuss some of the issues raised by the programme and, in particular, whether strict [...]
An undercover investigation into the illicit trade in personal information in Britain has revealed how easy it is for private investigators to obtain personal data illegally. A Channel 4 documentary to be aired tomorrow reveals that employees from two of Britain’s biggest companies unknowingly supplied confidential information to a private investigations firm. It is estimated [...]
Follow Us!