The murky, shadow-splotched world of the woman operative reluctantly unfolds through the half-opened blinds formed by that infamous Old Boys' Network and its chain-of-command. This group exists as a tether to the patriarchal work arena. The links in this binding chain are its members in the knowledge and power pool from which designated procedures and actions may be chosen. The first intriguing case for the female detective-for-hire remains at a distance while her preliminary gauntlet must be run.
Before a woman private eye tackles the contracted job, she must handle the system's hierarchy. The book Job Shock, by Harry Dent, supports the observation that such a tiered order stands in place and makes the point that this kingdom of patriarchal order exists well-entrenched in the workplace. The last generation's executives man their domain with bureaucratic expertise, guarding the communication loop. Unable to accept work environment changes due to the use of computers, these hallmarks of old-style business refuse to allow people to relinquish left brain repetitious activity, thus freeing personnel to enhance their creative natures. Initiative could damage the organization's ranked order. Radically progressive alternatives to strict management styles could increase the efficiency of tasks by eliminating the barriers to communication and the exchange of information.
Changes in communication techniques remove the initial obstacles toward understanding. This, obviously, skirts the chain-of-command policies worshipped by law-enforcement. To those interested in productivity, “working with lower level clerks when only someone in upper management actually makes the decision is a waste of time” (Bristol, p.103). Those on the ladder could lose prestige and control, if not their jobs. Cordial cooperation between police agencies and investigators could more rapidly link those in need of help caused by abuse, drugs, family breakdown, and socio-economic ills to appropriate groups with methods for recourse. The punishment scenario might be eliminated in many cases.
Women investigators would become highly valuable specialists combining unique perspectives with their personal histories. Their backgrounds detail experiences with a variety of specific outcomes. In our society, women appear freer to expose their own vulnerability through sharing human qualities and, most outstandingly, the ability to empathize.
The background and struggles within the system provide a valuable string of contacts, networking associates, and the tremendously useful skills of an actor honed by life's critical events. As an investigator in the trenches, the female operative possesses heightened proficiency in awareness, unhampered observation, unfettered intuition, keen business savvy, and the colorful character of a chameleon. She must mesh all these traits with her dual roles of breadwinner and feminine entity.
This woman of self-assuredness must enjoy the adventure of problem solving. She might spring from a professional field such as forensic science where she passed the challenge of stabilizing her stomach contents during autopsies or from a law enforcement background peppered with an assortment of investigations and street-smart perpetrators.
Author Hugh Eames makes a valid point regarding female operatives in his statement about the fictional sleuths and their writers: “Fictional sleuths did not spring entirely from the imaginations of their creators; they are a reflection of the society in which these writers lived.”
Two multi-dimensional fictional heroines roar believably to life from the fertile minds of their creators: Dr. Kay Scarpetta, fleshed through the mind of Patricia Cornwell, and Kinsey Millhone, sculpted on the page by Sue Grafton. Kay approaches her investigative work from the collegiate profession of chief medical examiner with elite FBI affiliations, and Kinsey views her systematic inquiries through the blue-collar eyes of an ex-cop pummeled by the system. Both women draft their lives using their investigative training coupled with their many facets of emotion, family bonds, relationships, and society's response to women in the field. These two dramatic projections face the hurdles of male-dominated methodology. Initiating leaps of keen insight to perceive one step beyond the most plausible answer often skirts the standard practice of reward and punishment. The backgrounds of these characters proffer contacts in almost any of the viably useful aspects of their quests.
In real life, private eyes desperately require networks of knowledgeable people to supply the educational expertise needed in the development of a complete panoramic mock-up of a case, whether it is exciting or mundane. Napoleon Hill in Think and Grow Rich calls such a method for knowledge procurement the “Master Mind Bank.”
An effective example of an investigator, although in this case not female, who uses his years of accumulated contacts and awareness of differing social and cultural customs is Jack Lindsey of Billings, Montana. His successes reaped from astute abilities involving communication, people-reading skills, and dramatic role-playing have established a highly effective reputation on the defense side of the table. As with the experiences of women in this field, this expertise takes its toll on the relationship with law enforcement, often creating problems, which obstruct investigations.
This type of education necessary to the female operative's success evolves through formal training, in the field practical application, and from life's bumps. The female detective may find using her gender, itself, a tool when exercised in role-playing. Data from communication and observation develops frequently without the presence of invasive bearing. It is essential that this investigator grasp the significance of the rules of evidence within the courtroom drama as well as crime scene diagrams and measurements. She must remain aware of the impact on juries by the evolving characters of witnesses on the stand and their credibility. It is interesting to note a thought by Chesterton: “It's the agent of social justice who is the original and poetic figure while the burglars and footpads are merely old cosmic conservatives, happy in the immemorial respectability of apes and wolves”
Women investigators are creating new parameters with their forthright actions and accountability. To accomplish tasks, they expand information networks through shared knowledge and communication. The quagmire of bureaucracy need not stand unchallenged. These women and their generated styles of action affect the social genre, making changes more palatable.
