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Private Detective Burnaby

A Burnaby Private Detective is a civilian employed by a Burnaby BC Private Detective company to investigate "Subjects" on behalf of clients (customers).

  • In Burnaby, the client is the term used for the customer.

The "Subject" typically refers to individuals or groups but can also include Burnaby businesses. The client can be an individual, corporation, or government agency.

downtown Burnaby BC

Use of Burnaby Private Detective Term

A regular person performing investigations in Burnaby is no longer referred to as a Private Detective. Rather, the term used now for a local investigator is a Burnaby "Private Investigator."


The Last Known Record of a Burnaby Private Detective

The last known record of a civilian investigating on the behalf of clients being referred to as a Burnaby Private Detective is from a 1960s amendment to what was called The Private Detectives' Licensing Act.


Today's Use of the term: Burnaby Private Detective

The current act governing people in Burnaby performing investigations no longer allows the use of the term Detective:

  • A person engaged in a security business must not, to describe or identify the person’s business or services use the word "detective", "law enforcement", "peace officer" or "police", either alone or in conjunction with other words.

Burnaby from above

What Case Files Did Burnaby Private Detectives Work on?

The area of work for Burnaby Private Detectives was a broad range of different types of investigations, same as today.

  • However, Private Detectives in Burnaby focused on providing insurance firms with information and evidence regarding insurance.

These BC insurance firms were the largest provider of investigations in the past and now.

Burnaby detective in a black suit

Despite being ordinary citizens, Burnaby Private Detectives did not have BC government investigative privileges; however, they possessed the authority akin to any other Burnaby resident, albeit with the added capability to provide investigative services to clients due to their specialized expertise in the field.

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The Clients of a Burnaby Private Detective

Private Detectives in Burnaby had commonly served

  • insurance companies

  • Burnaby law firms

  • private corporations

  • Burnaby citizens

Private Detectives undertaken for these entities often revolved around insurance claims and often provided surveillance as a service to these claims.

  • Today's Burnaby agencies can also offer Cyber Investigations in conjunction with surveillance to better serve these clients. Obviously, technological limits made Burnaby Private Detectives of the past unable to offer this service.

Additionally, other clients in Burnaby had sought comprehensive information to facilitate the adjudication or administration of insurance claims.

city of Burnaby bc

Many of these case files, or just files, had been resolved through the engagement of a Burnaby Private Detective, who had utilized both surveillance and non-surveillance methods.


Of course, 1960s non-surveillance methods were much more analog. Burnaby investigations had typically yielded information more expeditiously compared to legal procedures like discovery, thereby furnishing the clients of the Investigators with enhanced data for decision-making.

Burnaby detective with camera

The Private Detective's clients would ask for investigations in Burnaby on a wide variety of topics such as,

  1. Undercover Investigations in BC

  2. BC Labour Disputes

  3. BC Court Injunctions

  4. Locates, Skip Tracing, or Missing Burnaby Persons Investigations

  5. Background Investigations

  6. Counterfeit, Trademark, and Patent Investigations

  7. Interviewing and Statement-Taking

  8. Executive Protection in BC

  9. Forensic Investigations

  10. Theft Investigations in BC

  11. Infidelity Investigations

  12. Security Consulting

  13. Accident Investigations & Reconstructions

  14. Asset Recovery Investigations

  15. Arson Investigations in BC

Richmond Detective inside of van with slr cam corder

Due to the progress of technology, Burnaby agencies can now offer more investigative services such as,

Burnaby BC flag

Former Burnaby Private Detective Legislation

Most people would have thought that Burnaby Private Detectives were given extra provincial BC legislative powers; however, this was not entirely true.

  • A local Burnaby Detective was just a civilian but developed more tools than the general public and was more skilled and aware of how best to have leveraged those tools.

Furthermore, in Burnaby , Private Detectives had the legal right to perform surveillance. This meant that a Burnaby Private Detective could not have been accused of loitering, same with agencies in the present.


Make no mistake, Private Detectives in Burnaby had legal means and methodologies that made them as effective as the civilians performing investigations of today. In contrast, the police had access to vastly more verifiable information, such as BC provincial wide data bases only accessible by law enforcement. For a Burnaby Private Detective, much of the time, was spent establishing and verifying information.


Burnaby Investigations in the Modern Era

Today, the term "Burnaby Private Detective" has evolved reflecting the changing landscape of investigative work. While the focus and technology have shifted, the core mission remains the same:

  • to provide clients with reliable information and evidence.

Despite the lack of governmental investigative powers, Burnaby Private Detectives of the past were skilled professionals who played a crucial role in serving the needs of insurance companies, law firms, corporations, and individuals. Their legacy lives on in the modern investigative agencies that continue to provide a wide range of services to the Burnaby community.


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