The profession of detective in the Republic of Slovenia – the perception of students at the Faculty of Criminal Justice and Security of University of Maribor and the opinion of Slovenian detectives on the scales
Purpose:
The purpose of the paper was to analyse the opinions of students of the Faculty of Criminal Justice and Security of University of Maribor and Slovenian private detectives on private detective services to set out the foundations for better understanding of detective services among students and younger population and show potential opportunities for further development of detective services in the Republic of Slovenia.
Design/Methods/Approach:
A review of relevant scientific and professional publications was performed. Using two research questionnaires, we determined the difference and similarities of opinions of students of the Faculty of Criminal Justice and Security and Slovenian private detectives on the work carried out by private detectives.
Findings:
From the students’ assessment, we can conclude that the students of the Faculty of Criminal Justice and Security do not know how to get involved in the detective profession, how to start working, and where. In the future, more attention should be paid to detective work in practice and how to involve interested graduates in this profession after they complete their studies at the Faculty of Criminal Justice and Security. The profession of a private detective is appealing to students, but they show considerable indecision about choosing this profession as their career. They are familiar with some conditions for this profession, but those who are better acquainted with the entry conditions do not show much interest in performing detective work. To pursue a profession that is assessed by private detectives with an education from the Faculty of Criminal Justice and Security as equally demanding as those of other fields of study. As typical tasks of a private detective, students – to a greater degree than private detectives – list, among other things checking infidelity, drug abuse and searching for missing persons, while private detectives predominantly report as their typical tasks writing reports and servicing letter items on behalf of their clients.
Originality/Value:
This is the first such extensive study on the opinion of students at the Faculty of Criminal Justice and Security regarding private detective services in Slovenia.
UDC: 351.746.2(497.4)
Keywords: private detective, private detective services, development of services, students of the Faculty of Criminal Justice and Security, studies