mamie cierra

I want to say something like, "Thanks to the brilliant detective work of Maigret, the criminal has been brought to justice.", but I don't really know how to translate, "detective work." Should I just use "travail"?

I live in the UK. There's a little bully terrorizing the children in our street, he lives with his parents a few doors down. children cannot even play in the back gardens without getting abuse over the fence. He seems ot think he owns the road. Talking to the boy, results in a load of attitude, and his mother couldn't give a toss (apparently even he doesnt listen to her).