Reconstructing Hardboiled Detective

Hi people, Always been having plans to write this film noir idea I've planned for years, but something always bugged me. I mean, sure we like the idea of a cynical sleuth who'd persist at all costs to find and solve the case for (usually) good, but in reality, much of their antics (punching out people and vandalizing, not to mention entering without permission) would be considered felonies punishable with jail time.

Now the real question is: is there a way to bring all of this back to function?

I was thinking, as possible solutions, the fights could tend to be self defense or when someone is clearly going to kill or harm another person, or by having the detective work with higher up people who could excuse that. Third option may be just to write with those limits in mind. What do you guys think?

You could go the easy route and just have him only do such things to people who wouldn't call the police, opening up the option for him to be captured during a breaking and entering attempt. Or just have him be super careful not to leave evidence of his offense.

Ooh! Ooh! Another crime writer! Thanks for showing up, I was starting to feel outnumbered by all the sci-fi and the fantasy.

Anyhow, yes...it is very possible. I've written one that attempts exactly what you describe, and am working on a sequel. I did scads of research on how actual Professional Investigators do their job...if you'd like some help PM me.

Of course, you could just set it in an historical timeperiod, a la Alan Furst.