No Solution Without Waiting – Patrick Kurtz in an Interview with the Berlin Security Academy

A graduate of the Berlin Security Academy reports on his day-to-day practice as a detective

In a previously unpublished interview, the Berlin Security Academy questioned Patrick Kurtz, owner of Kurtz Investigations Potsdam and Brandenburg, about the detective profession and its entry requirements, his personal career path and his professional experience since completing the IHK-certified course Qualified Detective.

 

The work of a detective should not be underestimated, yet role models such as the famous Sherlock Holmes continue to generate strong interest in the profession of the “investigator”. As a graduate of the Berlin Security Academy and a self-employed private detective, Patrick Kurtz can offer some insights into his daily work.

Mr Kurtz, what qualifications and knowledge does a private detective need? What makes a successful investigator?

Legal knowledge is indispensable. Anyone who does not know their legal limits will sooner or later commit a criminal offence in this profession, because the detective trade in particular is full of pitfalls. If you stumble into one of them, you face serious consequences. Moreover, without sound legal knowledge it is impossible to advise clients professionally. Other personal prerequisites for successful investigations include sustained concentration during lengthy surveillance operations, a strong intuitive sense for situations, creativity in solving hard-to-access cases, persistence, the ability to work as part of a team, and an extensive, reliable network of contacts.

How can one imagine your everyday professional life? What tasks have to be handled and which problems do you repeatedly face?

My daily work now largely consists of organisation, final quality control, problem-solving and client acquisition. I only take personal responsibility for cases that are of particular interest to me; all others are delegated to the most suitable employees and carried out by them in consultation with my specialist coordinators and myself. When I was still regularly active in the field, a large part of the work consisted of waiting, because during many surveillance operations nothing happens for hours and sometimes even days. It is crucial, however, to remain fully alert and focused at the decisive moment.

 

Fortunately, surveillance is not always a tedious affair, although unfortunately you can hardly influence that yourself, as the level of excitement usually depends on the behaviour of the target person. If they move around a lot, the observer has a correspondingly busy and exciting day; if the target person stays at home all day, the detective can usually do little more than wait. Research work can also develop into something very exciting: lengthy, meticulous searches may remain fruitless for a frustratingly long time until a seemingly insignificant detail triggers a domino effect. The researcher can then work their way from one piece of information to the next until finally reaching the desired result – a very satisfying feeling.

Illegal surveillance and invasion of privacy – how far are you allowed to go? Are there situations in which a detective becomes liable to prosecution?

From a data protection perspective, much of what detectives deal with on a daily basis is vaguely defined. Individual court rulings can have major implications for the industry, which is why it is important to stay up to date even after completing training. On many issues there is no uniform consensus within the profession, and even seasoned lawyers cannot say with absolute certainty in the not infrequent borderline cases whether investigations and the use of certain methods would be legally unobjectionable. Due to the risks associated with data-protection-sensitive measures, it is company policy at our firm to avoid them altogether. This means that we neither use GPS trackers ourselves unless the ownership and usage rights of the vehicle concerned are unequivocally clarified, nor do we carry out infidelity surveillance if the relationship is not clearly established, nor do we improperly interfere with the personal rights of the target person by, for example, filming into a flat through windows, as can unfortunately be seen time and again in numerous low-quality German programmes about supposed detectives.

How do you see the career prospects for detectives in the coming years?

I believe that the industry is relatively crisis-resistant, as the desire for information is inherent in human nature and there will therefore always be demand for the investigation of new facts. This demand is, if anything, only marginally affected by national or even global economic crises. For aspiring detectives, I see great opportunities not only in the coming years but already now, because the average age within the profession is very high and the outstanding minds, mostly old-school graduate criminalists, are gradually all retiring. There can be no successors from that direction, because state-run criminalistic training has, through negligence, been almost non-existent for around 20 years. As a result, there is already a shortage of qualified detectives in many regions today. Berlin is not one of them, but Saxony, Thuringia and Mecklenburg–Western Pomerania, for example, are – even some major cities such as Dresden or Rostock.

Why would you recommend the profession to others?

I would actually only recommend the profession to people who meet the prerequisites mentioned above. Due to the unfortunately extremely low statutory entry requirements, a great many citizens try their luck in our industry and often fail mercilessly and completely, usually because they embark on this “adventure” untrained and naïvely. Training at the Berlin Security Academy, on the other hand, helped me to build up the necessary legal knowledge and, through making contacts with successful professional detectives, to gain insights into industry structures as well as points of contact for problems that regularly arise, especially at the beginning. Anyone who enjoys self-employment, has a sharp mind, possesses the necessary technical equipment and can also meet the very real physical demands can certainly envisage some prospects of success, finding both a good living and an exciting professional life in the detective trade.

About the Berlin Security Academy

The Berlin Security Academy is a certified and state-recognised education provider as well as a federal service provider. Its training focuses on security and security technologies. The many years of experience of managing director Torben Meyer as a government personal protection officer, including assignments protecting generals and high-ranking figures from the Federal Ministry of Defence or NATO Headquarters in Brussels, formed the basis for the establishment of the institute. The academy’s aim is to promote recognition of security as a qualified service. To achieve this goal, it imparts not only specialist know-how but also values such as a sense of duty and responsibility, to which the institution is committed.

 

The Berlin Security Academy’s programmes are primarily aimed at social organisations, government institutions or companies seeking further qualification for their employees, as well as private individuals striving for professional qualification. Course content can be adapted to individual needs.

 

Web: www.sicherheitsakademie-berlin.de

 

Kurtz Investigations Potsdam and Brandenburg

Gregor-Mendel-Straße 15

D-14469 Potsdam

Tel.: +49 331 2785 0052

E-Mail: kontakt@kurtz-detektei-potsdam.de

Web: https://www.kurtz-detektei-potsdam.de/en

Google: https://g.page/kurtz-detektei-potsdam