Private Investigator Maurice Hicks Talks Missing Persons, Fighting Stereotypes, And Inspiring Blacks In The Industry

The unsolved murder of Hicks' younger brother sparked a passion for investigation.

Maurice Hicks grew up under siege in Baltimore’s harsh, unforgiving streets and always felt hopelessness and despair while witnessing repeated drug use and numerous violent crimes. For years, he said he wondered why the police did not care what “we” were going through. In a twist of fate, his youngest brother became one of the scores of homicide victims in Baltimore at the tender age of 17. The unsolved murder shook Hicks to his core and ignited a fire that had never been extinguished.

Today, the former leader of an FBI Homicide Task Force is a 20-year law enforcement veteran who heads Global Investigative & Security Solutions. “We enhance the quality of life by advising and counseling people facing investigative and security challenges. We solve complex cases that have fallen off the radar of law enforcement or other organizations,” the company promises. Hicks’ company has formed strategic alliances with dedicated retired law enforcement officers and agents worldwide. In addition, they use various intellectual capital gathered across the globe to solve the most complex problems facing communities today.

We caught up with Hicks to talk about his work, impact, and overall mission within our communities:

BLACK ENTERPRISE: Why do you think your work is important today?

Hicks: The work is so vital because police agencies are severely understaffed with the increase in violent crimes. Police agencies have focused on more serious violent crimes. That has resulted in a severe gap between the resources needed to solve crime and complex community problems. Police agencies devote fewer resources to solving fraud, property crimes, and missing people.

BE: Why do you think your work is critical in the African American community?

Hicks: We need private investigators to fill the enormous gap between the resources that are devoted to solving crimes against African Americans and the resources necessary to solve African American crime victimization. Information about unsolved crimes against African Americans is not adequately publicized, which is often required to facilitate a more diligent police response.

Media outlets are more likely to promote stories about white crime victims and white missing persons than stories about African American crime victims. Moreover, in the Journal of Communication, Travis L. Dixon, then at the University of Michigan, and Daniel Linz of U.C. Santa Barbara sampled local television news broadcasts in Los Angeles and Orange counties in California and found that, when compared against relevant crime data, ‘African Americans were overrepresented as perpetrators. African Americans are more likely to be profiled on the news as suspects, not as victims.’

BE: Share a case where you have reduced crime in our communities.

Hicks: One case involved a missing person who went to Nevada to obtain drug rehabilitation. During the second day, the counselors took all the patients to the gym to work out. Two patients left the gym and never returned to the treatment facility. The next day, one of the patients died of a drug overdose. The family of the second patient hired me to locate their daughter, who was from another state. They were fearful that she might meet the same fate as the other patient who died of a drug overdose.

I spent the next two weeks looking for her all over the Las Vegas Valley. Two weeks after I started my search at 5 A.M., I got a call from a tipster who saw my missing person flier. I met him, and he pointed me in the direction that he had last seen her. I staked out that location and located her. That day was Easter Sunday. I was able to reunite her with her family. Every Easter Sunday, I receive an email from her mother thanking me for bringing her daughter home.

BE: Are there a lot of PIs who are Black?

Hicks: Less than 14% of private investigators nationwide are African American. I believe there are fewer African American private investigators because of a lack of knowledge about the industry. Also, because there are fewer African American private detective agency owners. I was personally unaware of the inner workings of the field until I met a Black female private detective agency owner specializing in death penalty cases. Prior to meeting her, I had never met a private investigator.

Secondly, I think that more African Americans are choosing to work in the private security industry as opposed to the private investigations industry due to the enormous profits and the increasing demand for private security after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

BE: What would be your advice if someone wanted to choose PI as their career choice?

Hicks: I would advise them that private investigations can be a fun and exciting profession. Each day provides a unique opportunity to test their investigative skills and intellect. However, they need to understand what they are getting into fully. Spending 12-hour days sitting in a car in the Nevada or Texas heat while doing surveillance may not be for everyone. Conversely, if they enjoy helping people prove their innocence, locating missing people, or solving complex crimes, this profession might provide the joy and satisfaction they seek.

There are many specialties to choose from, such as corporate investigations, civil investigations, infidelity investigations, missing heirs, missing persons, infidelity investigations, workmen’s compensation investigations, death penalty investigations, insurance fraud investigations, accident reconstruction, etc.

BE: What inspired you to write your book?

Hicks: While teaching criminology classes at the University of Maryland, Global Campus, I used many cases as case studies. Over the past 20 years, my students have told me my stories would make an outstanding book. After my comrades in the police department kept asking me to share my stories with other officers, I realized that my students were right and that my experiences would make an excellent book. For more info, go to www.lookingfortrouble2022.com.