Blog of Kurtz Detective Agency Rostock

Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Brandenburg increasingly affected by boat crime

The Mecklenburg Lake District and the many lakes of Brandenburg attract not only holidaymakers year after year, but also thieves, saboteurs and vandals who unlawfully target the numerous private and commercial boats in the region in one way or another. Whether it is the sailing vessel bearing the advertising banner of a drinks manufacturer that is defaced with graffiti overnight, or the small, lovingly restored private boat stolen by unknown offenders during the family holiday. Particularly in north-east Germany, the primary area of operation of Kurtz Investigations Rostock, developments are cause for concern:

Although boat thefts across Germany fell by 25 per cent in 2016 compared to the previous year, the situation in Brandenburg deteriorated significantly – by a full 35 per cent. One aspect of the work carried out by our Rostock private investigators is the investigation of such offences, including the recovery and return of stolen property. Every perpetrator – whether thief or vandal – leaves traces that must be identified and followed. We are happy to undertake this task for you: +49 381 3739 0080.

Investigations Throughout Germany and Beyond

In order to follow the trail of stolen or damaged boats, ships, yachts or jet skis, it is generally necessary not only to invest considerable time, but also to examine an extensive geographical area. To ensure this can be accomplished, Kurtz Detective Agency Rostock works, when required, not only with its own operatives from other federal states, but also with cooperation partners abroad and with institutions such as the German Water Police and the police competence centre for boat crime (KBK) in Constance. Thanks to the nationwide network of our detective agency across all federal states, a close-knit informant network and the aforementioned international partners, our private detective agency from Rostock is better positioned than many other investigative services to locate and secure stolen goods that have been transported away at short notice.

As a transit country, Germany is unfortunately highly attractive to criminals; via the North Sea and Baltic Sea stolen goods can be transported abroad by sea, and otherwise also by land, and resold promptly. With professionally forged serial and chassis numbers, criminals attempt to conceal the origin of their goods in order to pass stolen merchandise on to consumers. Customers of such fraudsters then live with the risk that the deception will be uncovered – during a police check, a boat repair and so forth – and that the purchased vessel will be confiscated. This may occur, for example, if identification markings such as hull identification numbers (HIN, CIN) have been mechanically removed or falsified numbers attached that were never issued by the manufacturer. Even any original authenticity documents that have been retained may lead to clarification if the robbed owner has initiated a search. In addition to the seizure of the supposed property, possessors of stolen goods may even face criminal investigation for handling stolen goods.

Concerted Actions Show Results | Is Boat Crime an Underestimated Problem?

That a comprehensive investigation into boat crime reveals numerous offences and that a high number of unreported cases must therefore be assumed was demonstrated by a cooperation between the federal states, their police authorities, the KBK and additional Polish colleagues in September 2015, when a total of 304 reports were filed within just one month. A total of 2,521 boats as well as 3,256 vehicles, boat engines and boat trailers were inspected through joint efforts. In 2016 alone, the KBK seized boats, boat trailers, outboard engines, jet skis and so forth worth seven-figure sums; the so-called “by-catch” also included electrical appliances, motor vehicles and bicycles worth approximately 325,000 euros.

Our detectives from Rostock are pleased to measure themselves against the professional work of this competence centre and likewise to contribute to locating and securing embezzled or stolen boats together with accessories and by-catch. This naturally also includes the legally admissible identification and conviction of the perpetrators.

Protection Against Stolen Goods and Fraud – What You Should Look Out For:

Anyone considering the purchase of a boat or boat accessories today must exercise great caution. In order to avoid falling victim to stolen goods and one day having to watch helplessly as a cherished boat is confiscated, Kurtz Economic Investigations Rostock and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania recommends keeping a few basic rules in mind:

• Beware of boats or outboard engines without certification or without documents providing information about their history (similar to purchasing a car)
• Beware of absurdly cheap (bait) offers; these may under certain circumstances turn out to be goods fraud or indicate a stolen boat intended to change hands as quickly as possible
• Beware of private sellers who allegedly can offer several boats (who has a private fleet?)
• Check the trailer’s chassis number, as thieves frequently grind it off
• Check for signs of tampering such as grinding marks and repainting in the area of the hull identification number

Another important point is that personal data should not be disclosed too early in the course of a transaction: scanned documents, identity cards, credit cards as well as IBAN and BIC details should be avoided. You can be certain that your identity card and boating licence will quickly be used by fraudsters to pretend to other customers that they are you and thereby appear more trustworthy. In this way, you yourself could also come under investigative scrutiny. Further information can be found, among other sources, in the KBK information leaflet.

