In the first place, the
private detective has neither the general authority nor the
facilities for the manual detention of a criminal. A blue
coat and brass buttons, to say nothing of a night stick, are
often invaluable stage properties in the last act of the
melodrama. And as the criminal authorities are eventually to
deal with the defendant anyway, it is just as well if they
come into the case as soon as may be. It goes without saying,
of course, that a detective per se has no more right to make
an arrest than any private citizen--nor has a policeman, for
that matter, save in exceptional cases. The officer is
valuable for his dignity, avoirdupois, "bracelets," and other
accessories. The police thus get the credit of many arrests
in difficult cases where all the work has been done by private
detectives, and it is good business for the latter to let them
know it.
One of the chief assets of the big agency is its accumulated
information concerning all sorts of professional criminals.
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