Popular image of private detective and his demystification

Abstract

When we think of private detectives, what we first have in mind is one of the most common opinions, which connects this person with the hero from literature or movies and - in rarer cases - with the former police officer who, after having been retired, opens a detective agency in our neighborhood. The question, however, is whether such perception corresponds to the real situation or if, in this way, we just reproduce social stereotypes and the images of private detectives popularized in the media. The fact is that in today's conditions the position of private detectives is characterized by disbalance between the popular image and actual possibilities of the private detectives, which makes it quite a controversial activity. There are many consequences of this disbalance in the performance of private detective activity in the 'real' life, but certainly the most serious problem is that this situation contributes to the occurrence of abuse in the work of private detectives, frequently endangering the rights and freedoms of citizens. If we really strive for the rule of law and proudly claim that our society is based on democratic heritage then we have to take all necessary measures in order to prevent or suppress abuse or negligence in the activity of private detectives. Although the critical approach in this work is beyond dispute, the author 's intention is certainly not to discredit the private detective activity, but to use constructive criticism to point to the key problems in this field. By analyzing the image of private detectives in this light we mainly try to warn that private detectives have a great potential to cause serious damage, accidentally or intentionally, and it is therefore important to act in the direction of opposing these phenomenon, and primarily through normative regulation of this area and ensuring their implementation in the field. The paper should also be understood as an appeal to the authorized institutions to finally regulate the private detective activity in the Republic of Serbia, which has existed for years in a kind of legal vacuum, with all consequences that this situation produces.

Činjenica je da se pri samoj pomisli na privatnog detektiva obično setimo nekog junaka iz literature ili filma. Pitanje je, međutim, da li takva percepcija odgovara realnom stanju ili, pak, time samo reprodukujemo društvene stereotipe i sliku privatnog detektiva popularisanu u medijima. Poziciju privatnih detektiva nesumnjivo karakteriše disbalans između popularnog imidža i realne slike, što čini privatnu detektivsku delatnost prilično kontroverznom. Posledice ovog disbalansa su mnogobrojne, ali svakako najozbiljniji problem je što takvo stanje doprinosi pojavi zloupotreba u radu privatnih detektiva, od kojih mnoge rezultuju ugrožavanjem sloboda i prava građana. Iako je kritički pristup u ovom radu nesporan, težnja autora svakako nije da diskredituje privatnu detektivsku delatnost, već da kroz konstruktivnu kritiku ukaže na neke od ključnih problema u ovoj oblasti, a koji proizlaze iz njenog pogrešnog tumačenja i karakterisanja. Analizirajući imidž privatnih detektiva iz ovog ugla mi prevashodno nastojimo da upozorimo da privatni detektivi imaju veliki potencijal da izazovu ozbiljnu štetu, slučajno ili namerno, i da je stoga važno delovati u pravcu suprotstavljanja tim pojavama, i to prvenstveno kroz normativno regulisanje ove oblasti i obezbeđivanje njihovog sprovođenja na terenu. Ujedno ovaj rad treba shvatiti i kao apel nadležnim subjektima da konačno regulišu privatnu detektivsku delatnost u Republici Srbiji, koja već godinama egzistira u svojevrsnom pravnom vakuumu, sa svim posledicama koje takvo stanje proizvodi.