These
functions are known in the vernacular as spotting, locating,
and trailing. It requires patience, some powers of
observation, and occasionally a little ingenuity. The real
detective under such circumstances is the man to whom they
hand in their reports. Yet much of the most dramatic and
valuable work that is done involves no acuteness at all, but
simply a willingness to act as a spy and to brave the dangers
of being found out.
There is nothing more thrilling in the pages of modern history
than the story of the man (James McPartland) who uncovered the
conspiracies of the Molly McGuires. But the work of this man
was that of a spy pure and simple.
Another highly specialized class of detectives is that engaged
in police and banking work, who by experience (or even origin)
have a wide and intimate acquaintance with criminals of
various sorts, and by their familiarity with the latters'
whereabouts, associates, work, and methods are able to
recognize and run down the perpetrators of particular crimes.
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