The Course

This course teaches aspiring sleuths how to take a legal and moral approach private investigation, whether in their personal life or as a first step towards starting a career in the field. Each module concludes with a multiple choice assessment to ensure students’ understanding of the material, and successful completion of the course earns participants an Online Academies Diploma.

See here for full course details.

Syllabus

• Life as a private investigator, tools of the trade, and finding the right work

• A first lesson in theft

• Theft continued: robbery, handling stolen goods, bilking, criminal damage, burglary

• The Police and Criminal Evidence Act

• The Data Protection Act

• Tracing

• Surveillance techniques

• Electronic equipment, polygraph calibrator, counter espionage

• Attending court

• Repossession, process serving, statement taking, invoicing and other paperwork

• Means reporting, vetting, interviewing and interrogation

• Business skills for setting up an agency, skills of self-preservation, specialising

The Merchant

Online Academies provides distance-learning opportunities in a range of disciplines, enabling students to study at their own pace. The courses generally do not set strict academic criteria for participation, and tutor support is provided via email.