About

Bernarda Škrabar Damnjanović is a licensed private investigator, certified international investigator, security consultant, author, lecturer, and entrepreneur with twenty years of continuous operational experience.

She is the CEO and owner of the Detective and Security Agency Ltd., where she leads domestic and cross-border assignments involving corporate investigations, fraud, background checks, due diligence, surveillance, undercover investigations, electronic countermeasures, workplace misconduct, evidence collection, and security consulting. She also serves as President of the Expert Council of the Institute for Security and Strategic Research, contributing to the development of investigative methodology, intelligence analysis, professional standards, and regulatory practice.

Her work combines operational investigation, legal and regulatory development, academic research, and professional education. She holds a master’s degree in criminal justice and security, with research focused on the legal regulation and practical implementation of surveillance as an operational investigative method. She is a PhD candidate in security studies, researching the application of the cognitive interview in investigative practice, and is completing a second master’s degree in psychosocial counselling. She is also a certified mediator.

Bernarda has played an active role in the development and regulation of the private investigation profession in Slovenia. She participated in the working groups responsible for drafting both the ZDD-1 and ZDD-2 Detective Activity Acts and is a co-author and co-editor of the Commentary on the Detective Activity Act. She has served as a member of the Detective Examination Commission, was the first Data Protection Officer of the Slovenian Detective Chamber, and was the first Chair of its Commission for the Supervision of Detectives. She also served for many years on the Chamber’s Executive Board.

She is the author of a detective manual, professional books, academic papers, and numerous articles on investigations, corporate integrity, employment-related investigations, data protection, and the legal regulation of detective work. She is a regular contributor to the leading Slovenian legal journals Legal Practice and The Attorney. She is also the founder and editor-in-chief of the annual professional journal Under the Magnifying Glass, which has published more than 150 specialist articles, including two English-language editions. She is currently preparing a scholarly monograph on the development of the private investigation profession.

Bernarda lectures at the Faculty of Criminal Justice and Security and regularly presents at universities, international conferences, professional forums, and specialist training programmes. She has organised two major international investigator meetings in Ljubljana, in 2017 and 2023. She is a TEDx speaker, was a finalist in Slovenia’s 2026 Speaker of the Year selection, and was the first woman to serve as Honorary Dean of the International Private Investigator Summer School in Bucharest.

Her professional recognition includes the Ethical Leader Award, the Ambassador of Knowledge title, and the Successful Career Graduate Award presented by the Faculty of Criminal Justice and Security. She has also completed the Academy of Corporate Integrity and is a signatory to the Corporate Integrity Guidelines, the Declaration of Fair Business, and the Diversity Charter.

Bernarda has been a member of the Council of International Investigators for more than a decade and considers CII her professional family. Her CII service includes:

Board Member, 2024–2026
Co-Chair, Professional Development Committee
Founder and Lead, International Exchange Program

She conceived the CII International Exchange Program to enable practical knowledge transfer, professional placements, and direct cooperation among investigators in different jurisdictions. She has also represented CII in its cooperation with the International Federation of Associations of Private Detectives.

Her professional focus is on legally sound, ethically grounded, and methodologically rigorous investigations, as well as on strengthening cooperation and professional standards across jurisdictions. 

She is also involved in the development of investigative technology and AI-assisted OSINT solutions designed to support structured intelligence analysis, evidence management, and defensible investigative reporting.

Bernarda Škrabar Damnjanović is a licensed private investigator, certified international investigator, security consultant, author, lecturer and entrepreneur with 20 years of continuous operational experience.

She is the CEO and owner of Detective & Security Agency Ltd., where she leads domestic and cross-border assignments involving corporate and internal investigations, fraud, background checks, due diligence, workplace misconduct, surveillance, undercover investigations, electronic countermeasures, security surveys, risk assessments, evidence collection and investigative reporting.

Her work combines operational investigation with legal and regulatory expertise, data protection, corporate integrity, professional ethics and the development of investigative standards. She participated in the working groups responsible for the preparation of Slovenia’s ZDD-1 and ZDD-2 Detective Activity Acts and is a co-author and co-editor of the Commentary on the Detective Activity Act.

Bernarda holds a master’s degree in criminal justice and security and is a PhD candidate researching the application of the cognitive interview in investigative practice. She is completing a second master’s degree in psychosocial counselling and is also a certified mediator.

She serves as President of the Expert Council of the Institute for Security and Strategic Research and lectures at the Faculty of Criminal Justice and Security. She is the author and editor of professional publications and more than 150 specialist articles and regularly contributes to the leading Slovenian legal journals Legal Practice and The Lawyer.

Within the Council of International Investigators, she served as a Board Member from 2024 to 2026, is Co-Chair of the Professional Development Committee, and conceived and leads the International Exchange Program. She has been a CII member for more than a decade and considers the organisation her professional family.