Nothing Shipshape on Board? How to Reach Our Private Investigators in Rostock:

Sind Sie von einem Diebstahl oder einer andersartigen Schädigung betroffen, die zum Bereich der Bootskriminalität zählt, so laden wir Sie ein, sich mit unserer Detektei aus Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in Verbindung zu setzen. Durch ihre jahrelangen Erfahrungen können Ihnen unsere IHK-zertifizierten Wirtschaftsdetektive in der Regel effektiv weiterhelfen. Legen Sie uns Ihren Fall in einem telefonischen oder persönlichen Beratungsgespräch dar, um das mögliche Vorgehen und die damit verbundenen Detektivkosten zu besprechen: 0381 3739 0080. Alternativ können Sie uns auch gern eine E-Mail schicken: kontakt@kurtz-detektei-rostock.de.

Author: Maya Grünschloß, PhD

Kurtz Investigations Rostock and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern

Grubenstraße 20

D-18055 Rostock

Tel.: +49 381 3739 0080

Fax: +49 381 3739 0089

E-Mail: kontakt@kurtz-detektei-rostock.de

Web: https://www.kurtz-detektei-rostock.de/en

Google: https://g.page/kurtz-detektei-rostock

A Casual Take on the Detective Profession

Patrick Kurtz, owner of Kurtz Detective Agency Rostock and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, spoke with Claudia Wiggenbröker from ze.tt. The result is a lighthearted article about the detective profession, partly meant with a wink:

Surveillance, Tail, Arrest? How a Private Investigator Really Works

An old factory on the city outskirts. Two shadows creep through the night, a briefcase changes hands. Suddenly a third figure emerges from the darkness. “Enough games,” says the private investigator, weapon drawn – do scenes like this from TV detective shows actually happen in real life? Not at all, explains Patrick Kurtz, and he should know, as he is a real private investigator.

Active apprehension of suspects does not reflect reality. Instead of catching criminals themselves, Patrick and his colleagues operate in the background: “We are passive observers. Detectives do not influence events; we document everything for court. We do not want to be noticed,” he explains. What happens in shows like Privatdetektive im Einsatz is nonsense.

Detectives Are Lone Wolves

Patrick mostly investigates misdemeanours rather than serious crimes. Most cases revolve around fraud. “For example, companies hire us if an employee frequently calls in sick. We then find out if they are working elsewhere or on holiday instead of being ill at home.” Most disputes rarely reach court: “Criminal prosecution only occurs in a small number of cases. If there is a dispute, it’s usually before an employment tribunal rather than a criminal court.” Most parties can settle without a judge.

Another myth about private investigators is true: “The one-man detective agencies you see in films are mostly accurate,” Patrick says. “Agencies with many full-time employees are rare.” Patrick is an exception: he founded his own agency, operating throughout Germany and Switzerland, with five permanent staff and over 40 freelance investigators handling assignments he assigns.

“You Can’t Rush into Traffic”

In conversation Patrick often uses terms like observation and target person. These are the two concepts that primarily shape a detective’s daily routine. “The majority of our work consists of observations,” he says. They are, however, less exciting than films would have us believe: “It can happen that you stare at a door for 17 hours and nobody comes out.” Patience is therefore an essential quality for a detective.

Observations are not always dull, though. This is the aspect of the job Patrick loves most: tailing the target when it becomes difficult. That does not mean detectives roar through the city with screeching tyres and guns drawn. “It does not work like Til Schweiger in Tatort, who shoots about. But it is fun when the target moves a lot and you have to be intensely focused to be able to follow them.” Til Schweiger is often mentioned in this context.

Nevertheless it does not always work out: “You can lose sight of the target. For example, if they go through a traffic light that is already red. If oncoming traffic is already present, you cannot continue driving,” Patrick explains. Many clients have little understanding for this. “They think the work was done badly. But you cannot rush into live traffic.”

