Biography of Allan Pinkerton

Allan Pinkerton was born in Glasgow, Scotland on August 25, 1819. Pinkerton was a cooper or barrel maker in his native land. He immigrated to the United States in 1842 and settled near Chicago, Illinois (Kelly, 2009).

Pinkerton became involved with law when he accidentally came upon a campsite frequented by counterfeiters. He informed the sheriff, at the time, who in turned deputized Pinkerton to help arrest the men. The town council was impressed by Pinkerton and so they asked him to help with the investigation of the leader of the local counterfeiting ring. He did the job successfully and was offered a full-time job as an investigator by the sheriff. Before the year was over, he would accrue the highest number of arrests for burglaries and murders than any of the other more experienced police in Chicago’s squad roll (Geringer, 2008).

Pinkerton was asked to become the city’s first detective. Pinkerton took no guff, no sass, and no bribery. He succeeded because of his integrity. Pinkerton was considered a very brave man.

Although Pinkerton loved his work, it did not suffice, financially, for his growing family. He decided to open his own private investigation business. Pinkerton needed clients to help support his business and most were made through the railroad companies (Geringer, 2008). Pinkerton opened his own agency in 1850 (Kelly, 2009).

Pinkerton worked with telegraphers, government technicians, and armed experts to see that his agency understood and could use the most updated technology and armament. Pinkerton hired the first female detective agent who became the supervisor of women agents. Pinkerton was known as incorruptible and he had the tenacity for getting those he went after and he expected the same from his agents. When Pinkerton began his agency, many towns and cities had unqualified law enforcement bureaus and Pinkerton agents would take the most difficult cases ranging from financial and property thefts to government overthrows and murders (Geringer, 2008).

Some of Pinkerton’s earlier activities included the prevention of an assassination attempt on Abraham Lincoln and the organization of the first official secret service for duty behind confederate lines. Pinkerton also rode with the lawmen along the Old Frontier, hunting down members of Jesse James’ gang, the Reno brothers, and other desperados (Geringer, 2008). In 1858, Pinkerton formed the Pinkerton Protective Patrol which was a small group of uniformed watchmen who contracted with various businesses to offer night protection (Clifford, 2004). Pinkerton’s agency was so effective that when the government formed the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), it used Pinkerton’s agency as its model (Geringer, 2009).

Allan Pinkerton died from gangrene in 1884. His sons carried on the business. In the last seventy-five years, the Pinkerton agency was needed more for security purposes than for man-hunting. There was a noticeable shift from detection to prevention. The agency spends more time investigating insurance frauds and providing around-the-clock security for large corporations (Geringer, 2009).

The Pinkerton agency opened six new officers under the sons’ reign. It was Pinkerton’s involvement as protectors of scabs and business property during labor problems that harmed Pinkerton’s reputation. The agency was involved in disputes, such as, the Wild Bunch Gang of 1896, the Pullman Strike of 1894, and the Ludlow Massacre of 1914. Although these activities made people view them, at the time, as an arm of the big businesses, the agency still survived (Kelly, 2008).

Pinkerton’s sons began an overseas relationship with Securitas AB of Stockholm and merged in 1999. Pinkerton is a senior partner with more than thirty-two countries as of today (Geringer, 2009).

Reference

Clifford, M. (2004). Identifying and exploring security essentials. Upper Saddle River,

New Jersey: Pearson.

Geringer, Joseph (2008). Allan Pinkerton and his agency: we never sleep. Retrieved on

May 3, 2009, from http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/gangsters_outlaws/

cops_others/pinkerton/1.html

Kelly, Martin (2009). A brief history of the pinkertons: the man behind it all. Retrieved

on May 3, 2009, from http://americanhistory.about.com/od/19thcentur1/a/

allan_pinkerton.htm