Practical Instruction for Detectives

Having been connected for many years with two of the largest and most successful private detective agencies in this country, both as an operator and as an official, and having been requested to outline briefly and concisely the most modern and up-to-date methods employed by leading detectives and private detective agencies of today, I shall confine myself in these pages to facts and a few personal experiences. I will endeavor to show that any person possessed of average intelligence, and who will use good common sense, can become a successful detective, regardless of his present or previous occupation.

This country today stands in need of more and better detectives than ever before in its history, and if one be inclined to doubt this statement he need only pick up the morning newspaper of any city of any size and be convinced that this is true. Hundreds of crimes of all descriptions are committed daily and statistics show that more than fifty per cent of persons committing crimes go unmolested and unpunished. Besides, there are the thousands of employees on our various transportation systems, in banks, stores, and in mercantile establishments, who are daily committing thefts of various kinds from their employers and whose nefarious operations are rarely uncovered, when one considers the actual number of thefts committed. - Summary by From the Preface (2 hr 38 min)

Chapters

Preface	5:59	Read by fiddlesticks
Shadowing	19:38	Read by fiddlesticks
Burglaries	26:16	Read by James K. White
Identification of Criminals	5:36	Read by Availle
Forgeries	22:28	Read by James K. White
Confessions	3:38	Read by Rosslyn Carlyle
Murder Cases	3:54	Read by Availle
Grafters	16:27	Read by James K. White
Detective Work in Department Stores	11:58	Read by Rosslyn Carlyle
Railroad Detective Work	7:38	Read by Julia Niedermaier
Detective Work for Street Railways	7:06	Read by Rosslyn Carlyle
Other Kinds of Detective Work	28:15	Read by James K. White

Reviews

For detectives...or ciminals?

(3 stars)

Timothy Ferguson

Emmerson Manning’s handbook was written in 1921, and is targeted at young people considering employment in the security field. He describes the work of store, hotel, train, and other detectives. I thought the book would have been most useful as a primer into how to begin work as a small-time criminal in a large American city. He describes various methods of shoplifting, for example, so that new detectives can spot them, but I as a reader now know how to roll a 1920s jewelry store.

(5 stars)

Ssreader

Wonder book. Give very good invite in how to categorize and create contingency plans for various criminal ailments of modern society