Allan Pinkerton Essay

Submitted By mrskat123
Words: 939
Pages: 4
Open Document
Allan Pinkerton
Katrina Taber
Introduction to Security/CJS250
March 30, 2013
Patrick Coughlin

Allan Pinkerton Allan Pinkerton was and still is considered to be the forefather of the private security industry. Pinkerton realized there was a lack of crime prevention and control by the police. With this in mind, the Pinkerton Detective Agency was born. Pinkerton made many arrests and thwarted an assassination attempt. (Clifford, 2004) The Pinkerton Detective Agency employed the first ever female detective who was incredibly smart and very resourceful. (Geringer, 2013) Pinkerton and his agency paved the path for the private security industry seen in today’s society. (Encyclopedia Brittannica, 2013) There is not a doubt as to what Allan Pinkerton meant and still means to this industry. Allan Pinkerton saw that the local police were having trouble preventing crime and capturing criminals. Pinkerton decided that establishing a security company which could provide this valuable service could become a very profitable business. In 1855, Pinkerton was asked by several railroad companies to create a railway police department. This department was called the North West Police Agency. Pinkerton was also a deputy in the Cook County Sherriff’s Department and had a contract with the federal government to find counterfeiters and defend the Post Office against burglary. In 1858, Pinkerton created the Pinkerton Protective Patrol. This agency became known as “The Eye” which helped coin the term private eye. (Geringer, 2013) Through this agency, many businesses were found not to be secure and several reports of employee misconduct were noted. There were many people and businesses who believed Pinkerton’s tactics were less than legal. His agency was sued in 1873 for $10,000 for supposedly interrogating and threatening the wife of a suspected mail burglar without the legal right to do so. The Pinkerton Protective Patrol tarried on and successfully penetrated a group of miners called the Molly Maguires. The Molly Maguires were a group of miners believed to have killed and threatened mine owners. (Clifford, 2004) After this success, Pinkerton Detective Agency was formed. Amongst the successes of the agency was the apprehension of the main criminals, John Maroney and Leonard Chase, in the $700,000 Adams Express Company robbery in 1866. Pinkerton also managed to effectively prevent an assassination attempt on President Abraham Lincoln. Pinkerton, using the name E.J. Allen, was given the authority over an organization whose sole purpose was to gain military data from the states in the south during the Civil War. After the civil war he resumed his role in the Pinkerton Detective Agency. Pinkerton wrote several books commemorating his experiences which includes The Molly Maguires and the Detectives, The Spy of the Rebellion, Thirty Years a Detective, The General Principles of Pinkerton’s National Police Agency, and his tale of Lincoln’s trip to Washington. These were all written between 1861 and 1884. (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2013) The Pinkerton Detective Agency proven itself to be a valuable asset to law enforcement. Pinkerton wanted his agency to have integrity and be honest. With this in mind, he decided to make a promise to the people. His promise included not accepting bribes, no negotiating with criminals, help local police and law enforcement when necessary, not accept any cases which could cause a scandal, not accept any reward money, not to raise his client’s fees without their prior knowledge, and keep clients informed of the details in their case. Armed with these promises, Pinkerton created one of the most significant detective agencies known in the world. Pinkerton did not care if him or his agents had to travel far and wide, they would take the case as long as it fell within his guidelines and promises. In fact, he created a logo for his agency which was
Show More

Related Documents: Allan Pinkerton Essay

Essay on Allan Pinkerton

Allan Pinkerton Allan Pinkerton was born in the Glasgow, Scotland to Isobel McQueen and William Pinkerton. The house that the family lived for most of Pinkerton’s life is now a Mosque. It is call the “Glasgow Central Mosque”. In 1849, Pinkerton was appointed as the very first detective in Chicago. In the 1850s, Pinkerton partnered with Edward Rucker, a Chicago attorney, form the North-Western Police Agency. This agency was later changed to “Pinkerton National Detective Agency”. This agency is still…

Words 448 - Pages 2

Essay on Biography of Allan Pinkerton

Biography of Allan Pinkerton CJS 250 Axia College UOP Allan Pinkerton is without a doubt one of the most famous figures in the Detective history. In his long and varied career he was called a traitor and a patriot, an outlaw and a police officer, a thug and an idealist, a left-leaning political activist fighting for the plight of the workers and a hired goon for bosses, a defender of liberty and a tramper of rights, an immigrant and a drunkard, a rogue, an adventurer and a barrel maker…

Words 913 - Pages 4

Logan Smith: Allan Pinkerton Essay

Allan Pinkerton Logan Smith CJS/250 Allan Pinkerton Know as America’s first Private Investigator, Allan Pinkerton was born on the 25th of August in 1819 and lived until he was 64. Within his time, he was able to do great things for the Criminal Justice field and has even pursued many infamous outlaws within his time. He started his career as a law official and later, he created a private agency know as the Pinkerton Agency in which helped solve many train robberies, which got the attention…

Words 717 - Pages 3

Allan Pinkerton's Impression Analysis

larger photo of Allan Pinkerton and his operatives during the War. This is the only person in that photo without facial hair, and the figure also appears feminine. Kate Warne was born in 1833 in New York City, and was left a childless widow shortly after she married. There is little information about her personal life or background. Described by Allan Pinkerton as a slender, brown haired woman, there is not much else known about Kate Warne prior to the day she walked into the Pinkerton National Detective…

Words 1180 - Pages 5

Essay about Criminal Investigations Chapter 1 Questions

investigations are conducted in the United States today? A: The organizational structure of the Pinkerton National Detective Agency, found in 1850 by Allan Pinkerton and the first of its kind in the US, was later adopted by the FBI. As with the Pinkerton Agency, the FBI began to take on cases that local law enforcement were too limited in resources to handle on their own. In addition, Pinkerton created what was called “the rogues’ gallery” which detailed the names and operations of known criminals…

Words 1592 - Pages 7

George Mclellan Research Paper

Main Idea: George Brinton McClellan I graduated from West Point and I was second highest ranking in my class. My name is George Brinton McClellan, and I was born December 3, 1826 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. I was a studious child and I was very educated. I was very intelligent. As a kid I loved to read and learn and I put my skill into a lot of things. Dr. George McClellan and Elizabeth Steinmetz Brinton were my parents. I was just 13 when I first started studying the law. My father was the…

Words 699 - Pages 3

Unit 4 Vocab APUSH Essay

Chapter 11 Revolution of 1800 Jefferson's election changed the direction of the government from Federalist to DemocraticRepublican, so it was called a "revolution." midnight judges a nick name given to group of judges that was appointed by John Adams the night before he left office. He appointed them to go to the federal courts to have a long term federalist influence, because judges serve for life instead of limited terms Marbury v. Madison Supreme Court decision declaring part of the Judiciary…

Words 1882 - Pages 8

2009 Lincoln Supplement Lesson Essay

LINCOLN SUPPLEMENTAL LESSON ABRAHAM LINCOLN (1809–1865) Sixteenth president of the United States. Photographed by Alexander Gardner at Washington, D.C., on November 8, 1863, eleven days before delivering the Gettysburg Address. (Photograph with oil paint colorization.) ▼ WHAT WAS ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S LEGACY TO AMERICAN CONSTITUTIONALISM AND CITIZENSHIP? The two hundredth anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s birthday, February 12, 1809, provides an occasion for teaching and learning about this great…

Words 4701 - Pages 19