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Because the private eye intends to save society in spite of himself, he invariably finds himself in trouble with the police.

The latter are either too stupid to catch the killer or too corrupt to care.

In either case, they do not appreciate the private detective's zeal.

Perry Mason and Hamilton Burger, Nero Wolfe and Inspector Cramer spend more time fighting each other than they do in looking for the criminal.

Frequently enough, the police are themselves in league with the killer ; ;

Dashiell Hammett's Red Harvest provides a classic example of this theme.

But even when the police are honest, they do not trust the private eye.

He is, like Phillip Marlowe, too alienated to be reliable.

Finally, in The Maltese Falcon among others, the clash between detective and police is carried to its logical conclusion: Sam Spade becomes the chief murder suspect.

In order to exonerate himself, he is compelled to find the real criminal, who happens to be his girl friend.

What was only a vague suspicion in the case of Sherlock Holmes now appears as a direct accusation: the private eye is in danger of turning into his opposite.