From HQ, right in the middle of real investigations
In the new SBS6 program Nico van den Dries: Private Detective The viewer gains insight into a world that normally remains largely closed. The focus is not solely on the confrontation or the final outcome. From the headquarters – the HQ – the viewer is taken through the entire investigation.
Every case begins with a request for help.
Someone is being stalked. A victim believes they have been scammed. There are suspicions of identity fraud or online extortion. Someone has disappeared, or there is something wrong with a story that seems plausible at first glance.
From that moment, the work of Nico van den Dries and his research team begins.
No predetermined conclusion, but gathering information, verifying, observing, analyzing, and continually determining what the next research step should be.
The request for help is the beginning, not the conclusion.
The starting point of Nico van den Dries: Private Detective It is simple: someone comes with a problem for which he or she seeks answers.
But what a client thinks is going on is not automatically the truth.
Therefore, every case is first reduced to the facts. What do we actually know? What is an assumption? Which information can be verified? Which individuals play a role? Are there digital traces? Is observation necessary? And above all: which investigation method is justified and legally permissible in this situation?
The viewer sees that process up close.
This also means that the outcome is never predetermined. Sometimes research confirms a suspicion. Sometimes a completely different picture emerges. And sometimes, ruling out a scenario is precisely the most important answer a study can provide.
The goal is not to identify a perpetrator at all costs. The goal is to get as close to the truth as possible and then determine which course of action is most meaningful for the person involved.
The HQ forms the heart of the research
A significant part of the program takes place at the HQ of Nico and his team. That is where the various components of an investigation come together.
Information from interviews is compared with existing data. Digital information is examined. Timelines are constructed. Camera footage, public sources, and other available data can be analyzed. Observation teams provide feedback on their findings, and together it is determined what a new research step might yield.
The same question is continuously asked from HQ: What do we really know now, and what do we still need to prove?
One study, various specialists
Modern investigations are increasingly multidisciplinary. Therefore, Nico collaborates with specialists in various fields during the investigations.
Digital specialists examine online information and digital traces. Observation specialists can record behavior and movements in the physical world. Legal knowledge is important for continuously assessing what is and is not possible within an investigation. These disciplines are not independent of each other.
A digital trail can, for example, lead to a person or location. Subsequently, observation may be necessary to determine whether a theory is correct. New findings may then need to be re-evaluated digitally or legally.
That makes the investigation itself an important part of the story.
Why a private investigator can be a complement to the police
A frequently asked question is why someone with a case would go to a private investigator instead of to the Police. Those two should not be confused with each other.
The police have statutory investigative powers that a private detective agency does not have. Therefore, filing a report remains important in the event of criminal offenses. A private detective does not take over the role of the police.
However, there is an area where private research can be an important supplement.
The police must set priorities on a daily basis. The police themselves state that after a report is filed, it is assessed whether there are sufficient leads to conduct an investigation and that an investigation may be stopped if insufficient information is available to find a suspect.
This is not only a matter of priorities. The police are also dealing with scarce investigative capacity and increasingly complex crime. In 2025, the police themselves stated that there are too few detectives and that digital investigations, in particular, are becoming increasingly complex and time-consuming. Moreover, the Inspectorate of Justice and Security noted that basic teams are unable to address many cases due to limited staffing and insufficient expertise.
For a victim, one thing does not change: the need for an answer.
A professional private investigation can add value in some situations.
Not the same powers, but different possibilities
A private investigator does not possess police powers. He cannot arrest anyone, search a home, or access confidential police systems. However, within the legal framework, a private investigator can dedicate time and investigative capacity to one specific request for assistance.
Consider extensive file research, research in public sources, interviews with those involved, analyzing available digital information, and – when there are sufficient grounds for doing so – observation.
It is precisely that combination that can yield new facts or leads.
Sometimes the best outcome is that new information can still be handed over to the police or the judicial authorities. In other situations, a civil law solution is more appropriate, a lawyer can proceed with the investigation findings, or someone simply needs clarity about what actually happened.
Therefore, the work does not automatically end with the question: Who did it?
The following question is at least as important:
Based on what we have established, what is the best course of action now?
The viewer joins the investigation
In doing so, the program ultimately becomes more than just a series about individual cases.
The viewer is shown how information turns into leads, how leads are investigated, and how an investigation can sometimes be completely turned around by one small detail.
From HQ, the viewer follows the entire process together with Nico and his team: from the initial request for assistance to digital investigation, observation, legal considerations, conversations, potential confrontation, and ultimately the question of which resolution truly helps the victim move forward.
Because a good investigation does not begin with the certainty that you already know what happened.
It starts with the willingness to figure that out.
Nico van den Dries: Privédetective will be shown on SBS6 in 2027.
