What is the role of private intelligence in the Slovak Republic? Legal and practical aspects of private detective services

The article focuses on legal and practical aspects of private detective services in the Slovak Republic (further Slovakia). The article is divided into two parts. The first part is theoretical and provides the reader with a description of the legal environment in Slovakia and explains its impact on private detective services. The section devoted to legal aspects deals with the legal environment codifying the activities of private detectives, in particular persons conducting searches but also operators of private detective services—entrepreneurs providing their clients with a specific product—information. The part which deals with practical aspects discusses development and current situation in the field of private detective services in Slovakia while this part is focused on the number of private detective service operators and their share on the private security market in Slovakia and on the findings of research which was conducted among operators of private detective services. The research aimed at supplementing information about developments in private security and identifying problems encountered by operators of private detective services. The data for the processing of the practical part were obtained by questionnaire research and interviews as well as from publicly available statistical data in the field of private security.