The Detective Through the Ages – Part 3

As we have seen in the first two parts of our series "The Private Detective Through the Ages," covering Vidocq and the Bow Street Runners, there is a clear reason why most private detective agencies today, including the Kurtz Detective Agency Hanover, are still based in major cities. On one hand, this is due to the protective anonymity of urban life, but primarily it is because the demand was simply higher in cities: the rise in crime towards the end of the 18th century did not immediately lead to the establishment of organised state police forces, neither here nor, for that matter, across the Atlantic.

A new profession emerges: the detective

People began seeking protection and information from privately organised helpers. These were, on the one hand, the forerunners of the police, and on the other hand—since there were no uniforms yet—the precursors of private investigators, the “ancestors” of our detectives in Hanover. Following the beginnings with Fielding’s Bow Street Runners in London and Vidocq in Paris, the profession began to professionalise in parallel with policing by the mid-19th century. Two recurring aspects, however, persisted: first, private detectives often had a background either as former police officers or as criminals (Vidocq being an example of both). In both cases, familiarity with the milieu, informants, and operational methods was essential—a requirement that remains indispensable to this day at the Kurtz Detective Agency Hanover, especially when conducting investigations in plain clothes and privately.

Dickens writes about detective Charles Field

While knowledge of the milieu remained important even into 2015, the profession fortunately shed its long-standing poor reputation. Today, a clean record and good character are prerequisites for conducting investigations professionally and effectively—not just for our Hanover detectives, but for colleagues worldwide. In its early days, however, it was possible to succeed with both a criminal and police background, as Vidocq’s example demonstrates. Those who followed in his footsteps and were influenced by him and contemporary literary models were no exception: Charles Frederick Field, for instance, was reportedly active with the Bow Street Runners and became a long-serving Inspector at the then-young Scotland Yard before founding a private detective agency in 1852.

 

The Londoner—our second point of interest—also maintained close ties with the literary world. None other than Charles Dickens accompanied Field and other police officers on their rounds for extended periods. A long friendship developed between him and Field. Besides his essay “On Duty with Inspector Field,” Dickens wrote numerous articles about the detective, often under altered names. He frequently drew on real police-life motives, and Field is commonly regarded as the inspiration for the character Inspector Bucket in Bleak House (1852). That same year, 47-year-old Field retired from public service but did not intend to stop working—he established a private detective agency and practised as a private investigator for ten years. Today, he is remembered as a master of disguise and undercover work, skills that remain essential for our Hanover detectives.

Private detective “Paddington” establishes international connections | The internationalisation of the detective profession

During his time as a private investigator, one of Field’s employees went on to achieve fame in his own right: Hungarian-born Ignatius Paul “Paddington” Pollaky, who arrived in England in 1850 and soon began working for Field’s newly founded agency. After several years, he became independent and opened his own detective agency in 1862, competing with Field. Pollaky—nicknamed “Paddington” due to the location of his office—represents an important milestone in detective history, as he was the first (at least officially) to pursue international collaboration at high political levels: during the U.S. Civil War, diplomat and businessman Henry Shelton Sanford commissioned Pollaky to investigate suspected Confederate agents in London.

 

Pollaky’s advertisements soon explicitly addressed an international clientele with phrases such as “Discreet investigations in England or abroad.” Close collaboration with the London police also led to the registration of all foreign immigrants by Pollaky and the establishment of a regulated immigration policy—a milieu he knew well, having immigrated to England himself in his youth. Ironically, in 1862, his application for British citizenship was denied; it was only granted in 1914.

Foundation for modern private detectives

It is unknown how close Field and Pollaky were or whether they saw each other as friendly competitors or fierce rivals—but it is clear that, in chaotic times with a nascent and unprofessional police force, they helped transform private investigation from a semi-shady occupation with criminal backgrounds into a respected and essential profession. Discreet and professional investigations, assistance in private and business matters, domestically and internationally: this was the agenda these two London gentlemen established. Even today, far from the clichés of detectives in film and literature, this remains the true vocation of a private investigator—a principle our Hanover investigators at Kurtz Detective Agency wholeheartedly uphold.

Author: Gerrit Koehler

 

Kurtz Detective Agency Hannover

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D-30659 Hanover

Tel.: +49 511 2028 0016

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