Debtors Are a Nightmare

Patrick’s clients include both companies and private individuals. Cases are often as classic as you might imagine: a jealous spouse hires detectives to follow the other half. These commissions are often easier to tackle: “The supposedly cheated wife usually has lots of information about her husband. She can give us names, addresses, vehicle registrations. That enables us to plan when and where an observation would be sensible.”

More difficult are cases of missing debtors: “When people lend money and the debtor disappears without trace, there is usually very little reliable information about them. And what there is is often falsified,” Patrick says. “It is primarily research: who is this person really and where are they staying?”

Proving Cheating Partners? €350, please

How expensive it will be for Patrick’s clients is usually unpredictable. “It can happen that we observe an alleged adulterer and within two hours he goes to a brothel. Then the matter is done.” In the ideal case, the betrayed partner can obtain proof of infidelity for €350. “But it can also be necessary to observe someone for days or weeks without anything relevant occurring.”

There are, however, empirical values, explains the detective. Investigations can become very costly for maintenance matters, for example: if someone receives maintenance after divorce, the entitlement lasts only while they are genuinely single. “People therefore often conceal a new relationship and make it into a real hide-and-seek: they rent two flats even though they live together, park kilometres away so no one sees the car, disguise themselves.”

Detectives must then invest a lot of time to prove that the relationship is indeed a partnership and not merely an affair. “That usually costs about €5,000,” Patrick states. Clients who find that too expensive can set a maximum budget for their assignment that the detectives must not exceed.

Not Only Sherlock Smokes

Thinking of the famous Sherlock Holmes, another detective stereotype applies to Patrick: he also smokes a pipe. His love of crime novels predates his profession. He did not come to the job through fiction, however, but via an advertisement seeking interns for detective training. At the time he needed a new direction: “After my bachelor’s degree I enrolled on a course I could not start immediately because the application deadlines were inconvenient. So I had to bridge a year.”

He scraped together his last money, travelled to Berlin to take a detective course and became self-employed — planning to resume his studies later. But the workload grew and nowadays Patrick rarely has time to run observations himself. Instead, the founder concentrates on developing his company.

The Original Article from ze.tt can be hound here.

Kurtz Investigations Rostock and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern

Grubenstraße 20

D-18055 Rostock

Tel.: +49 381 3739 0080

Fax: +49 381 3739 0089

E-Mail: kontakt@kurtz-detektei-rostock.de

Web: https://www.kurtz-detektei-rostock.de/en

Google: https://g.page/kurtz-detektei-rostock

One in eight women has been a victim of stalking at least once.

Although more than 12 per cent of women in Germany have experienced stalking, that is to say harassment or persistent molestation, at least once, the threat posed by stalkers appeared for a long time not to have been fully recognised by the police and judiciary. Well-known cases of stalking, often with tragic outcomes, have repeatedly made headlines, particularly since the murder of John Lennon by a stalker and fanatical admirer, yet it was not until 2006 that laws to protect victims were passed in Germany, thereby initiating fairer penalties and more targeted prosecution of offenders. Clear evidence enabling the apprehension and conviction of perpetrators can often only be presented to the courts through the deployment of private investigators such as those of Kurtz Detective Agency Rostock, as the authorities frequently take little or no action on their own initiative. For many years, compensation awards resulting from stalking offences were inappropriately low, indeed almost laughable; since the most recent legislative amendment, however, sentences of up to three years’ imprisonment are possible if the victim has suffered a “serious” impairment to their way of life. If the victim dies, threats now carry penalties of up to five years and bodily harm up to ten years – sentencing levels that have been recommended by law in the United States of America since 1993.

Victims Unknown To The Public Are Far More Common Than Celebrity Stalking

Many people are unaware that not only prominent personalities fall victim to stalkers. Such cases are naturally handled in a more media-effective manner and are therefore more present in public perception, and indeed national and international figures from fashion, sport, film and television, music and politics are stalked with alarming regularity. The most recent case in this context was the fortunately harmless arrest of a stalker of internationally acclaimed rock musician Chris Cornell, known as the frontman of the United States bands Soundgarden and Audioslave as well as for various solo and side projects, including the title song to the Casino Royale film. The stalker had first been sentenced in 2014 to wear an electronic ankle monitor for her harassment of the singer, but removed it and went into hiding for some time until she was arrested at a Cornell concert in Louisville, Kentucky, thereby presumably preventing worse consequences. According to media reports, she had gained unauthorised access to the backstage area and was carrying a bladed weapon.

