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Biography of Allan Pinkerton

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Biography of Allan Pinkerton
Biography of Allan Pinkerton
Darron Becker
CJS/250
May 29, 2011
Varrick Douglas

Biography of Allan Pinkerton Allan Pinkerton’s law enforcement career started at an early age. He was offered a part-time position as a deputy sheriff, and he accepted, though he still kept his job as a cooper full-time. When he was deputy sheriff, he earned the reputation as being a tough, smart, and honest man. Pinkerton had always opposed to slavery. He had felt compelled to take action, so he helped runaway slaves get to Canada. He taught some of the runaway slave’s barrel making and carpentry so they could trade when they were free. Later on, Pinkerton ran for sheriff but got unflattering light in newspaper articles and letters from people who thought that he was unfit for the office. They accused him of being an atheist, a person who denies or disbelieves the existence of a supreme being. His business suffered and he lost many of his friends as a result of the election. Afterwards he was moved to Chicago to become the deputy sheriff in the Cook County.
In the year 1849, Pinkerton became the first detective in the Chicago Police Department. The quit the job in 1850 because of political interference. Pinkerton said later that he left because he was offended by the corruption and he also didn’t like taking orders. After he quit being deputy sheriff, he became a special agent for the U.S. Postal Service. He was first assigned to investigate a theft of checks and money, the Postmaster General thought that it was occurring the sorting room in Chicago. Pinkerton then went to work as a mail sorter and then later arrested the postmaster in Chicago and the postmaster’s two nephews. Pinkerton created his own detective agency with an attorney named Edward Rucker. They named this agency The Northwest Police Agency. A year after they started this agency, Edward Rucker left to become a judge, so Pinkerton decided that he would create his own agency called, “The Pinkerton National



References: Clifford, M. (2004). Identifying and Exploring Security Essentials. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice-Hall Hunt, R.A. (2009). . Retrieved from https://content.ebscohost.com/pdf23_24/pdf/2009/1XQJ/01Dec09/45615592.pdf?T=P&P=AN&K=45615592&S=R&D=i3h&EbscoContent=dGJyMNHr7ESeqLc4y9f3OLCmr0meqLBSrqy4SbeWxWXS&ContentCustomer=dGJyMPPm5ofj5OeQuePfgeyx43zx Simkin, J. (n.d.). Spartacus Educational. Retrieved from http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USApinkerton.htm

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