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Allan Pinkerton

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Biography of Allan Pinkerton

Allan Pinkerton is a very important person who has done many things in the criminal justice field. Allan Pinkerton was born in Scotland in 1819. ("Spartacus Educational", n.d.). He was the founder of one of the best detective agencies. Allan Pinkerton was the son of a police sergeant who got injured on the job so he was not able to work, Because of this Pinkerton ended up growing up in poverty. His father ended up dying due to a prisoner that was in his custody. Allan Pinkerton ended up working as a barrel maker that eventually ran afoul of local authority over his membership in the Chartist movement. Eventually Pinkerton found himself being asked to be the Chicago’s first detective. With the growth of his new family and the financial stress starting, Pinkerton made the decision to open his own investigative agency. In 1850 Allan Pinkerton officially opened his first detective agency, in the heart of Chicago, called, “The Pinkerton National Detective Agency” (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2013). One of the things that Allan Pinkerton did was that he promised to never except bribes, compromise with criminals, and also to help local law enforcement agencies. Though he would help he didn’t take all cases such as he refused to take divorce cases or any case that would case scandals with his clients. Around 1850 he formed Pinkerton's National Detective Agency, with the motto "We Never Sleep" and an unblinking eye as its symbol. This would lead to the description of independent detectives as "private eyes. Allan Pinkerton's Detective Agency. (2013). His agency protected President-elect Abraham Lincoln during his trip to Washington to be sworn in, and Pinkerton served as chief of intelligence for Union general George McClellan during the Civil War. In 1869 Pinkerton suffered a partial stroke of paralysis, and thereafter the management of the detective agency devolved chiefly upon his sons, William Allan (b. 1846) and Robert (1848-1907). He died in Chicago on the 1st of July in 1884. Allan Pinkerton has done many things to help security and private security. He started out a little boy who wasn’t a big deal and made a name for himself by bettering himself and coming up with his own detective agency that has helped many people throughout history. He lived a very adventurous life with many things to contribute. Private and public security still goes on today and exists for the purpose to help aw enforcment agencies as well as to serve and protect.

References:
Spartacus Educational. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USApinkerton.htm
Encyclopedia Britannica. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/461110/Allan-Pinkerton
Allan Pinkerton's Detective Agency. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/biography/james-agency/

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