However, every single “unknown” citizen can also become the victim of a stalker, whether an former partner or a stranger who – for reasons incomprehensible to rationally thinking people – selects a particular individual as worthy of admiration, hatred or otherwise, and consequently pursues, pressures and often threatens them with death. Our private detective agency in Rostock assists stalking victims in securing court-admissible proof against their tormentors: +49 381 3739 0080.

What Is Stalking And How Does It Differ From Simple Intrusiveness?

Stalking encompasses all persistent or repeated boundary violations against another person, such as anonymous calls at any hour of the day or night, countless emails, messages and SMS per day, defamation among friends and colleagues, lying in wait for and frightening the victim, and other psychological and physical terror, including unwanted orders and deliveries of items of value to the victim’s home address. As a result of this continuous psychological terror, victims often suffer severe health consequences. Yet the forms mentioned are comparatively less serious cases; our private investigators in Rostock can report many examples in which predominantly female victims, confronted by statistically 81 per cent male perpetrators, are not only subjected to psychological pressure and deprived of their quality of life, but are also physically assaulted, injured through attacks or tampering with cars or bicycles, and in the most extreme cases even killed.

Often, despite enormous suffering, victims do not take stalking seriously enough, feel embarrassed and conceal the harassment for fear of humiliation, or are not taken sufficiently seriously when they decide to report the matter to the police, recounting the harassment and persecution by former partners, colleagues, business partners or rejected admirers. Under the previous legal framework, a report and prosecution were only possible once a criminal offence had already been committed under the old law, not merely upon indications or announcements of one. Yet tragic cases repeatedly demonstrate how difficult it is to escape stalking alone and without the assistance of the judiciary. Our detectives in Rostock are of course at their clients’ side even at the first suspicion: kontakt@kurtz-detektei-rostock.de.

Stalking is not always immediately recognised as such and, until the legislative reform of 2006, was not combated sufficiently by the judiciary. Prior to the introduction of the new stalking legislation, the police and courts were often unable to act until an offence had occurred and could be proven, meaning direct assistance for victims usually came too late.

Private Investigators From Rostock As Help In An Emergency

Even though the new laws have considerably improved the situation for stalking victims, both the police and judiciary, and sometimes even the victims themselves, may fail to recognise the seriousness of the situation, downplaying it as something that will perhaps resolve itself, that is merely embarrassing and unpleasant and should not be exaggerated. Our corporate investigations department in Rostock therefore always recommends seeking the assistance of detectives even at the first suspicions, concerns and impairments to quality of life. These detectives can in turn observe the stalker, confront them if desired, and explain to them the seriousness of the situation for the victim as well as the potential legal consequences. Evidence gathered by investigators, such as video and photographic material, often helps to initiate or at least advance police investigations.

Although the law has been welcomed very positively and as long overdue both by the governing parties and by victim protection organisations such as Weisser Ring, much work still lies ahead for the authorities, as officers must first be sensitised and trained for stalking cases. Stalking will therefore only be reduced to a limited extent in the coming years, even though our detective agency in Rostock regards even small steps along this path as a success.

Do Not Yield To The Perpetrators, But Respond Immediately

The fact that only one third of those affected by stalking go to the police and file a report, and that of this third, 69 per cent subsequently do not feel that they have adequately conveyed the extent of their suffering, demonstrates a considerable need for alternatives to police prosecution. If you have regularly or repeatedly become the victim of telephone harassment, stalking, threats or other activities falling under the term stalking, please contact our IHK-certified corporate and private investigators of Kurtz Investigations Rostock free of charge at any time. We will personally inform you about your further options as well as possible procedures undertaken by our detectives in the event of an assignment and, of course, treat your case with discretion: +49 381 3739 0080.

Author: Maya Grünschloß, PhD

Kurtz Investigations Rostock and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern

Grubenstraße 20

D-18055 Rostock

Tel.: +49 381 3739 0080

Fax: +49 381 3739 0089

E-Mail: kontakt@kurtz-detektei-rostock.de

Web: https://www.kurtz-detektei-rostock.de/en

Google: https://g.page/kurtz-detektei-rostock