Nothing thrills more than a real-life whodunit. Perhaps your favourite childhood games were Scotland Yard and Cluedo. All you need is a good mystery to make life worth living, even on the darkest days. Its It is okay, though, if you fall short of Sherlock’s well-earned arrogance or Bond’s piercing good looks. Here are many other ways of building a life of investigation with a mystery round every corner.
Investigative journalism: From getting admitted to mental asylums and rescuing wrongly-held inmates, to following serial killers into their dens, investigative journalists risk their lives to uncover crime. They may be senior correspondents on crime beats, or freelance journalists following their noses and passions into darker zones. Michelle McNamara’s book I’ll Be Gone in the Dark documents her “obsessive search” for a serial killer and rapist that led to his arrest, last month. Eric Eyre who won the Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting in 2017, reported on opioid overdoses causing widespread deaths in West Virginia.
Litigation and legal investigation Criminal lawyers often start on cases after the police is done with the evidence. But, most cases involve re-examining the evidence, reconstructing the story, interviewing witnesses and discovering new leads. Internationally, this is growing as a career . In India, though, junior litigators often take up the task of following clues, leads, and tracking down witnesses.
Insurance fraud: Verifying pre-insurance information and the validity of insurance claims, are some of the areas that insurance fraud analysts work in.
Financial fraud Forensic accounting experts are often certified accountants who investigate unusual financial activity to uncover embezzlement of funds, bribery and corruption, money laundering, and employee fraud. They may be employed by banks managing corporate loans (avoid potential Nirav Modi-type incidents), credit card companies, audit firms or any company suspecting financial fraud by employees or clients.
Cyber security: Crime’s latest address is the Internet, and India is estimated to report one cyber attack every 10 minutes, according to the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team . Air tickets being booked without the credit cards owner’s knowledge, ransomware attacks threatening online leakage of private pictures, to extort bitcoins, to name a few, are some examples. Experts work with banks, credit card and e-commerce companies to counter such threats.
Traditional investigative roles
Private investigators: They may be hired by private individuals for tracking down lost pets, following a cheating spouse’s activities, or verifying the character of a marriage prospect. Or, they may be hired for corporate investigations like pre-employment verification, document verification by universities or banks, and internal theft cases. Before you grab your magnifying glass and hit the road, though, the Private Detective Agencies (Regulation) Bill pending in Parliament for seven years, lays down clear guidelines for licensing of detectives, mandatory photo identity cards and criminal records of investigators themselves. According to Baldev Puri, chairman, AMX Detectives (P) Ltd. and General Secretary-Delhi Chapter Of Association of Private Detectives, “Many bright youngsters want to join the profession today. You need a background in forensics and a sharp mind. The career can be challenging, and while background verifications for employment and matrimonials can be handled in a structured way, more complex cases involving crime need a lot more experience and credentials for someone to work on.”
Intelligence agencies: The Intelligence Bureau collects vital intelligence reports and protects sensitive information within the country. The Research and Analysis Wing conducts foreign intelligence operations, counters international terrorism and monitors political, military or scientific developments in other countries that may impact national security. Central Bureau of Investigation focuses on security and law and order threats within the country, and offenses against the Central Government. The Defence Intelligence Agency provides intelligence information for the Armed Forces. Most government roles in intelligence are not advertised, and recruitments are made from officer ranks in the police services, civil services or armed forces.
How to train: Forensic science remains the foremost route, followed by law, computer science, finance and psychology (for specific roles). Forensic scientists are trained in crime scene analysis, tracking evidence as well as forensic pathology. Some niche forensic roles may include forensic artists and sculptors who recreate a crime scene or suspect from verbal descriptions; forensic geologists, forensic photographers, forensic linguists and forensic psychologists.
The author leads the India office of a California-based career guidance firm, Stoodnt, and is the author of The Ultimate Guide to 21st Century Careers. ultimateguide@stoodnt.com
